Abstract
BackgroundDomestic violence (DV) is considered a public health issue in Saudi Arabia as well as a violation of a fundamental human right. DV causes many acute and chronic physical and mental health consequences. Cultural taboos and lack of awareness regarding the appropriate support services can increase the number of cases annually.The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of DV in women attending the National Guard Primary Health Care Clinics in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with patients attending five Primary Health Care Centers in Jeddah from August 2017 to February 2018. A convenient sampling method was used. In total, 1845 participants were invited to complete a self-report validated Arabic version of the Norvold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (NORAQ) to determine the prevalence and risk factors of DV. All women between 18 and 65 years who met the inclusion criteria were included. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package Social Sciences) version 24.0.ResultsThe lifetime prevalence of DV in the study sample was 33.24%, with psychological abuse the most prevalent (48.47%), followed by physical abuse (34.77%) and sexual abuse (16.75%). A small proportion (4.1%) suffered from all three types of abuse. Risk factors for being a victim of abuse include being single or divorced, having a postgraduate level of education, employed, and being financially independent of the husband.ConclusionDV is prevalent in Saudi Arabia. Modernization has shifted the risk factors, identifying the risk factors and victim characteristics would support the development and implementation of preventive and screening programs to facilitate the early identification of cases as well as the initiation of empowerment programs for Saudi women.
Highlights
Domestic violence (DV) is considered a public health issue in Saudi Arabia as well as a violation of a fundamental human right
This study demonstrates that, with the change of the DV risk factors, the prevalence of domestic violence remains the same, Wali et al BMC Public Health (2020) 20:239 which lets us think of developing interventions that aim to decrease the prevalence like public educational programs and screening programs for women presenting to the primary care centers
Some societies do not recognize DV as a social issue, it is a global phenomenon as it breaches fundamental human rights [4]
Summary
Domestic violence (DV) is considered a public health issue in Saudi Arabia as well as a violation of a fundamental human right. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of DV in women attending the National Guard Primary Health Care Clinics in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Some societies do not recognize DV as a social issue, it is a global phenomenon as it breaches fundamental human rights [4]. DV against women has become a global problem and is prevalent in both Western and Arab countries. Societies that do not recognize DV as a problem may overlook the physical, emotional, and social consequences of the victims, their families, and society as a whole, with suicide attempts being the most recent consequence [4, 8]
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