Author: Maysoun Njoum
The study explored violence against women at Jericho and Al-Aghwar governorate. The study approached the literature as a multi-dimensional phenomenon which addressed both theoretical and applied research. The study sheds light on a sensitive topic in the Palestinian society. It's a pattern of behavior that violates the rights of women, limits their participation in society and damages their health and well-being due to the increased prevalence of violence against women in the Palestinian society in general and at Jericho & Al-Aghwar governorate in particular.
A 54-item questionnaire was formulated which was divided into four sub-scales as follows: the general information of the participants; the second section dealt with the causes (25 items); the third section included the forms (14 items), while the fourth section had the coping strategies used by battered women to combat the violence (15 items). The questionnaire was administrated to three hundred and sixty-three stratifiedly selected married women at Jericho and Al-Aghwar governorate. The collected data was statistically analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS).
The findings revealed that Palestinian women at Jericho and Al-Aghwar governorate are still subject to many forms of violence; of the women surveyed, five in ten women (53.6%) reported partner violence related to husband jealousy of his wife, husband nervousness, and male dominated culture and tradition in Palestinian society, however, the main forms of violence from an intimate partner included strike using the hand, shouting in the face, and forbidding from realizing wishes and concerns. The results also revealed that battered women used different coping strategies to combat violence in the Palestinian society. They would surrender to the status quo; discussion with husband, ask their parents for a helping hand; and request help from relatives and from friends.
The results revealed significant statistical differences in violence against women at Jericho and Al-Aghwar governorate due to kind of marriage, work status, educational level, place of residency and the degree of religiosity. In addition, the findings revealed a negative correlation between age at time of marriage, duration of marriage and violence against women. However, a positive correlation was found with couple's age differences.
In light of the current study and its discussions, the following is recommended: provide legal protection for women and fight violence against them; reinforce a secure social culture in fighting all forms of violence against women through enforcing it in the school curriculum; reinforce the role of religious discourse and direct it towards violence against women; reinforce the culture of dialogue and respect of the other in the Palestinian family through an enhancement of the concept of social roles from a gender perspective , finally, further research is essential to develop an understanding of violence against women in the Palestinian society in general and at Jericho & Al-Aghwar governorate in particular using the case study and qualitative research design.
Keywords: Violence, women, Palestine, culture, Patriarchal society.
Maysoun Njoum, MA. Sustainable Rural Development, Institute of Sustainable Development, Al-Quds University, Main Campus, Jerusalem- Abu Dies, Palestine. Women Coordinator, Al-Zahra Women Center, Jericho, Palestine. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
