Attitudes of Jordanian society toward wife abuse

From a humble identity to an identity of respect: lifetime abuse among Arab Israeli older women

This study addresses the retrospective experiences of older Arab Israeli women after a lifetime of living in the shadow of intimate partner violence. Qualitative research was conducted, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews of 15 Arab Israeli older women. Underlying this study is a feminist perspective and a life course perspective. Two main themes emerged: (1) socially endorsed violence against Arab Israeli women. This took several forms: men's dominant position and women's dependence, sources of violence used against women before and after marriage, and the social education of women to accept their fate. (2) The construction of a multifaceted survival identity throughout Arab Israeli women's life and old age. This identity has a variety of dimensions, including: a submissive victim identity, a rehabilitative identity of respect in old age, and a form of split identity that combines both the rehabilitative social identity and the marginal identity still experienced within the home.

Arab Women at the Police Station in Israel: Cultural Crisis and Empowerment

In the collectivist Arab society, seeking police intervention violates a cultural norm. This qualitative study was based on in-depth interviews with 12 Muslim Arab abused women, who sought help at police stations where police officers and social workers cooperate. Interviews analysis revealed a conflict between the women's desire to stop the violence and the implications of violating cultural norms. Interviewees' emotions ranging from a positive sense of empowerment to negative feelings derived from insensitive, alienating conduct. The encounters with social workers empowered the women in facing social pressures. The discussion focuses on the meaning of integrating the police and welfare services in a collectivist-patriarchal community in a society with a dominant individualist orientation.

Exploring Jordanian women's resistance strategies to domestic violence: A scoping review

Despite there being an abundant gender and social science research on domestic violence (DV) in Jordan, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is limited understanding and knowledge of women's resistance strategies to DV. To fill this gap, this study conducted a scoping review to synthesize and analyze 11 articles published in English-language scholarly journals between 2001 and 2021 by following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The databases of the University of Jordan Library, Dar Almandumah, PsycINFO, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus were searched in December 2021. Our review found no scientific articles that primarily discussed Jordanian women's resistance to DV and explicate it as a secondary aim within the context of screening for the causes, consequences, and prevalence of DV. Therefore, while a few articles implicitly conceptualized women's resistance in the context of the patriarchal structure-either as tactics of physical, social, economic survival, and to protect their family and honor, or as consequences of DV-no article provided an explicit definition of this concept. The articles also deliberated on 12 resistance strategies that women use to deal with DV; predominant among them are daily resistance, activities hidden for immediate and de facto gains (e.g., to avoid beatings, divorce and family disintegration, the decision to keep their children, and maintaining economic stability). The most common strategies are silence and not seeking help, reporting to family members or friends, seeking legal and social advice, and reporting to the police or healthcare provider.

Listening to Bedouin Women Who Were Affected by Intimate Partner Violence and Sought Help From a Doctor

The purpose of this study was to examine how Bedouin women perceived and interpreted seeing a doctor for help in the aftermath of intimate partner violence. In the phenomenological study, 38 semi-structured interviews were conducted at two different points in time. The first interview took place before the first appointment with the doctor, and the second took place about 3 months after seeing the doctor. The findings revealed two main themes: an act of resistance against the prevailing social norms and empowerment out of crisis. The study found that doctors and other professionals working in the field of domestic violence in community clinics provide a reliable first source of support for women within a limiting social space. This brings into focus the centrality of the role of the doctor/health care professionals within the framework of the community clinic and is intended to direct, train, and deepen the insights of the medical staff that work with women affected by intimate partner violence and to create uniformity in the interventions for these women.

Prevalence, pattern and factors of intimate partner violence against Saudi women

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and its correlates, amongst currently married Saudi women.

METHODS

A total of 400 currently married females aged 19-65 years old who attended the outpatient clinics of PHC centres in Riyadh, from 1 November 2015 to 1 February 2016, were screened for the current and previous experiences with IPV, and its correlates, using the previously validated Arabic version of the WHO multi-country instrument on violence against women. Logistic regression analyses were applied to identify the correlates of IPV.

