Abstract
The gendered patterns of violence against women are largely precipitated by dominant male gender roles that define masculinity. The purpose of this study was to understand women’s encounter in abusive domestic relationships. Specifically, the research goal was to assess the extent, types, and severity of interpersonal violence (IPV) by intimate partners against married and divorced women in Kuwait. In addition, the research attempts to correlate the extent, types, and severity of IPV by intimate partners with characteristics of the study participants. The study was based on quantitative methodology. Results indicated that cultural, religious, and demographic factor values were among the highest causes of violence against women. The IPV against women in Kuwait City is reported by 71% for women who are physically abused, 81% for women who are sexually abused, 89% for women who are psychologically abused, 75% for women based on cultural and religious factors, and 65% for women battering. Clinical implications are provided to guide practitioners in identifying couples at risk and to formulate prevention and intervention strategies.
Introduction
Violence against women is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. (United Nations [UN], 1993)
Kuwait has undergone massive economic, social, and political development throughout the 20th century; in the area of marriage, most marriages in Kuwait are arranged; according to tradition, they can intermarry within clans, but not within social class, and a woman cannot marry a non-Muslim, although a man is afforded this privilege. However, strong cultural traditions, often centered on patriarchal norms about family and traditional gender norms, continue to prevail despite being increasingly in disagreement with the economic reality faced by men and women (Haj-Yahia, 2002). In Arab countries, abuse of wife is mostly seen as a matter that concern the family rather than a social problem (Douki et al., 2003; Haj-Yahia, 2002, 2005, Nazir & Tomppert, 2005). It is not strange that in most Arab countries, there is no law that opposes clearly wife beating. Sociocultural environments in which people live tend to greatly influence how they view wife beating and violence against women in general. In a study conducted by Nayak and Al-Yattama (1999) on 248 pregnant and married women presented to the obstetric clinics in Kuwait, in which the perpetrator was perceived as intending to injure, or attacks that resulted in physical injuries to the victim. The study revealed that 3% reported to be physically assaulted with weapons by their husbands, 7% suffered injuries, and 8% reported recent physical assault (last 3 months). Violence against women in Kuwaiti society can be understood in light of a social and cultural context of apatriarchal ideology and system, where violence against women is one way of maintaining power, control, and dominance of husband over wife (Hunnicutt, 2009; Krantz & Garcia-Moreno 2005; Al-Bader, 2011). Gender inequality can be partially attributed to the gender status. Husbands are accorded a higher status in the social system, where as wives are classified into a lower status (Al-Mughni, 2001).
Violence can take physical, sexual, verbal/psychological, financial, and emotional. Violence against women is about the control and coercion of women and is a significant problem in Kuwait. According to statistics issued by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice (2010) and Ministry of Planning (2013), the average annual number of reported cases of violence against women was 368 per year for each of the past 10 years in Kuwait. The actual number almost surely is much larger as many women do not report their cases for social and cultural reasons. Kuwaiti families often consider it an embarrassment if they cannot successfully address such problems without outside involvement. These attitudes are reflected in Kuwaiti law, which considers an assault against another person to be a misdemeanor, rather than a felony, unless a weapon was used. Cultural factors may place pressure on the abused spouse not to seek legal protection or even medical treatment. Various factors contributed to the high occurrence of IPV against women. This includes economic factors that render womens dependent on their husband. Economic dependency diminishes a woman’s ability to have a say in a relationship or take action in the occurrence of domestic abuse. Cultural factors also contributed to the marginalization of women making it more acceptable for domestic violence to exist in the society. Lack of effective government initiatives discourages women from seeking protection. Social acceptance of IPV against women and deeply engrained cultural beliefs on the inferiority of women as well as gender roles has encouraged the practice (Cooper & Vetere, 2005).
Literature Review
Violence against women are largely precipitated by dominant male gender roles that define masculinity. They hold that gendered masculinity is a core part of men’s identities. If men feel that their masculinity is threatened, they may seek to reinforce their masculinity through violent behavior toward women (Anderson, 1997, 2005; Dobash & Dobash, 1979; M. Johnson, 2006, Ampofo, 2008; Prügl, 2013). As such, IPV against women can be viewed as men’s attempts to reinforce their masculinity by engaging in violent behaviors, including verbal threats, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse toward their intimate partners (Stith & Farley, 1993).
