Woman in Development and Peace – Yomna Al-Zubairi
Violence against women is a pattern of violence that targets women because of their gender or social role. It includes a wide range of harmful behaviors targeting women, both in public and private life, such as physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence, harassment, forced marriage, economic violence, and other behaviors that result in physical, psychological, and social effects on the woman subjected to it.
In Yemen, women suffer from many forms of violence. Women have been subjected to gender discrimination and gender-based violence for years, even before the start of the war. Naturally, the situation worsened after the outbreak of the conflict in Yemen. Cases of violence against women have escalated, with the percentage of women who have experienced violence since the beginning of the war until 2022 reaching approximately 63%. This increase is due to the deterioration of humanitarian conditions, the exacerbation of poverty, and social and economic instability, which has led to increased tension and violence in society. The majority of these consequences have fallen on women, as they are the most vulnerable group in Yemeni society.
As a result, the Information and Opinion Polling Unit at Yemen Information Center conducted an opinion poll entitled “Violence Against Women in Yemen” to find out the views of a sample of Yemeni society on the extent of violence against women in Yemen from their point of view, the reasons for this spread, and possible solutions to reduce this phenomenon.
The poll was conducted on a research sample of 1006 people, the vast majority of whom were women, at 91.7%, compared to 8.3% of men. As for the age groups of the participants in the poll, they were varied: 55.6% of them were young people between the ages of 26-35 years, 23.6% of them were between the ages of 36-45 years, 14.3% were participants from the age groups between 18-25 years, 6.1% were aged between 46-65 years, and 0.4% were over 65 years old.
Regarding educational attainment, most of the participants hold a bachelor’s degree (47.2%), followed by university students (25.2%), 13.6% hold a high school diploma, 12.6% hold higher degrees, and only 1.4% hold a preparatory certificate or less.
The poll targeted a wide geographical scope. The sample came from twenty governorates: Sana’a (25.3%), Taiz (22.7%), Al Hudaydah (15.1%), Ibb (9.6%), Aden (5.4%), Dhamar (4.6%), Hadhramaut (3.9%), Al-Mahwit (2%), Lahj (1.8%), Raymah (1.8%), Al-Dhali’ (1.4%), Shabwah (1.4%), Al Mahrah (1.2%), Socotra (1%), Sa’ada (0.8%), Hajja (0.6%), Al-Jawf (0.5%), Amran (0.4%), Marib (0.3%) and only 0.2% from Abyan Governorate.
Key Findings
At the outset, 86.3% of participants believe that violence against women is a widespread problem in Yemen. In comparison, 12.4% of participants said that no prevalence of violence against women makes it a common problem, while 1.3% said they have no idea about the topic.
93.8% said they already know women who have experienced violence in their lives, while 6.2% said they do not know any woman who has experienced violence.
- When talking about the most common types of violence that women face, the respondents in the survey answered as follows:
- Psychological violence: 64.3%
- Physical violence: 61%
- Verbal abuse: 51.9%
- Sexual violence: 41.5%
82.1% of respondents believed that the continuation of the conflict in Yemen has significantly contributed to the increase in cases of violence against women in Yemen, 15% believe that the conflict has nothing to do with the rise in cases of violence against women in Yemen, and 2.9% said they have no idea about the matter.
- In addition to the conflict, the participants in the poll believe that there are many reasons behind violence against women in Yemen, the most important of which are:
- Cultural and social bias: 56.2%
- Poverty: 50.1%
- Parenting problems: 50%
- Weak laws against perpetrators of violence: 43.4%
- Gender discrimination: 34.1%
Also, 52.8% of the participants in the poll believe that there is not enough awareness about the danger of violence against women and related behaviors, while 45.7% believe otherwise. As for the remaining 1.5%, they said they had no idea whether there was enough awareness about the danger of violence against women and related behaviors or not.
When asked about the solutions and procedures that can be taken to reduce or limit violence against women in Yemen, their answers were as follows:
- Promoting awareness of women’s rights and gender equality: 57.8%
- Developing strict and effective laws to combat violence against women: 56.2%
- Providing psychological and social support services to female victims: 50.4%
- Working to enhance education opportunities for women and girls: 39.3%
- Empowering women economically by providing job opportunities: 35%
- Promoting the concept of positive masculinity and encouraging men to engage in combating violence against women: 24.7%
In conclusion, the participants in the survey agreed that the use of violence against women is a very disgraceful behavior and cannot be justified. However, its spread in Yemen has increased significantly, recently. Therefore, efforts should be focused on putting an end to this phenomenon and enacting strict laws against the perpetrators of this act, raising awareness about the dangers of violence against women, both physically and psychologically. Service centers should also be provided to offer help and support to victims.
* Multiple choice question, each answer to this question – as a separate sample – was analyzed with a percentage estimated at 100%