Domestic Violence Against Women in North African and Middle Eastern Countries: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review aimed to identify the scope of the current literature on the prevalence, consequences, and risk factors of domestic violence (DV) against women by their husbands or male partners in North African and Middle Eastern countries. The methodology for this scoping review was based on the framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley. Studies published on DV against women over the age of 15 by partner or husband and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between January 1970 and April 2018 were included in the review. The databases MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, EMBASE, Scopus, African Journals Online, Turkish Journal Database, and gray literature sources were searched. On completion of the review process, 151 full-text articles were identified for charting. This review demonstrated that women’s age, women’s education level, duration of marriage, history of childhood abuse/witnessing family violence, living in the rural region, and family income level were negatively associated with DV, indicating that younger women, women with lower education, a longer marriage duration, and a lower income level had a higher risk of exposure to DV in this region. Anxiety, depression/insomnia, and physical injury were the most common health problems reported by victims in the region. The highest proportion of women with no response to violence was reported in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The findings of this scoping review represent the first attempt to summarize the literature from North African and Middle Eastern countries and demonstrate the similarity in DV-related behaviors among women despite the cultural and regional diversity of the studies.