Cross-cultural studies support these expectations. For instance, recent studies show that men’s display of controlling behavior is systematically associated with higher rates of violence against women across different societies (Kishor & Johnson, 2004). In addition, decision-making power monopolized by men has been associated with increased violence against women (Xu, 1997). In households where men are in charge of the decision-making process, women are at greater risk of experiencing violence, whereas egalitarian decision-making has been associated with lower rates of violence against women (Hindin & Adair, 2002; Kishor & Johnson, 2004; Xu, 1997; Xu et al., 2011). According to Goldstein (2007), “The type of violence depends on cultural, ethnic, educational and economic backgrounds. The abuse may happen once, or it may occur in a repeated and escalating pattern over a period of months or years” (p. 10). Studies show that societies with higher levels of patriarchal ideology tend to have higher rates of IPV (Levinson, 1989; Sugarman & Frankel, 1996). It is in this broader cultural context that IPV against women is likely perpetuated. In other words, patriarchal ideology and gendered resources work in tandem to place women in a subjugated position, thus increasing their risk for experiencing IPV (Cassiman, 2000; Derry, 1987; Mann & Takyi, 2009; Nukunya, 2003).
The IPV is defined as physical or psychological abuse directed toward a spouse or domestic partner, usually violence by men against women, and is a behavior used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married, living together, separated, or dating. Indeed, people in intimate relationships sometimes tend to disagree, but in some cases, disagreements exacerbate gender-based issues, such as division of duties, causing greater domestic problems (Cooper & Vetere, 2005). Physical abuse or assault is the most obvious and visible form of domestic violence. Assaults often start small, maybe a small shove during an argument or forcefully grabbing of the wrist, but over time, physical abuse (or battering) usually becomes more severe and more frequent and can result in the death of the victim (Hattery, 2009). Social isolation is a technique used by perpetrators of domestic violence to control their victims by limiting access and communication with family and friends. Lack of social support increases women’s vulnerability to abuse that may lead them to justify the abuse. The women are denied an opportunity to build social networks they would need to draw on once they leave the abusive relationship. Social isolation includes confinement to the home, overwhelming surveillance, public humiliation, and restricting communication with friends (Saltzman et al., 2002). Most often, the violence occurs in families, where it is perpetrated by the husband against the wife. The forms of family violence are different, as they consist of assaulting, hitting, kicking, threats, verbal abuse, economical abuse, and emotional abuse expressed in the creation of psychological discomfort to humiliate the woman (Karmen, 2007; Johnson, 2002). All of these and other forms of violence are tools that the abuser uses to demonstrate superiority. The most common manifestation of domestic violence occurs after intake of alcohol. In the community, violence is believed to be more common in less-educated families, but research shows that violence occurs in all strata of society. Although accurate statistics are difficult due to unwillingness to report, police believe that one in every four women is subjected to physical or mental abuse (The New York Times, 1997). Many women do not report domestic violence, as it is considered “taboo” and something shameful in our society. “The victim is ashamed to be a victim of violence.” As there is great embarrassment involved with being a victim of domestic violence, the victim, unwittingly, conceals her oppressor and the violence continues. Some victims say that they get used to it and it becomes a way of life (Karmen, 2007). Violence against women as a political act is a display of historically formed relations of negative images of discrimination of women. Often, such behavior is allowed and there is no proper punishment, which means reporting is ineffective and the abuse is further perpetuated within society (Karmen, 2007). The causes of violence against women in the family are many and varied, including economic problems, unemployment, poor living conditions, and personal characteristics of the abuser (“selfishness,” “stubborn,” or “bad character”) to violated relationships within the couple (Karmen, 2007). Another major factor for violence against women involves gender differences. In terms of physical strength, women are disadvantaged compared with men (Karmen, 2007).
