Consequently, research in several Arab countries
highlights the prevalence of domestic violence, the
strategies developed by women, the necessity of
changing laws that condone aggression, and the
importance of situating violence in the broader
sociocultural and political context of the respective
countries. Studies also underscore the need to
develop cultural understanding of violence, and
context-specific models of intervention. An addi-
tional area of investigation addresses the challenges
that service providers and therapists face in their
efforts not to doubly victimize women who speak
out against violence and seek counsel (Shalhoub-
Kervorkian 1999).
The interventions developed by women’s and
rights groups include: opening shelters to ensure
women’s safety while assisting them with legal
counsel; establishing hotlines to provide support
for women and assistance in obtaining child cus-
tody; finding employment; and locating a home.
Groups have also organized human rights educa-
tion training for law enforcement agents, journalists,
health workers, lawyers, women’s organizations,
and individuals (Ait-Hamou 2003).
In the area of legal reform, activists in several
countries have focused their efforts on abolishing
one of the most repressive laws, which stipulates
that rapists be acquitted of all criminal charges if
they marry the woman or girl who was raped. In
Egypt, this law was overturned in 1999. Other
changes are sought for equal rights in matters of
divorce, inheritance, custody, nationality, political
representation, and respect for state obligations
under international legislation.
Several regional initiatives have been created to
support country-level activities. Created in 1996,
the Arab Women’s Court to Resist Violence Against
Women comprises organizations across 11 Arab
countries interested in raising awareness of dis-
criminatory factors in existing personal status
codes, and creating alternative texts that honor
states’ obligations to respect women’s safety and
equality under international laws. This followed
the first public hearing on women’s experiences
with violence, organized in 1995 in Lebanon,
which included women’s live testimonies from 14
different Arab countries. More recently, an Arab
regional resource center on violence against women
was established in Jordan to serve as a clearing-
house for related information and documentation
across the Arab states and link women researchers
and activists working in this area.
The awareness of the effects of violence against
women across the Arab states has increased as112 domestic violence
demonstrated in the media coverage of this issue,
and related research and interventions. Future
activities could be strengthened if a wider range of
civil society and government actors were to include
violence against women as a focus of their work.Bibliography
L. Ait-Hamou, Violence against women. The case of
Algeria, paper presented at the Arab regional confer-
ence on Violence against Women, Cairo, 12–13 May
2003.
Collectif 95 Maghreb Egalité, Les Maghrebines entre vio-
lences symboliques et violences physiques (Algérie,
Maroc, Tunisie), Rabat, Morocco 1999.
F. El-Zanaty et al., Egypt demographic and health survey,
Cairo 1993.
P. Graitcer and Z. Youssef, Inquiry in Egypt. An analysis
of injuries as a health problem, Washington, D.C. 1993.
LCRVAW (Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against
Women), Violence against women. A report based on a
sample of 92 victims, November 1998, http://www.
lebanesewomen.org/cases.htm>.
New Women’s Center for Research and Training, Vio-
lence against women. A field study in preparation for
the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing[in
Arabic and English], Cairo 1995.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Declaration on the elimination of vio-
lence against women, Geneva, General Assembly
Resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993.
N. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, The politics of disclosing female
sexual abuse. A case study of Palestinian society, in
Child Abuse and Neglect23:12 (1999), 1275–93.
——, Blocking her exclusion. A contextually sensitive
model of intervention for handling female abuse, in
Social Service Review74:4 (2000), 620–34.
Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, La violence
à l’égard des femmes, Tunis 1995.
Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling, Report on
the status of Palestinian women based on the CEDAW
(Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women) framework[in Arabic], 2001, <http://
http://www.wclac.org/ publications1.html>.Leila HessiniCanadaDomestic violence remains an issue of concern for
Muslim women in Canada as it does for many
women in societies worldwide. The specific charac-
ter of domestic violence among Muslim communi-
ties in Canada is strongly shaped by the immigrant
status of most members of the Muslim community
and by the unique dynamics of the meeting of
Islamic culture with Canadian society and culture.
To understand the significance of these two features
it is important first to review the key demographic
characteristics of the Muslim minority community
in Canada and to review the identity challenges that
starkly face Canadian Muslim women.