Abstract
Several studies have shown how political conflict can lead to the “normalization” of violence within a society, at the same time increasing domestic violence against women. I use the 2006 Palestinian Family Health Survey data to assess the levels and determinants of domestic violence in Palestinian society. The analysis explores the extent to which patriarchy and Israeli occupation are associated with domestic violence. The results show that the probability of accepting violent behavior is significantly related to the experience that women have of domestic violence. Women who have experienced violence from their spouses are more likely to report that domestic violence is acceptable. Moreover, the probability of accepting domestic violence and of reporting acts of violence is significantly associated with exposure to political violence: women who live in the areas most affected by political violence and mobility restrictions are more likely to report having experienced violence and to accepting it; their households also suffer from economic insecurity. Thus, the violence experienced by society as a whole seems to legitimize and increase violence in the couple.
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Notes
- 1.
“Palestinian territories” is the term used in international law to designate East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
- 2.
The PCBS is the Statistical Institute of the Palestinian Authority.
- 3.
The question was worded as follows: “Were you exposed to any domestic violence in the last 6 months.”
- 4.
The question was worded as follows: “Now I would like to talk to you about domestic violence. Sometimes the husband feels annoyed or angry for things that his wife does. In your opinion, is it justified for the husband to beat or hit his wife?” Answer: “yes/no.”
- 5.
For more information on this method, see Lamont and White (2008).
- 6.
We do not have direct data to measure the autonomy of Palestinian women. We have therefore used as a proxy an autonomy indicator for access to health services. The question was worded as follows: “Many factors may prevent women from seeking medical care or treatment for themselves. When you are ill and need to get medical care or treatment, does getting permission to go act as a major barrier for you or not?” (yes/no). We also regard women’s educational attainment as an indirect indicator of female autonomy.
- 7.
Definition of violence adopted by the UN in 1993.
- 8.
The Tawjihi is the last examination in the last year of high school.
- 9.
Interview: 20/09/11 in Ramallah.
- 10.
Interview: 10/05/11 in Al Amary camp.
- 11.
Interview: 11/2011 in Nablus.
- 12.
Interview: 10/2011 in Abu Dis.
- 13.
This refers to what Stephanie Latte Abdallah (2006) has observed among Palestinian refugees in Jordan. He argues that their failure to defend their land has contributed to their determination to defend women’s honor.
- 14.
We asked our respondents “how do you define a successful man?,” “what makes you a man/a head of household?,” or “what makes you especially proud in your daily life?”
- 15.
Interview: 01/2011, Al-Azarieh.
- 16.
During the first Intifada, masculinity rested on the capacity of Palestinian men to resist occupation, and to support the violence and injustice inflicted by the occupying power. The Israeli army would beat men in public in an attempt to weaken them. But instead of making Palestinian men feel more humiliated, Julie Peteet (1994) explained that this bodily ordeal ultimately served to strengthen their sense of honor, virility, and moral superiority. It acted as what she calls the “rites of passage of masculinity.”
- 17.
Interview: 11/2011 Nablus.
- 18.
Interview: 09/2011, East Jerusalem.
- 19.
- 20.
Interview: 10/2011 East Jerusalem.
- 21.
Wages are lower in the West Bank than in East Jerusalem.
- 22.
We also have seen in the quantitative analysis that the probability of reporting domestic violence is higher when the woman works and the husband doesn’t work (adjusted OR = 2.231).
- 23.
Here, the phrase echoes the Palestinian term sumud, which has often been associated with Palestinian women’s daily struggle to preserve a degree of normality in family and community life.
- 24.
The Palestinian legal system reflects territorial fragmentation. In the West Bank, it is derived from Jordanian law; in the Gaza Strip, it is based on Egyptian law; in East Jerusalem, it has been determined by Israeli law since 1976. In East Jerusalem, domestic violence is punishable under a 1998 amendment to the Israeli penal code, which calls for a 4-year minimum jail sentence. The Family Violence Prevention Act stipulates that an Israeli court can issue a protection order for anyone who has suffered physical, psychological, or sexual abuse. See Article 3 of the Act, available at http://www.knesset.gov.il/review/data/eng/law/kns12_familyviolence_eng.pdf
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Memmi, S. (2015). Gender Dynamics in Palestinian Society: Domestic and Political Violence. In: Djamba, Y., Kimuna, S. (eds) Gender-Based Violence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16670-4_7
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