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Report cites female acceptance of domestic abuse

[Jordan] Physical violence against women is rampant in impoverished areas. [Date picture taken: 05/31/2006] Maria Font de Matas/IRIN
Physical violence against women is rampant in impoverished areas
Women’s rights activists said on Thursday that they were “horrified but not surprised” to learn that a majority of single women in the kingdom approved of physical punishment by husbands for disciplinary reasons. “It’s unimaginable that women's dignity has sunk to the level of accepting humiliation and beatings,” said Adab Saud, a member of parliament and women’s rights activist. A health ministry study released on 30 May revealed that 53 percent of unmarried women accept the idea of physical punishment, compared to only 40 percent of their male counterparts. The study further showed that some 45 percent of married men and women also approve of the phenomena. Women’s rights activists said the study served to reflect the magnitude of “the social tribulations in the kingdom” and represents “a wake up call” to the government and civil society. Activist Reem Abu Hassan, for one, believes the findings should be met by government efforts to establish a system to protect women from domestic abuse, adding that Jordan’s current legal system does not encourage victims of domestic violence to come forward. “If a woman complains to authorities, the husband will be sent to jail,” said Reem. “This isn’t an option, because no woman wants to put her husband behind bars – she only wants him to stop beating her.” Reem believes that the government should join hands with civil society to establish a policy of educating both men and women, from all levels of society, on the ills of domestic abuse. “We must protect the victims and the abusers, otherwise women won’t want to complain and abuses will continue to be internalised,” she said. Every year, an average of 25 women are killed by family members for having sex out of wedlock, in what is commonly known in the Middle East as “honour crime”. Men who commit honour killings usually receive light sentences of between six months and one year in prison. Another study released on the same day, conducted by the Queen Zein al-Sharaf Institute for Development and the United Nations Population Fund, indicated that 65 percent of citizens living in impoverished areas attest to physical violence against women in their communities. MBH/AR/AM

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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