The purpose of this study was to focus on IPV against married and divorced women in Kuwait society. Specifically, actions such as physical battering, sexual, and psychological abuse factors are considered to understand Kuwaiti women’s encounters in their abusive relationships. The research questions which guided the study are as follows:
The hypotheses formulated to explore these questions are as follows:
Method
Design and Sample
This study was conducted in 2017 in which a random sample of 1,335 women was recruited from the total number of 1,438 cases from residence governorates in Kuwait City. Kuwait is administratively divided into six governorates, al-Ahmadi, al-Asima (in Arabic “the capital,” including the area around Kuwait City in which approximately 96% of the total population resides), al-Farwaniyya, al-Jahra, Hawalli, and Mubarak al-Kabir. These governorates are all together consistent with their rules and law regulation and related under the Kuwaiti government policy and one ruler. The six governorates including Parliament (majlis al-umma) consists of 50 directly elected members and up to 16 ministers who are directly appointed by the emir. On the other hand, Kuwaiti society is highly stratified and divided along sect lines (Sunni/Shi’a), origin (Arab/Persian), social background (i.e., membership in a certain family, tribe, urban elite, et cetera), time of naturalization/settling in Kuwait, and religious and political views (Islamist/liberal). In terms of marriage, a woman can only marry one spouse, whereas a man has the legal right to marry four wives. Since the middle of the 20th century, the state of Kuwait has experienced dramatic economic growth as a result of oil discovery and its export to the world market. This economic success has had a great influence on the traditional lifestyle, customs, manners, and role of women in society and in the family. The sample comprised of 1,122 Kuwaiti married women and 213 divorced women. In addition, a purposive sample was selected from a housing facility for divorced women in Kuwait City; this technique was used to focus on the particular characteristics of interest. A random sample of 20 blocks was selected from six governorates. A list of 10 random houses from each block was generated using Microsoft Excel®. A sheet with all census and geographic information was given to the researchers. Prior to data collection, researchers pretested the instrument on a sample of 15 cases to ensure clarity of questions and understanding of meanings. The reason for choosing the large sample was to represent the total population of Kuwait city from which the sample was selected. Data were collected in late 2017 through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews carried out by local staff consisting of 10 researchers and one field supervisor specifically trained on the data collection process prior to the data collection stage. A preapproved time schedule by the principle researcher was given to the field supervisor. All respondents were informed of the objectives of the study, and informed consent was verbally obtained prior to the interview. Respondent were interviewed alone for confidentiality, and they participated out of their own free will. The response rate of the sample was 97%.
Data Collection and Procedures
The study employed a questionnaire with several questions that covered respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, and their beliefs about cultural aspects of violence and specifically about violence against women.
Sociodemographic data
The first part of the questionnaire included questions about the respondents, including nationality, governorate of residence, age, education, number of family members, marital status, job salary, and type of residence.
Cultural and Religion aspects of violence
The questionnaire also included questions on beliefs about cultural violence, such as a husband’s right to use violence during disputes, fear of the husband by all family members, a husband’s right to control all family members, obedience of all family members in relation to the husband, roles of each family member as defined by culture, and a husband’s right to punish his wife or any other family member.
The husband has the right to use Islamic religion as means to force his wife to meet his needs. Responses were categorized as never (1) and a great many times (4).
Violence against women
The Severity of Violence Against Women Scales (SVAWS) is a 46-item scale developed by Linda Marshall (1992) to assess the frequency and severity of physical aggression against women by their male partners. Married and divorced women were asked whether they were exposed in the past 12 months to any of the violent behaviors contained in a list (e.g., husband hit or kicked a wall or door, threw an object at you, threatened to hurt you, and threatened to kill you). Three subscales further captured the seriousness of violence, which consisted of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. The acts of violence subscale are composed of 21 items measuring minor, mild, moderate, and serious acts of physical violence (e.g., pushed or shoved you, pulled your hair, slapped you with the back of his hand, and choked you). Finally, six items measured sexual aggression inflicted by an intimate partner (e.g., physically forced you to have sex). Items were ordered based on the perceived severity of the acts. When completing the measure, women indicated how often their partners inflicted each of the acts in the past year on a scale anchored by never (1) and a great many times (4). The validity and reliability results indicated these scales have adequate internal validity (Cronbach’s α = .99) for the following subscales: (a) psychological violence, (b) physical violence, (c) severe physical violence, and (d) sexual violence.
Women’s Experiences With Battering Scale (WEB)
In addition, WEB was employed to measure women’s continuous perceptions of susceptibility to physical and psychological danger, loss of power, and control in a relationship with a male partner (Smith et al., 2002). The WEB scale can be made gender-neutral by changing “he” to “my partner,” but has not been validated with male victims of female violence or same-sex battering. Participants respond on a 6-point Likert-type scale (strongly disagree = 1; strongly agree = 6) and responses to the 10 statements are summed to create a total score. A score of 20 points or higher on the WEB is considered positive for IPV. Research has shown that the WEB is a more sensitive and comprehensive screening tool for identifying IPV compared with other validated tools that focus primarily on physical assault. Evaluation studies of the WEB have demonstrated its effectiveness in identifying IPV among African American and Caucasian women.
