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“We feel weak and vulnerable and attackable.”

It has been estimated that 35% of women worldwide have had to experience either physical and/or sexual intimate relationship violence by a partner at some point in there lives. This is not including sexual harassment. Yet some national studies it shows that up to 70% of women will experience physical and/or sexual violence from there partner in there lifetime. It is evident from research that the women who experience these tragedies have a higher chance of depression, abortion and acquiring HIV compared to women that have not (UN Women, Facts & Figures). These percentages are incredibly high due to the enormous amount of domestic abuse in the Middle East region of the world.  The country Yemen in particular. First I’ll be discussing the domestic abuse problems women in Yemen face on a day to day basis, then I’ll be jumping into why the abuse is consistent and where it originated from. Next I’ll be switching gears to domestic abuse in the United States and how there is punishments and laws against it, all while comparing the two countries.

As seen in the short clip above women in Yemen are fighting to criminalize domestic violence, and are asking for support. Domestic abuse in Yemen are primary targeted within the gender of women. Gender is defined as “the social realization of biological sex”(Cohen, 151). These women are fighting for multiple problems among families and Yemen as a society. There are many issues that need to be addressed and controlled. They consist of setting a minimum age of marriage to 18 years old, free mandatory education and adequate health care for females, and at least 30% quota for women in all decision making positions. As an American it is hard to wrap my mind around on why it is so hard to allow these women any sort of right. Cohen defines a romantic relation ship as: “mutually acknowledged, ongoing interactions feathering heightened affection and intensity”(Cohen, 230). Honestly it is hard to imagine that there is a high percentage of romantic relationships in Yemen due to the disrespect of wives, and partners.

Here is why!

In the country of Yemen there is a social system in which men are viewed by law as well as tradition as superior to women. She will be expected to obey and seek his approval throughout her entire life starting with her father. According to multiple studies cultural settings can typically set the stage for the abuse of women by their male partners and or family members. These relationships are seen as exceptionable due to the hierarchical relationship between a man and women since childbirth, mainly in the household and even at school. It is a tradition and a practice that every women in Yemen must submit to there husband father, or brother. Males have the right to decide the matters of a female, whether the matters concern education, marriage or career (National Yemen). Such a dynamic endows men with a great deal of power, a power which can be used to violate women’s basic rights with impunity. All in all physical, verbal, emotional etc. abuse is one hundred percent legal in Yemen. “We are suffering from tradition,” Hafsa says. “Before the war, we were suffering many troubles, many problems from the society itself in Yemen, the people and the pressure from traditions” (Domestic Abuse, aljazeera).

Afraid to report abuse

“The situation has created tension between 36-year-old Hafsa and her husband. But because she is a woman, she says she has no outlet for sharing her struggles.” She can not express her feeling to others about her problems between her husband because he might fin d out which will lead to beatings and possible death. She sates that all of here friends are physically abused by there husbands as well. Hasfa states “We feel weak and vulnerable and attackable”. She adds other refugee women are abused by their husbands, but fear speaking out due to the stigma associated with domestic abuse. The police forces do not arrest or charge the husbands or males for domestic abuse. That is because its not illegal in Yemen and things need to change.

United Sates & Domestic Abuse

In every country there is always going to be domestic abuse, yet in The United Sates there are laws and regulations stopping as well as forbidding domestic violence among women in family’s. The 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), with additions passed in 1996, outlined grant programs to prevent violence against women and established a national domestic violence hotline. Domestic violince in America is recognized and considered as a violent act committed against a person within a domestic relationship. The law protects civilians from assault, such as a spouse, a relative, or a dating or sexual partner. In some states even threats to coment domestic abuse can be brought to court and the convicted can be charged with prison time for his threats. “Federal laws also make criminal certain acts that involve violence committed among persons in intimate relationships. In addition to criminal penalties, incidents of domestic violence can serve as grounds for court-issued protective orders that affect contact with the victim and child custody. ” (Criminal,Defense)

As watched in the video the precautions taken and the consequences that can come out of domestic violence in the United Sates is taken very seriously like it should be. In every state in America there are strict domestic laws and regulations in place protecting family’s around the nation.

1 in 4 women have experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic and a stress disorder. 85% of the domestic violence victims are female (Social, Solutions). Much more of these crimes are reported to the police due to the fact that in this country you will not be shammed by men for doing so. If anything they will be empower. The United states overall is a much safer country for women to live in and be apart of family’s then Yemen. There are laws and regulations regarding domestic violence. Women’s opinions matter here. They are not property, they are people, with the same rights as men. In the United States underage arranged marriages are illegal as well as underage sex. We live in a great country of laws that are enforced strongly by the law.

References

Moench, Mallory. “Domestic Abuse Adds to Yemeni Refugee Women’s Woes in Djibouti.” Yemen | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 22 Aug. 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/domestic-abuse-adds-yemeni-refugee-women-woes-djibouti-180730115837586.html.

 Al-Arashi, F. (2019). [online] Nationalyemen.com. Available at: https://nationalyemen.com/2013/02/24/the-reality-of-domestic-abuse-in-yemen/

DeGraw, S. (2019). Domestic Violence Awareness Week ‘breaks the silence’ in Sandy | Sandy Utah News. [online] Sandyjournal.com. Available at: https://www.sandyjournal.com/2019/10/03/287254/domestic-violence-awareness-week-breaks-the-silence-in-sandy

Cohen, Philip N. The Family: Diversity, Inequality, and Social Change. 1st ed., W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2015.

Burrowes, R. (2019). Yemen | People, History, & Facts. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Yemen

UN Women. (2019). Facts and figures: Ending violence against women. [online] Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures [Accessed 9 Dec. 2019].

Findlaw. (2019). Federal Domestic Violence Law: The Violence Against Women Act – FindLaw. [online] Available at: https://family.findlaw.com/domestic-violence/federal-domestic-violence-legislation-the-violence-against-women.html

Followill, P. (2019). Domestic Violence Laws and Penalties. [online] http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com. Available at: https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/domestic-violence-laws-and-penalties.htm

Youtube.com. (2019). YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y5736Bc8hM

Social Solutions. (2019). 20 Alarming Domestic Violence Statistics for 2018 – Social Solutions. [online] Available at: https://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/domestic-violence-statistics-2018/