Domestic violence in GCC: 1 in 3 women
An interesting article in the Kuwait Times, which offers a frank and rare examination of domestic abuse in the Gulf.
Source for full article: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTE4OTM2OTMxOQ==
One in three women in Kuwait 'a domestic violence victim'
KUWAIT: Domestic violence in the Middle East, including Kuwait, is a relatively unexamined topic. With a severe lack of information, prosecutions or victims coming forward, it's difficult to identify the extent of its prevalence and why it takes place. According to Dr Moez Doraid, the Officer-in-Charge of the UN Women's Division of Management and Administration, "The Arab region has the lowest number of countries with laws against domestic violence, sexual harassment and marital rape.
The continuation of such violence is defended by cultural generalizations, Dr Doraid adds, with many officials insisting, "That problem doesn't exist here because our culture and family traditions ensure that women are protected.
The remedy for such generalizations is not difficult, however, he continues: "Conducting a scientific, objective survey and independent survey, by the state or by a civil society organization would dispel any inaccurate generalizations.
The issue of the available data or lack thereof on domestic violence was covered in the recently released Human Rights Watch 2010 country summary on Kuwait: "There exists no data on the prevalence of violence against women in Kuwait," it stated, continuing, "Victims are often reluctant to file complaints with the police because redress for domestic abuse through the criminal justice system remains elusive. Perpetrators are rarely arrested even when women file complaints with the police that are regularly s
upported by medico-legal evidence.
Whilst no solid data is available, the Ministry of Justice revealed back in January this year that over one-third of Kuwaiti women suffer domestic abuse. The information was collected from couples who had attended counseling. This data only represents those who have tried to improve their marriages, however, whether domestic violence was involved or not. This means that the sections of society which remain totally silent on the subject aren't represented, so the number of women suffering in silence can't e
ven be approximated.
Corruption is a central factor preventing successful prosecution, as watchdog organization Freedom House reported the practice of abusive husbands offering bribes to police to drop the case. Furthermore, the US Department of State notes that Kuwaiti law "does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, although victims may file a complaint with police and the abusers can be charged with assault. Arrests and prosecution for domestic abuse are uncommon due to a strong cultural and social bias in favor of se
eking to resolve such issues within the family.
Among the most advanced regional nations in protecting against violence towards women are Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco while sexual harassment in the workplace is outlawed in Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and Tunisia, says Dr Doraid.
Culture doesn't have to be something working against protecting women's rights, however, but can in fact be used to defend them.
ahhhh once again 2012 shows his true colours - yes that is right, anything remotely negative about this region must automatically come from the west and of course be bogus. Keep it up!
@ 2012Olympics,now i understand what they mean by the term "homegrown terror"...you constantly abuse the "infidel West" & yet you hold a British passport???(according to your profile at least) & just to emphasize your "Western connection",in the 'tell us about yourself',your single sentence reads: "Born in UK but living in ME most of my life"...so you have no issues with the benefits of being a citizen of the UK but you abuse them(the west) in almost every post...does the word hypocrite ring a bell?...
When will this ever end? Open a news publication and we are subjected to stories from around the world of all kinds of spouse abuses even deadly ones! This is so so sad...sadder still when its practiced in Muslim countries when our Prophet has said " "He is the best amongst you who is the kindest towards his wives" and to the women : ""The woman who dies in the state of her husband being pleased with her will enter Jannah .God save us all from such evil...Aameen!
Why would someone tell you if their husband was beating them Olympics?
More lies and propaganda from West. I have lived here very long time and know few women in such situation. In West many many women being abused mostly due to not being modest and going home with men.
@ tinker,yeah i know i have & i've already said i've been guilty of it as well so really...let that rest! have a nice day! :)...
@ tinker,this is what happens when one reads something with tinted lenses!...now take a deep breath & re read my post,you have quite obviously misread the word "REGION" as "RELIGION" & then i'm safely presuming,didn't bother to read the rest of the post having made up your mind already...not ONCE have i mentioned the word "RELIGION" ANYWHERE in my posts...i too have very close Indian muslim friends & i can tell you for a fact,they respect women just as much as the rest of us,if not more...in keeping with the OP,this is about the attitude of local men in this REGION & their views of women...i would sincerely request you actually READ what is written before shooting your mouth off,i have to admit i'm guilty of it myself in the past & it really makes one look foolish when the mistake is pointed out...so to avoid further embarrasment,kindly read properly word for word BEFORE startting to bang on that keyboard!...please & thank you...
Hopefully articles like this will make the region realize that they have an issue and address it in a pro active manner, rather than blaming others and scapegoating as seems to be the normal way of things around here.
This shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who has a fair idea of this region & the way it's men look down upon members of the opposite gender...they definitely don't consider them as equals & use the excuse of "our culture & tradition" to mistreat & generally disrespect their women...the sad part is a LOT of these women think it's ok to be treated like that,hopefully education & exposure is changing that outlook but it's going to take some time to change these attitudes that have been set in over generations...the same is happening back home in India however the change in question is far ahead of this region with women asserting themselves in every possible field along with a significant change in men's attitudes in the current generation,something that is still a distant pipe dream in this neck of the woods...but better late than never eh?...
Keep it up..
I wish that all those people who said to Dr. Doraid
"That problem doesn't exist here because our culture and family traditions ensure that women are protected."
Are following the above sentence restrictly.
please have a look at this website from UAE
http://www.awqaf.ae/Jumaa.aspx?Lang=EN&SectionID=15&RefID=1074
have a nice day guys
cool stroy bro