Prevalence and Risk Factors for Abuse among Saudi Females, KSA

Abstract

Background: Domestic violence against Saudi women is arising recently. Also, statistics indicate that married women are the largest segment of abuse victims in Saudi society. Objectives: Estimating the prevalence of female abuse allover Saudi Arabia as well as assessing the most important factors associated with abuse. Methods: The survey was conducted during the period from January to April 2017. The study population consisted of 758Saudi Arabian females from thirteen governorates of Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire that consists of 3 scales including demographics of females and husband’s and the perception of women toward causes of abuse, frequency and types was distributed among participants. Results: The prevalence of abuse among the studied population was 32%%. The most common risk factors for being abused were addiction to drugs and alcohol. The majority of women reported minor physical abuse.About 40.5% of women asked for divorce after abuse. Being divorced, low educated, jobless, polygamy family were considerably associated with being abused. Illiterate husbands, jobless and low income were shown to be the most important male variables that were associated with abuse. Conclusion: The abuse showed a high prevalence rate (36%) indicating high ignorance of female rights as well as increasing the range of abuse allover KSA. The most significant factors associated with abuse were being working, low education of female and husband. Also, non-working husbands and poor income were related to high abuse levels.