Differential factors in the evaluation of the Palestinian administrative system of response to domestic violence.

BACKGROUND

The Palestinian National Referral System for Abused Women, issued in 2022, was created to assist individuals affected by family-based violence by providing them with protection and offering standardized procedures for addressing the needs of women and children affected by violence and abuse.

OBJECTIVES

The current study was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of a sample of Palestinian adults related to the Palestinian Referral System for victims of family-based violence, as well as to examine the social and demographic factors that may affect an individual's opinion of the system.

METHODS

The study sample included 608 adult respondents living in the West Bank of Palestine.

RESULTS

The data concluded that a vast majority of the sample (78%) had a positive opinion of the response system and felt that it was effective, comprehensive, and aligned with the Palestinian community's cultural and religious core values. The data demonstrated that the most robust factor was gender, with female respondents indicating higher levels of satisfaction with the system than males. Education level was significant, with more highly educated individuals expressing higher positive attitudes about the system than less educated participants.

CONCLUSION

Further research needs to focus on public opinion related to systems of addressing family-based violence, which distinguishes between unpopular legal solutions and practical service provision options that are more generally supported by the Palestinian population. Increasing Islamic and male-focused programming that identifies domestic violence as oppression and outside of cultural norms related to the protection of vulnerable people is another recommendation that stems from the data that demonstrated significant differences between male and female respondents in their support of the current response system for domestic violence.