RESULTS

The lifetime overall prevalence of IPV was 44.8%, in the form of; physical (18.5%), emotional (25.5%), sexual (19.2%) and economic (25.3%) violence. Wife's experience of child abuse was significantly associated with physical [OR = 3.63, P < 0.001], emotional [OR = 2.2, P = 0.004], sexual [OR = 2.42, P = 0.006], economic [OR = 2.24, P = 0.006] and overall IPV [OR = 2.76, P < 0.001], whilst husband's experience was significantly associated with only the emotional violence [OR = 2.4, P = 0.004]. Physical violence was significantly more prevalent when the woman lived with other wife in same house.

CONCLUSION

IPV with its all forms was prevalent amongst Saudi women. Child abuse experience and polygamy were significantly associated with IPV. Designing tailored IPV national prevention programmes is a necessity.

Risk factors affecting intimate partner violence occurrence in South Korea: Findings from the 2016 Domestic Violence Survey

This study aimed to identify factors affecting the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Korean adults aged 19 years and older. Specifically, we identified the factors in women's victimization in and men's perpetration of IPV. This study adopted a cross-sectional and correlational design in conducting secondary data analysis of the 2016 Domestic Violence Survey in Korea. Men (N = 1,272) and women (N = 2,689) with partner were included in the analysis. The ecological model was used as a conceptual framework. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors affecting women's victimization in and men's perpetration of IPV. The results showed that the prevalence of IPV against female partner was 12.1%. IPV occurrence was higher among women (Odds ratios (OR) = 2.92, Confidence intervals (CI): 1.84-4.63) and men (OR = 2.64, CI: 1.62-4.32) who experienced witnessing inter-parental violence in childhood, and among women (OR = 2.25, CI: 1.40-3.61) and men (OR = 2.68, CI: 1.59-4.52) with a tolerant attitude toward IPV. The occurrence was higher among women who experienced childhood maltreatment by the parents (OR = 1.70, CI: 1.03-2.82) and women whose income was 2 million Korean Won(KRW) to 3 million KRW compared with women whose income was above 4 million KRW (OR = 1.97, CI: 1.10-3.55). The occurrence was lower among women with office jobs compared with other jobs (OR = 0.47, CI: 0.26-0.84). Based on the results of this study, early intervention in abusive families to reduce the negative impact of abuse experiences and witnessing inter-parental violence in childhood, and education and publicity for changing attitudes toward IPV are necessary at the individual and societal levels. The formation of policies for the stable workplace and income of women are required.

The Effects of Religion and Modernization on Egyptian Women's IPV Attitudes

This article uses the 2008 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey to explore the relationship between religion and women's attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV). It also asks whether modernization, as measured by having a higher education or living in an urban area, can mediate or moderate this relationship. Using latent class analysis to create categories of women's wife-beating attitudes, and multinomial regression to explore the relationship between religion, education, and urbanity, we find no significant relationship between being Muslim and justifying wife beating. Our data further suggest that neither education nor urbanity mediate or moderate this relationship.

Barriers to women's disclosure of domestic violence in health services in Palestine: qualitative interview-based study

Background

Domestic violence (DV) damages health and requires a global public health response and engagement of clinical services. Recent surveys show that 27% of married Palestinian women experienced some form of violence from their husbands over a 12 months' period, but only 5% had sought formal help, and rarely from health services. Across the globe, barriers to disclosure of DV have been recorded, including self-blame, fear of the consequences and lack of knowledge of services. This is the first qualitative study to address barriers to disclosure within health services for Palestinian women.

Methods

In-depth interviews were carried out with 20 women who had experienced DV. They were recruited from a non-governmental organisation offering social and legal support. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated into English and the data were analysed thematically.