Quantitative Results
Statistical Analysis
Data were double entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10.0 which was used for all statistical purposes (Kinnear & Gray, 2001). Statistical significance was determined at the 95% confidence interval level.
Reliability and Validity
To determine the reliability of the various instruments used in the analysis, Cronbach’s alphas were computed. For SVAWS, the overall violence subscale showed strong internal consistency reliability with a Cronbach’s α of .934, battering scale (.65), psychological violence (.89), physical violence (.71), sexual abuse (.81), cultural and religion aspect (.75), and married and divorced women (.79, .86), respectively. The high values indicated that SVAWS has a high degree of internal consistency.
Sociodemographic Characteristics
The sample for this study consisted of 1,122 Kuwaiti married women (78%) and 213 divorced women (14.8%) from different residents governorates in Kuwait city (Jahra, Farwaniya, Hawali, Alassima, Mubarak Alkabeer, and Alahmadi). Women from Jahra governorate accounted for 50% of the sample, 32.9% were from Farwaniya governorate, 5.9% were from Hawali governorate, and 4% were from Alassima. In terms of living conditions, 46% reside in private residences for married families who bought their houses by borrowing loans from banks, 36% reside in governmental residences which the ministry of housing distributed houses for middle and lower married families, and 18% of nuclear families who live in an apartment. More women than men had completed university, 43% and 34.5%, respectively, although more husbands had attained a higher level of education. Considering household income, 48% of the salary level was 900 Kuwaiti dinar and above for the husbands and wives. Of the participating women, the majority (40.9%) was 36 years and above. Finally, 26% of respondents had families of one to five members and six to 10 members in the household.
First: Married Women Group: Factor Analysis Predicting Cultural and Religious Aspects of Violence Against Women.
Note. Eigenvalue = 3.395, % of variance = 6.49; α = .83.
Cultural and Religion Aspects of Violence Against Women
The results showed women perceive a cultural acceptance of violence, and indeed that women themselves accept these cultural beliefs. One of these beliefs is a male member’s right to punish any family member or wife if he or she commits or misbehaviors; 88%, 75%, respectively). Women believe in obedience to the husband (96%) and his control (55%) of all family members. The majority of the sample (79%) believed that the husband has the right to punish his wife, and 33% believed the husband has the right to use violence during family disputes. Finally, 73% of the sample stated that the husband has the right to use Islamic religion as means to force his wife to meet his needs. The results indicated that wives internalize cultural beliefs that justify violence against women. These finding is consisted with Haj-Yahia’s (2003) findings that most wives accept wife beating and abuse by husband.
Measurement Validity and Reliability
An exploratory factor analysis has been done to the cultural data to evaluate the internal validity and reliability. Second, a confirmatory factor analysis has been applied by splitting the data set into two random assignments. Tables 1 and 2 are explaining factor analysis for both groups married women and divorced women. Table 1 shows the statistical characteristics of the respondents. Cultural and religious aspects of violence against women consisted four items; nevertheless, the reliability coefficient of .83 attested to its internal consistency. The four items were related to factors that may predict cultural and religious factors against women. This construct explained a variation of 6.49% and 7.24% (Tables 1 and 2). In Table 1, we indicated that the husband has the right to use Islamic religion as a means to force his wife to meet his needs has the highest mean score of 2.44. The result suggested that cultural as well as religious beliefs play a significant role on violence against women. The results presented an interesting knowledge to the existing literature, where women in Kuwait perceived their violence experiences as amotivation to surrender themselves to husbands needs against their will. The Islamic scholars argued that, “If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e., to have sexual relations) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning” (Muslim). Also, “When a man calls his wife to satisfy his desire, she must go to him even if she is occupied at the oven.” (Ibn Ma’jah). These findings are consistent with western and Arab literature. Thus, traditions, cultural background and the influence of religion are associated with this social problem (Cassiman, 2000; Cooper & Vetere, 2005; Derry, 1987; Haj-Yahia, 2003; Mann & Takyi, 2009; Nukunya, 2003).
