DOMESTIC

VIOLENCE
DEFINITION OF
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Domestic violence is any behavior
the purpose of which is to gain power and
control over a spouse, partner,
girl/boyfriend or intimate family
member. Abuse is a learned behavior; it is
not caused by anger, mental problems,
drugs or alcohol, or other common
excuses.
HISTORY
Domestic violence is on the rise In Iraq, and
there are few places for abused and vulnerable
women to seek refuge, an Al-Jazeera story reports.
Rights groups have said that domestic violence has
increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003,
leaving many women in danger and with nowhere
to turn. Few women have relatives who are willing
to take them in after escaping their abusive
husbands, and there are no government-run
shelters for women outside northern Kurdistan in
Iraq.
After Saddam Hussein fell, many extremist
religious groups became a more prominent part
of Iraqi society, and some of these groups
consider shelters for abused women “distasteful
and immoral,” according to the Organization for
Women’s Freedom in Iraq. The organization,
which has lobbied for government-run shelters
for years, cannot get a license for a shelter but
runs a safe-house in a secret location for women
who would be killed if they returned to their
families.
STATISTICS
Domestic violence remains a serious
problem in Iraq. The Iraq Family Health Survey
(IFHS) 2006/7 found that one in five Iraqi
women are subject to physical domestic
violence. A 2012 Ministry of Planning study
found that at least 36 percent of married
women reported experiencing some form of
psychological abuse from their husbands,
23 percent to verbal abuse, 6 percent to
physical violence, and 9 percent to sexual
violence.
Violence against women in the home is a major
problem that prevents women’s full participation
in society. One in five women (21%) in Iraq
aged 15-49 has suffered physical violence
at the hands of the husband. 14% of women
who suffered physical violence were
pregnant at the time. 33% have suffered
emotional violence, and 83% have been
subjected to controlling behavior by the
husbands.
TYPES OF ABUSE
1. Physical abuse
2. Sexual Abuse
3. Spiritual Abuse
4. Emotional Abuse
5. Psychological abuse
6. Domestic Abuse
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
• Jealousy and possessiveness
• Domestic Service
• Sex
• Blame
SOLUTIONS
• Increase Protections for Victims; Set Penalties
for Abusers

• The Iraqi parliament should set penalties for the

crime of domestic violence, remove provisions
that prioritize reconciliation over justice, and
improve victim protections in a domestic
violence bill, Human Rights Watch said today in
a letter and memorandum to the speaker of
parliament
 The strengths of the draft bill include
provisions for services for domestic violence
survivors, protection orders (restraining orders)
and penalties for their breach, and the
establishment of a cross-ministerial committee
to combat domestic violence. However,
the memorandum identifies several gaps and
approaches in the bill that would undermine its
effectiveness.
END