Prevalence of intimate partner violence against women in the Arab world: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundViolence against women has particular importance for women’s health and wellbeing in the Arab world, where women face persistent barriers to social, political and economic equality. This review aims to summarize what is known about the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional/psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in the 22 countries of the Arab League, including geographic coverage, quality and comparability of the evidence.MethodsA systematic review of IPV prevalence in Arab countries was carried out among peer-reviewed journal articles and national, population-based survey reports published by international research programmes and/or governments. Following PRISMA guidelines, Medline and the Social Sciences Citation Index were searched with Medical Subject Headings terms and key words related to IPV and the names of Arab countries. Eligible sources were published between January 2000 and January 2016, in any language. United Nations databases and similar sources were searched for national surveys. Study characteristics, operational definitions and prevalence data were extracted into a database using Open Data Kit Software. Risk of bias was assessed with a structured checklist.ResultsThe search identified 74 records with population or facility-based IPV prevalence data from eleven Arab countries, based on 56 individual datasets. These included 46 separate survey datasets from peer-reviewed journals and 11 national surveys published by international research programmes and/or governments. Seven countries had national, population-based IPV estimates. Reported IPV prevalence (ever) ranged from 6% to more than half (59%) (physical); from 3 to 40% (sexual); and from 5 to 91% (emotional/ psychological). Methods and operational definitions of violence varied widely, especially for emotional/psychological IPV, limiting comparability.ConclusionsIPV against women in Arab countries represents a public health and human rights problem, with substantial levels of physical, sexual and emotional/psychological IPV documented in many settings. The evidence base is fragmented, however, suggesting a need for more comparable, high quality research on IPV in the region and greater adherence to international scientific and ethical guidelines. There is a particular need for national, population-based data to inform prevention and responses to violence against women, and to help Arab countries monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Improving measurement of child abuse and neglect: A systematic review and analysis of national prevalence studies

“…Additionally, our data extraction method for the quality assessment was not formally validated, but we adopted an approach similar to that used elsewhere [32,35,45] considering key variables in detail. Similarly, while there were no previously validated risk of bias measures for this specific type of prevalence study, we used a method with high interrater agreement that has been used elsewhere [45], including in prevalence studies of abuse and interpersonal violence [105][106]. Our approach to risk of bias adopted a conservative approach, and reasonably concluded that studies scoring 9.5 or 10 had minimal bias.…”

Understanding access to professional healthcare among asylum seekers facing gender-based violence: a qualitative study from a stakeholder perspective

“…Intimate-partner violence, as a form of GBV, is highest in the Eastern Mediterranean region (37.0%) and South-East Asia (37.7%). A recent study, collecting data from 22 countries of the Arab league, reveals prevalence ranging from 6% to 59% for physical abuse, from 3% to 40% for sexual abuse and from 5% to 91% for emotional/psychological intimate-partner violence (Elghossain, 2019). Another recent publication highlights similar results in 27 sub-Saharan Africa countries (Izugbara, 2020).…”

Understanding access to professional healthcare among asylum seekers facing gender-based violence: a qualitative study from a stakeholder perspective

“…Intimate-partner violence, as a form of GBV, is highest in the Eastern Mediterranean region (37.0%) and South-East Asia (37.7%). A recent study, collecting data from 22 countries of the Arab league, reveals prevalence ranging from 6 to 59% for physical abuse, from 3 to 40% for sexual abuse and from 5 to 91% for emotional/psychological intimate-partner violence [ 12 ]. Another recent publication highlights similar results in 27 sub-Saharan Africa countries [ 26 ].…”