Results

Women encountered barriers at individual, health care service and societal levels. Lack of knowledge of available services, concern about the health care primary focus on physical issues, lack of privacy in health consultations, lack of trust in confidentiality, fear of being labelled ‘mentally ill’ and losing access to their children were all highlighted. Women wished for health professionals to take the initiative in enquiring about DV. Wider issues concerned women’s social and economic dependency on their husbands which led to fears about transgressing social and cultural norms by speaking out. Women feared being blamed and ostracised by family members and others, or experiencing an escalation of violence.

Conclusions

Palestinian women’s agency to be proactive in help-seeking for DV is clearly limited. Our findings can inform training of health professionals in Palestine to address these barriers, to increase awareness of the link between DV and many common presentations such as depression, to ask sensitively about DV in private, reassure women about confidentiality, and increase awareness among women of the role that health services can play in DV.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-020-09907-8.

What Women Think Should Be Done to Stop Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana

This aricle expands scholarship on intimate partner violence in Ghana by discussing what should be done to stop it, using data from the Northern region. The data came from 53 survey participants who provided useful responses to an open question: "what should we do to stop intimate partner violence"? The 53 respondents were part of 443 women non-randomly sampled at public health centers across the region to participate in a survey on intimate partner violence. Although the survey used a questionnaire, responses to the open question constituted qualitative data for this article. All 53 written responses were typed out verbatim into a Microsoft word document to generate a transcript for analysis. Responses entered in the transcript were numbered to distinguish one from another. Each numbered unit of text represented the complete response of a participant. Data were content-analyzed and reduced to five meaning categories for interpretation and conclusion-drawing. These are: provide behavior change support to couples; institute and enforce legal sanctions against perpetrators; empower women; provide public education for social change; and pray and preach against violence. Discussion of the findings is situated within discourse analysis and the article concludes with a note on implications for policy and practice.

Attitudes of Palestinians Toward Social Work Interventions in Cases of Wife Assault

The study examined the attitudes of Palestinian adults toward social work interventions in cases of husband-to-wife assault (HWA). A survey, using self-administered questionnaires and interviews, was conducted among a random sample of 624 adults from the Palestinian Authority. Results indicate higher levels of support for interventions aimed at helping the couple solve their problems than for interventions aimed at protecting the safety of battered women. However, this trend becomes reversed in cases of repeated and severe HWA. Greater support for interventions aimed at protecting the safety of battered women was found among women versus men and younger versus older adults, as well as among individuals with lower levels of justifying wife abuse and more egalitarian expectations of marriage.

Beliefs of Palestinian Women From Israel About the Responsibility and Punishment of Violent Husbands and About Helping Battered Women

This article presents a study that examined beliefs about violent husbands and about helping battered women among Palestinian women living in Israel from the perspective of patriarchal ideology. A convenience sample of 701 married women was obtained, and a self-report questionnaire was administered. The findings reveal that the majority of participants held violent husbands accountable for their behavior; however, the majority of them did not support punishing violent husbands through formal agencies (i.e., the police) or through informal social institutions (i.e., the family). In addition, contrary to expectations, the majority of women perceived wife beating as a social problem rather than as a private one that should be dealt with within the family. Regression and multiple regression analysis revealed that women's endorsement of patriarchal ideology was found to influence all three above-mentioned beliefs about violent husbands and battered women, over and above the amount of variance in each of these beliefs that could be attributed to the women's sociodemographic characteristics. The limitations of the study and its implications for future research are discussed.

A medicolegal study of domestic violence in south region of Jordan

BACKGROUND

Domestic violence is a forced pattern of behavior that happened in domestic settings to gain or maintain power and control over an individual. The aim of this work is to study the magnitude of domestic violence in south region of Jordan.

METHODS

The retrospective study was retrieved from the medico-legal reports of domestic violence cases referred to the Directorate of Forensic Medicine in south region of Jordan during six years period starting from 1st of January 2010 till the end of December 2015.

