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JEDDAH: Abused Saudi women continue to be reluctant to report to authorities that they are physically abused because they fear breaking up their home and risking the safety of their children.
As little as 1 percent of Saudi women report that they are victims of domestic violence and plan to seek help from social services, according to a recent study published by Dr. Waffah Fageeh, with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at King Abduaziz University Hospital in Jeddah.
Fegeeh’s study polled Saudi women in 2011-2012 and was published in January, but women continue to shun services because the entire family could suffer. And domestic abuse cases continue to rise.
A new National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) report revealed that it received 366 cases of domestic violence against women in 2016, up from 295 in 2015. Child abuse cases increased from 154 in 2015 to 188 in 2016.
Munira Al-Jwiri, a Riyadh lawyer, told Arab News that, “Family disintegration and divorce are among the crucial reasons why women fear reporting their cases.”
Although domestic violence is a common problem among women in Jeddah, only a negligible proportion of women plan to seek help. Policy makers should therefore improve social support services to encourage and cater for the needs of abused women, according to women’s rights advocates interviewed by Arab News.
“Some ladies accept whatever violence they face from their spouses and do not report it according to their religious beliefs and culture,” Fegeeh told Arab News.
“Ladies used to write comments below the questionnaire paper asking if there are places for them to use as shelters, which shows that there is a lack of awareness regarding the places to go,” she added.
She also said that most women refuse to ask for help from people outside the family because they fear being belittled and that their families may not accept them when they return home.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that about one in three women worldwide have experienced either physical and or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
The NSHR reported that it has received thousands of complaints of domestic violence in the past 10 years. These complaints included physical, sexual, financial and psychological abuse.
The plight of victims of domestic abuse is exacerbated by the low level of awareness of shelters, or protection homes. Further, at least one home protection home is not operating at capacity.
Al-Madinah Daily reported that Saeed bin Khalaf Al-Ghamdi, deputy director general of the Labor Ministry, said recently that, “the ministry’s Social Protection Home in Jeddah is empty of inmates for the first time in eight years.”
Al-Ghamdi attributed this to the increased level of awareness in society as well as the increased efforts exerted by the home’s officials.
However, Fageeh said an empty women’s shelter is not necessarily a good sign in a city of more than 3 million people.
“Having an empty protection home can not be a sign for the success of the awareness campaign,” Fageeh said.
Protection houses provide safety for victims who must be protected via a rehabilitation plan to offer the most suitable solutions.
Khalid Abalkhail, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, said victims of domestic abuse must meet specific criteria before admission.
“The home doesn’t receive any cases unless (the victim) has been exposed to a strong physical abuse that was medically proved,” he said.
Fegeeh said Saudi women rather sacrifice their personal well being to ensure the safety of their children. “Women prefer not to report their cases because they have no other shelters but their bad husband’s homes,” she said.
Although rehabilitation is offered to abuse victims from protection homes, some women refuse to go back home even when their problems are solved.
“Saudi women can make use of the social insurance disbursed of financial dues to have a private shelter,” Al-Jwiri said. “They can use it as their private income.”
Yet protection of women in shelters is restrictive. Protection houses limit a woman’s stay at the shelter for only three days. Their domestic issues must be resolved, including the guardian signing a pledge to stop the abuse, and the woman is returned home, according to Suhaila Zain Al-Abideen, a senior member of the NSHR.
But the Labor Ministry’s Abalkhail said the three-day time period could be extended. “The team sets a plan to solve the problem within the time determined, including making sure that no violence will occur again to these abused individuals,” he said.
These homes are temporary residences for abused women of any age and children under 18 years old. The homes provide temporary shelter, reform and social and psychological rehabilitation.
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