Second Divorced Women Group: Factor Analysis Predicting Cultural and Religious Aspects of Violence Against Women.
Note. Eigenvalue = 5.412, % of variance = 7.24; α = .79.
As shown in Table 3, overall, there are strong positive associations, and significant correlations at the level of .01 between all the factors in the model. For example, the correlation coefficient relationship between cultural and religious factors and serious violence against women is .654. This correlation coefficient is very high, implying that there is a strong positive relationship between cultural and religious factors and serious violence against women. Therefore, we conclude that there is a significant relationship between cultural and religious factors and serious violence against women. Also, sexual, psychological abuses, and women’s battering have the highest and significant association with serious violence against women. These findings from Table 3 are consistent with the previous literature review in this study.
Correlation Coefficient for the Factors Model.
Correlation is significant at the .01 level (two-tailed).
As shown in Table 4, a regressions model was developed in order to measure how cultural and religious factor along with socioeconomic status (SES) and other demographic variables would be used in order to measure the violence against women in this study.
Cultural and Religious Factor and Demographic Variables Measuring Violence Against Women: Multiple Linear Regressions.
Dependent variable: serious physical violence. bDummy coded, never married is the category. cR square .379.
The R² for the dependent variable, serious physical violence explains approximately 37% of the variance among the other independent variables. The observed data are consistent (t = 13.68, p = .000) with the research hypothesis. There is a positive linear effect of level of age (B = .441), level of education (B = 0.539), married (B = 0.673), divorced (B = 0.576), and cultural and religious factors (B = 0.702) on serious physical violence. Thus, the research hypothesis indicates that there are positive linear effects of cultural, religious, and demographic factors on serious physical violence. However, the level of income increases as the expected value of physical violence decrease by B = −0.045.
Multiple Regressions Predicting Physical Violence Against Women
The result in Table 5 explains approximately 52% of the variance on serious physical violence on women in terms of battering, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and cultural factor, and a significant regression equation was found, F(4, 939) = 64.172; p < .000, with an R2 = .215. The observed data (t = 5.20, p = .000) are consistent with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of battering on serious physical violence (B = 0.25). In addition, the standardized regression coefficient indicates a positive linear effect of battering on serious physical violence (β = .14). As a result, the data are consistent with the research hypothesis that women’s battering is positively correlated with serious physical violence. The observed data (t = 19.75, p = .000) are also consistent with the research hypothesis that the unstandardized regression coefficient (B = 0.17) indicates the positive linear effect of psychological abuse, on serious physical violence. Also, the standardized regression coefficient (β = .53) indicates the positive linear effect of psychological abuse on serious physical violence. The observed data are consistent (t = 5.48, p = .00) with the research hypothesis that the unstandardized regression coefficient (B = 0.27) indicates the positive linear effect of sexual abuse on serious physical violence. The standardized regression coefficient (β = .14) indicates the positive linear effect of sexual abuse on serious physical violence. Finally, the observed data (t = 2.70, p = .007) are consistent with the research hypothesis that the unstandardized regression coefficient (B = 0.213) indicates the positive linear effect of cultural factor on serious physical violence. Also, the standardized regression coefficient (β = .075) indicates the positive linear effect of cultural factor on serious physical violence.
Serious Physical Violence.
Dependent variable: serious physical violence.
The result in Table 6 explains approximately 48% of the variance on minor physical violence on women in terms of battering, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and cultural factor, and a significant regression equation was found, F(4, 909) = 73.162; p < .000, with an R2 = .244. The observed data (t = 2.46, p = .00) are consistent with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of women battering on minor physical violence (B = 0.01). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .01) indicates a positive linear effect of women battering on minor physical violence. As a result, the data are consistent with the research hypothesis that women’s battering is positively correlated with minor physical violence. The observed data (t = 10.16, p = .000) are consistent with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of psychological abuse on minor physical violence (B = 0.07). The standardized regression coefficient (β = 0.34) indicates a positive linear effect of psychological abuse on minor physical violence. The observed data are consistent (t = 3.03, p = .00) with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of sexual abuse on minor physical violence (B = 0.18). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .09) indicates a positive linear effect of sexual abuse on minor physical violence. Finally, the observed data are consistent (t = 4.52, p = .000) with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of cultural factors on minor physical violence (B = 0.27). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .15) indicates a positive linear effect of cultural factors on minor physical violence.
