Spousal Violence in Arab Countries

Abstract

There is a growing recognition among health care professionals that domestic violence is a major health problem, with devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities (Groves B, Augustyn M, Lee D, Sawires P. Identifying and responding to domestic violence consensus recommendations for child and adolescent health. Family Violence Prevention Fund, US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, 7 Dec 2001). Violence against women, with domestic violence by a spouse or other intimate partner violence as being the most common form of domestic violence, is widely recognized as a hidden and pervasive human rights violation and a global public health issue (World Health Organization (WHO). Violence against women. WHO Consultation, Geneva, 1996; Ellsberg M et al., Lancet 371(9619):1165–1172, 2008). The term “domestic” includes violence by an intimate partner and/or other family members, wherever this violence takes place and in whatever form (Rajani N, Sandhya Rani G. Combating domestic violence against women. International conference on social science and humanity, IPEDR, vol 5. IACSIT Press, Singapore, 2011). It is well known that no society can claim to be free of such violence; its presence cuts across boundaries of culture, class, education level, economic status, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and age. It is a global public health crisis. Many studies estimate that between 20% and 50% of women have experienced physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner or family member (World Health Organization (WHO). Violence against women. WHO Consultation, Geneva, 1996).