RESULTS

The total number of cases was 128. The majority was females (77.3%), high prevalence (41.4%) was found in adult age group (18 years and above) in both genders. The prevalence was higher in rural areas (75%). Sexual abuse was the commonest method of domestic violence in both genders (41.4%). Nearly a quarter of cases (23.4%) leaving home as an outcome. Spring months represented the highest percentage of domestic violence occurrence (28.1%). Family and financial problems were reported in 71.1% of cases.

CONCLUSION

Domestic violence rate in South Jordan is much lower than in other areas but still considered a problem and should be given high priority with regard to prevention, investigation and treatment.

Disclosure of Spousal Violence: Viewpoints From the Jordanian Society

The objectives of this study were to identify reasons behind not disclosing spousal violence and examine relationships between these reasons and women's demographic profile including the experience of spousal violence. Jordanian women ( N = 709) aged 16 to 66 years ( M = 32.6, SD = 8.7) attending health care centers were recruited. Results indicated that women's intentions to maintain the family unit and use of patience with abuser represented the top two reasons for not disclosing violence. Non-significant relationships were, generally, identified between not disclosing spousal violence and women's demographic profile. Women's justification of spousal violence and witnessing parental violence were the proposed reasons for women's lack of disclosure of violence. Implications for this study include health professionals' use of evidence-based knowledge and skills to deal with victims of violence. Researchers' roles include creating physical and emotional environment that urges disclosure of violence. Furthermore, they can contribute with health professionals in the implementation of health education programs directing victims and perpetrators in the places where they can be located. Proper collaboration between health professionals, researchers, and policy makers may significantly limit suffering of victims of violence.

Beliefs about wife beating among Palestinian women from Israel: The effect of their endorsement of patriarchal ideology

This study examines the influence of patriarchal ideology on women's beliefs about wife beating. A convenience sample of 701 married Palestinian women from Israel was obtained, and a self-report questionnaire was administered. The findings revealed that large percentages of Palestinian women expressed some tendency to justify wife beating in certain instances. In addition, some of the participants expressed some tendency to blame battered women for violence against them, and to believe that they benefit from beating. As hypothesized, endorsing patriarchal ideology was found to influence all three beliefs about wife beating held by Palestinian women in Israel, over and above the amount of variance in the women’s socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. age, education, employment, place of residence, and religion). The limitations of the study as well as the implications of the results for future research are discussed.

Attributions of blame to battered women when they are perceived as feminists or as "difficult to deal with"

This study aimed to analyze the influence of victim-related and observer-related factors in victim blaming of battered women. Two hundred and forty six college students participated. They were asked to read a scenario describing a hypothetical case of physical violence perpetrated by a man against his partner. Depending on the experimental condition, the victim was described either as a feminist and/or as exhibiting difficulties in her relationship with others or not. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed with victim blaming as dependent variable. Participants' hostile sexism positively predicted victim blaming when the victim was described as a feminist and as a "difficult to deal with" woman (p < .001). In addition, men, but not women, high in hostile sexist attitudes placed more blame on the victim when she was presented as a feminist woman (p < .001). These results underscore the importance of victim-related and observer-related factors, and of their interaction, in blaming the victim of gender-based violence.

Factors associated with domestic violence: a cross-sectional survey among women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to identify the factors associated with domestic violence (DV) among women in Jeddah.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Outpatient departments of three tertiary hospitals in Jeddah.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience sample of women, aged 15-70 years, at the outpatient and inpatient clinics.

INTERVENTIONS

Between 15 December 2011 and 30 May 2012, a psychologist and a professional health assistant explained the purpose of the research to participants, who were then asked to fill a 50-item questionnaire. The questionnaire was created based on questions from three questionnaires: the NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. The questionnaire was used to assess the association between DV and family status, male partner attitudes, age, educational attainment, employment, financial and socioeconomic status.