Minor Physical Violence.
Dependent variable: minor physical violence.
The result in Table 7 shows a significant regression equation, F(4, 930) = 78.558; p < .000, with an R2 = .253, and explains approximately 50% of the variance on mild physical violence on women in terms of battering, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and cultural factor. The observed data are consistent (t = 1.84, p = .00) with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of women battering on mild physical violence (B = 0.06). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .06) indicates a positive linear effect of women battering on mild physical violence. As a result, the data are consistent with the research hypothesis that women battering positively correlate with mild physical violence. The observed data (t = 11.59, p = .00) are consistent with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of psychological abuse on mild physical violence (B = 0.07). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .38) indicates a positive linear effect of psychological abuse on mild physical violence. The observed data are consistent (t = 3.76, p = .00) with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of sexual abuse on mild physical violence (B = 0.13). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .11) indicates the positive linear effect of sexual abuse on mild physical violence. Finally, the observed data are consistent (t = 1.23, p = .00) with the research hypothesis of a positive linear effect of cultural factors on mild physical violence (B = 0.06). The standardized regression coefficient (β = .042) indicates a positive linear effect of cultural factors on mild physical violence.
Mild Physical Violence.
Dependent variable: mild physical violence.
As shown in Table 8, the R² for the dependent variable of total violence against women explains approximately 94% of the variance by all the other independent variables. The observed data are consistent with the previous research hypotheses, and all the independent scales on Table 4 were significant at the point level of .05.
Total Violence Against Women.
Dependent variable: total violence against women.
Discussion
The study found that IPV is still very prevalent, according to most of the married and divorced women who participated in the current research. Quantitative data showed that physical abuse, battering, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and cultural factors against women were the highest of violence against married and divorced women. Wide spread cultural and social norms that support violence against women in Kuwait are fostered by cultural and social expectations that underpin gender roles of men and women, which generally devalue woman. Violence against women is justified, accepted, and normalized by social culture. Married and divorced women have tolerated violence out of fear, to avoid social stigma and protect their personal and familial reputations. In the Kuwaiti cultural context, the concept of masculinity portrays men as physiologically, morally, and intellectually superior to women and provides the rationale for the patriarchal basis of society. There is belief that marriage is a test of character and a woman should be fully prepared to endure all the challenges of the family institution.
According to gender theory, the gendered patterns of violence against women are largely precipitated by dominant male gender roles that define masculinity. If men feel that their masculinity is threatened, they may seek to reinforce their masculinity through violent behavior toward women. The results of this study are consistent with the literature review (Anderson, 1997, 2005; Dobash & Dobash, 1979; M. Johnson, 2006). A critical inspection of participants’ responses points to the theory of gender roles norms, which suggests that men specialize in production and creation of cultural values and artifacts in the“publicsphere,” whereas women are assigned roles of procreation, care, and maintenance in the “domestic sphere.” This is consistent with the findings of Coontz and Henderson (1986), Parsons and Bales (1955), and Rosaldo (1974).
Some Kuwaiti women believed that the best way to handle a problem is to cover it up and endure in silence. Unfortunately, women’s unwillingness to “wash the dirty linen of the marriage in public” through third-party disclosures provides men with the motivation to use violence. Thus, much to the disenchantment of the woman who thinks that “he will change,” a change proves to be long in coming.
The discussion here draws on Walker’s (1979, 2009) cycle theory of marital violence. Violence against women is a cyclical phenomenon that goes through three phases of tension: building and gradual escalation of hostility (Phase 1); the acute battering phase where the violence is committed (Phase 2); and a loving contrition phase in which the man apologizes, performs acts of appeasement, and pledges to beloving and caring henceforth (Phase 3). According to Walker, this contrition phase is usually short lived as the man soon finds reasons to use violence. Although Walker’s (2009) theory contributes something to our understanding of violence in intimate relationships, the theory concentrates more on physical violence and portrays women as pathological victims.
The current research results also support Saltzman et al. (2002), who found that women were restricted from seeing friends or contacting family of origin, and that men wanted to know women’s whereabouts at all times, ignored or treated her with indifference, expressed jealous anger if she spoke with another man, suspected her of unfaithfulness witch craft if she was not forthcoming on her movements, and restricted her access to health care. Men’s motivation to control a wife’s contact with her family of origin can be understood in light of the social convention that gives men the message that “my wife is my property.” Custom and tradition give men exclusive right over women’s bodies and services (Cassiman, 2000; Derry,1987; Nukunya, 2003).
