Abo-Elfetoh Nagah M, Abd El-Mawgod Mohamed M
aPublic Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag bPublic Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt cPublic Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2015 Sep;90(3):87-93. doi: 10.1097/01.EPX.0000467223.22719.36.
Violence against women is a worldwide epidemic. It may take different forms depending on history, culture, background, and experiences, but it causes great suffering for women, their families, and the communities in which they live. Despite its high prevalence, no previous studies that have been conducted in Arar, northern area of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), addressing this issue could be traced.
The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence and determinants of violence experienced by ever-married women attending primary health centers in Arar city, Northern Border, KSA.
This study is a cross-sectional study conducted during the period from January to June 2014 in Arar city in the Northern Province of the KSA. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A total of 208 wives (184 currently married, 16 divorced, and eight widowed) attending five randomly selected primary healthcare centers in Arar, KSA, were interviewed. Collected data provided information on both physical and emotional violence.
The study revealed that the overall prevalence of domestic violence in the studied group was 80.7 and 100.0% for physical and psychological violence, respectively. On studying the reasons for physical violence, half (50%) of the participants reported no clear cause, 19.2% reported failure to adequately care for children (such as cleaning, feeding, and dressing), and 7.8% reported causes related to poor scholastic achievement and couple conflict about appropriate approaches of upbringing of children. Suspicion on wife's fidelity was the most common form of psychological violence (21%). The perpetrator was the husband in 76.9% of cases and the husband's family was the perpetrator in 3.8% of cases. Physical violence was significantly higher during the first 10 years of marriage compared with other durations. University-educated husbands showed significantly lower percentage of physical violence against women compared with those of other educational levels.
Violence against women was highly prevalent in Arar city. Inadequate care of children and poor scholastic achievement were the most common reasons of physical violence, whereas financial conflicts and suspicion of wife's fidelity were the most common reasons for psychological violence. We recommend awareness programs aiming at educating current and future couples, and proper training of healthcare providers for assisting cases experiencing violence against women.
针对妇女的暴力行为是一个全球性的问题。根据历史、文化、背景和经历的不同，它可能呈现出不同的形式，但会给妇女及其家庭以及她们生活的社区带来巨大痛苦。尽管其发生率很高，但在沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）北部地区的阿拉尔，此前尚未发现有针对该问题的研究。
本研究旨在衡量沙特阿拉伯王国北部边境阿拉尔市初级卫生保健中心已婚妇女遭受暴力的发生率及其决定因素。
本研究为横断面研究，于2014年1月至6月期间在沙特阿拉伯王国北部省份的阿拉尔市开展。数据通过访谈式问卷收集。共对在沙特阿拉伯王国阿拉尔市随机选取的五家初级卫生保健中心就诊的208名妻子（184名目前已婚，16名离婚，8名丧偶）进行了访谈。收集的数据提供了有关身体暴力和情感暴力的信息。
研究显示，研究组中家庭暴力的总体发生率为80.7%，身体暴力和心理暴力的发生率分别为100.0%。在研究身体暴力的原因时，一半（50%）的参与者表示没有明确原因，19.2%的参与者表示未能充分照顾孩子（如清洁、喂食和穿衣），7.8%的参与者表示原因与学业成绩差以及夫妻在子女养育方式上的冲突有关。对妻子忠诚度的怀疑是最常见的心理暴力形式（21%）。76.9%的案件中施暴者是丈夫，3.8%的案件中施暴者是丈夫的家人。与其他婚姻时长相比，结婚头10年期间身体暴力发生率显著更高。与其他教育水平的丈夫相比，受过大学教育的丈夫对妇女实施身体暴力的比例显著更低。
阿拉尔市针对妇女的暴力行为非常普遍。对孩子照顾不周和学业成绩差是身体暴力最常见的原因，而经济冲突和对妻子忠诚度的怀疑是心理暴力最常见的原因。我们建议开展提高认识项目，旨在教育当前和未来的夫妻，并对医疗保健提供者进行适当培训，以协助处理遭受针对妇女暴力行为的案例。
