Impact of Husband’s Violence Against Their Wives on Children As Experienced by a Sample of United Arab Emirates Married Women

Abstract

Violence practiced by husbands against their wives is a common phenomenon all over the world. Because there are no sufficient statistics or data about husband’s violent behaviour towards their wives and its impact on their children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this study took a sample of married women from the UAE. The sample included 128 married female university students. A reliable and valid questionnaire was given to the sample. The study indicated the following results: 1- Violence is a common practice in the UAE as it is all over the world. However, its rates may be lower; only three of every ten UAE women are subject to violence in one way or another. The most common forms that violence takes are abusing, insulting and confining women to their homes. Beating is not so common as a form of violence and torturing in the sense of causing bruises or wounds is rare. 2- Husbands who used violence with their wives were at least ten years older. 3- Wives who were subject to violence reported that such practices were repeated within less than a month. 4- Reasons for violence against wives include the wife’s disrespectful talking to her husband; the husband’s taking drugs; or the wife’s disobedience. 5- Children always express their fear and react with weeping and crying when they see their mothers abused. In some cases, children may try to defend their mothers, and beating a mother in front of her children causes fear, panic, weeping and crying for those children. This may have a negative psychological impact on the children for one-day period. If a mother is injured or wounded as a result of this beating, this impact would last for months or years. 6- Husbands may insult and abuse their wives for economic reasons; for neglecting their house affairs; for their disobedience; or when a husband takes drugs. Husbands sometimes beat their wives for economic reasons; for their indecent way of talking to their husbands; or when a husband takes drugs, and husbands also may confine their wives to their homes when they find their wives preoccupied with outdoors activities (parties, visits and so on).