Implications
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in resolution 1994/1945, adopted on March 4, 1994, appointed a Special Reporter on violence against women, including its causes and consequences. According to his or her mandate, the Special Reporter is requested to the following:
Seek and receive information on violence against women, its causes, and consequences from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, and other special reporters responsible for various human rights questions, and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, including women’s organizations, and to respond effectively to such information.
Recommend measures, ways, and means at the local, national, regional, and international levels to eliminate all forms of violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences.
Work closely with all special procedures and other human rights mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and with the treaty bodies, taking into account the request of the Council that they regularly and systematically integrate the human rights of women and a gender perspective into their work, and cooperate closely with the Commission on the Status of Women in the discharge of its functions.
Continue to adopt a comprehensive and universal approach to the elimination of violence against women, its causes, and consequences, including causes of violence against women relating to the civil, cultural, economic, political, and social spheres.
Women in Kuwait face violence every day, and because of cultural constraints, they stay silent. We see this in our practice every day and try our best to support victimized women, but it seems we need society on our side. Our vision is to finally create a shift in attitude and contact the government and policy makers to pass laws that protect women and children from abuse and allocate appropriate resources.
We would like to invite women to join the “Begin by Breaking the Silence,” and encourage them to take the initiative in researching the topic more and to blog about it if they are interested. The Kuwaiti announcement for renouncing violence against women was made during the sixth session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), held in Kuwait in December 2013. The declaration affirmed adoption of principles such as respect for women rights. Moreover, it condemned all forms of violence against women, noting catastrophic implications of such abuses on the family and the society.
Furthermore, it called on men to take part in national initiatives to combat IPV. Kuwait has taken part in a chain of international seminars and conventions that address women affairs and problems; the latest of which was the assembly, held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union themed gender equality and eradicating violence against women. Although the Kuwaiti legislature has ensured that this gender should be protected with all necessary bills and laws, more legislation is needed to ensure that women do not remain targets of verbal or physical maltreatment. The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Resolution 54/134). The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence, and other forms of violence. Furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.
Women should learn how to define their problems to their partners clearly. Letting their spouse know the problem they wish to solve before a negotiation session would help their partners to prepare for the meeting and hopefully develop their own plan. This would prevent flair ups. After defining the problem, the men should learn to cooperate with their partners to generate a long list of possible solutions of which the partners in an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation choose the best choice among the stated. This will influence a willingness on both sides to work out aviable compromise solution. The implementation phase will involve discussion of who will do what, how, and when. Participating in a plan evaluation phase for the men would be crucial to review how each partner is satisfied with the results of the plan.
Kuwait Society for Basic Constituents of Human Rights (KSBCHR) is a nongovernment organization that provides advice. They do not have legal authority or competency to interfere in cases of violence, but they do advise the victims on what to do and where to seek help. Therefore, in case of physical attack or defamation, for instance, the victim should go to the police station to complain, as these are acts of crimes. They work on eliminating all kinds of violation through symposiums and fight this phenomenon.
They also provide advice on where to seek help such as the Family Consultation Department, the Reconciliation Center, Child and Maternity Regional Center, Listening Center, Social Development Office, and Family Development Department. Women visit such centers if they are insulted or beaten by their husbands. They choose not to go to the police for the sake of the family but still need a solution. On the other hand, centers also deal with cases where women are abused or indirectly offended by their male boss and put them down just because they are in a superior position.
Kuwaiti government and development partners must provide adequate funding and recruit qualified social workers to ensure the effective functioning of solving IPV. Second, the current policy that requires women to report domestic violence to the police should be replaced with one that directs all such cases to the social work desks. Social workers should be the front line professionals for women reporting violence because women will be more willing and comfortable to deal with social workers than with the police.
Finally, training the men to master the art of conflict resolution may prevent conflicts in the family from escalating to violence. One ground rule of conflict resolution that violent men need be trained to understand is that their partners’ point of view is as valid as their own point of view. A spouse feels just as strongly about her ideas and feelings as the husband does about his own. With this knowledge, violent men would be able to approach negotiations with some respect for their partners’ point of view.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The author received a grant from Kuwait University-Research Sector.