RESULTS

A total of 2301 women participated in the survey (81% response rate). The mean±SD age of the participants was 34.4±10.9 years. The lifetime prevalence of DV was 34%. Abused women had more children than non-abused women (p=0.001), and their spouses were significantly older than those of non-abused women (p<0.0001). Financially dependent women and those with a high educational status were significantly more likely to report abuse (p=0.003 and p<0.001, respectively). Abused women were also likely to report that their spouse was a smoker (p<0.0001) and had completed at least primary or secondary education (p<0.0001). A significantly lower proportion of abused women reported that their male partners were alcohol users (p=0.001). The results of logistic regression showed that women who were financially dependent had about 1.5-fold odds of being physically abused by a spouse.

CONCLUSIONS

Many factors are associated with DV against women, thereby highlighting the need to design effective DV prevention programmes.

Attitudes of Palestinian physicians toward wife abuse: their definitions, perceptions of causes, and perceptions of appropriate interventions

The article presents results from a larger survey, which examined the attitudes and perceptions of Palestinian physicians (N = 396) toward wife abuse. The instrument was a self-administered questionnaire, with open-ended questions in which participants expressed their definitions of wife abuse, their perceptions of the causes of wife abuse, and their perceptions of appropriate interventions with wife abuse. The relevance of the sociocultural contexts of Palestinian society in particular and Arab societies in general to the participants' responses is highlighted in the article. The limitations of the study as well as implications for theory development, future research, and professional training are discussed.

Justification, perception of severity and harm, and criminalization of wife abuse in the Palestinian society

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Palestinian adults toward different dimensions of wife abuse. A cross-sectional survey, using a combination of self-administered questionnaires and interviews, was conducted among a systematic random sample of 624 adult Palestinian men and women from the West Bank and Gaza Strip (18 years or older). Study results indicated a strong tendency to justify wife beating in different situations, such as when the wife is perceived as having an affair with another man or as physically attacking her husband. Participants considered the following acts of husband's violence against wife as most severe: using a weapon (86%), having sex with the wife against her will (67%), and hitting her with his fist (57%). The majority of participants thought that wife beating should be considered a crime (82.3%). Traditional marital role expectations was the main significant predictor for all of the study criterion variables. Gender, place of residence, age, and marital status were significant predictors of some of the criterion variables.

Screening for domestic violence in Jordan: validation of an Arabic version of a domestic violence against women questionnaire

OBJECTIVES

Abuse against women causes a great deal of suffering for the victims and is a major public health problem. Measuring lifetime abuse is a complicated task; the various methods that are used to measure abuse can cause wide variations in the reported occurrences of abuse. Furthermore, the estimated prevalence of abuse also depends on how abuse is culturally defined. Researchers currently lack a validated Arabic language instrument that is also culturally tailored to Arab and Middle Eastern populations. Therefore, it is important to develop and evaluate psychometric properties of an Arabic language version of the newly developed NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (NORAQ).

DESIGN AND METHODS

The five core elements of the NORAQ (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, current suffering of the abuse, and communication of the history of abuse to the general practitioner) were translated into Arabic, translated back into English, and pilot tested to ensure cultural sensitivity and appropriateness for adult women in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Participants were recruited from the Jordanian Ministry of Health-Maternal and Child Health Care Centers in two large cities in Jordan.

RESULTS

A self administered NORAQ was completed by 175 women who had attended the centers. The order of factors was almost identical to the original English and Swedish languages questionnaire constructs. The forced 3-factor solution explained 64.25% of the variance in the measure. The alpha reliability coefficients were 0.75 for the total scale and ranged from 0.75 to 0.77 for the subscales. In terms of the prevalence of lifetime abuse, 39% of women reported emotional abuse, 30% physical abuse, and 6% sexual abuse.

CONCLUSION

The Arabic version of the NORAQ has demonstrated initial reliability and validity. It is a cost-effective means for screening incidence and prevalence of lifetime domestic abuse against women in Jordan, and it may be applicable to other Middle East countries.