Arab StatesDomestic violence – acts of violence between two
individuals who have had an intimate or a family
relationship – encompasses physical, sexual, psy-
chological, economic, and verbal aggression be-
tween men and women, brothers and sisters,
parents and their children. According to the United
Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Vio-
lence against Women, domestic abuse includes:
“battering, sexual abuse of female children in the
household, dowry-related violence, marital rape,
female genital mutilation and other traditional
practices harmful to women, non-spousalviolence
and violence related to exploitation” (Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights 1994). In Arab countries, occurrences of
domestic violence may also comprise expelling
wives from their marital homes, forced marriages,
polygamy, and “honor killings” (also referred to as
“femicide”).
Domestic violence is deeply rooted in societal
norms, including gender roles and expectations,
and codified in legal systems that privilege male
authority over women in the domestic and public
spheres. The 1995 Egyptian Demographic and
Health Survey demonstrates the extent to which
violence against women is socially sanctioned: in
that study one out of every three married women
was beaten, usually by her husband. Eighty-six per-
cent of Egyptian women surveyed condoned vio-
lence under the following circumstances: wife
refuses to have sex (69.9 percent), wife answers
back (62 percent), wife talks to other men (64.2
percent), and wife burns food (27.2 percent). While
those findings point to the pervasiveness of vio-
lence across social class, religious, ethnic, and
regional divides, other research indicates that two
factors contribute to women’s increased risk of
domestic violence in the Arab world: early mar-
riage and substantial difference in ages between
spouses (LCRVAW 1998).
In a context of widespread social acceptance of
domestic violence, women are often not aware of
their rights being violated and reluctant to speak
out against perpetrators because of the stigma
attached and their fear of retribution. The absence
of reliable data, the paucity of laws and policies
that account for such violence and penalize its prac-
Domestic Violence
tices, and the poor training of medical providers
and law enforcement agents to screen for violence
all contribute to the hidden nature of domestic vio-
lence. In countries where laws do exist, there is
often a lack of awareness of pertinent legislation
and of where proper counsel can be found.
Research furthermore underscores the influence of
social pressure on women survivors of violence not
to speak out against perpetrators. In addition, law
enforcement agents may limit the ability of popula-
tions to exercise their rights under existing laws,
especially abuse that results from sexual violence
(Shalhoub-Kervorkian 2000).
The impact of domestic violence is widespread
and includes negative effects on women, children,
families, men, communities, and societies. The
short-term health impacts for women include
bruises and cuts, while long-term sequels can
involve chronic disabilities, mental disorders, per-
vasive fear and depression, and unwanted pregnan-
cies. The far-reaching repercussions of domestic
violence, and the costs that it entails to individual
women and to already over-extended health care
systems, are demonstrated in a study in Alexandria,
Egypt, that shows that domestic violence was the
leading cause of injury to women, accounting for
28 percent of all visits to hospital trauma units
(Graitcer and Youssef 1993).
Despite the prevalence, severity, and cost of
domestic violence, the silence attributed to the
social sanctioning of the practice has made it diffi-
cult for women’s and rights groups to research the
problem, develop effective interventions, and advo-
cate for legal and societal change. Measures are
increasingly being taken, however, to raise public
awareness, protect women, prevent crimes, and
change the social norms that ignore or condone
such violence. Strategies to address violence against
women in the Arab states tend to be three-fold: to
document and analyze the types, magnitude, and
consequences of domestic violence; to assist indi-
vidual women who suffer from violence; and to
challenge societal norms, institutions, and legal
frameworks that condone such practices (New
Women’s Center for Research and Training 1994,
Tunisian Association of Democratic Women 1995,
Collectif 95 1999, LCRVAW 1998, Women’s Cen-
ter For Legal Aid and Counseling 2001, Ait-
Hamou 2003).