Factors Influencing Domestic Violence Victims:  
A Case Study of Referrals to Herat Social Agencies in Herat, Afghanistan

Seyyed Zadehsani , Seyyed Mehdi; Abdollahi, Ahmad Saeed

Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2020) sjsph 2020, 17(4): 373-384 | Back to browse issues page

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Seyyed Zadehsani S M, Abdollahi A S. Factors Influencing Domestic Violence Victims: A Case Study of Referrals to Herat Social Agencies in Herat, Afghanistan. sjsph 2020; 17 (4) :373-384
URL: http://sjsph.tums.ac.ir/article-1-5833-en.html

Factors Influencing Domestic Violence Victims: A Case Study of Referrals to Herat Social Agencies in Herat, Afghanistan

Seyyed Mehdi Seyyed Zadehsani ^*

¹, Ahmad Saeed Abdollahi²

1- Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran , seidzadeh@um.ac.ir
2- PhD Student, Department of Law, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract: (2464 Views)

Background and Aim: A person is more likely to become a violence victim in his/her family than outside the family. The purpose of this study was to investigate domestic violence, especially violence against women, in families in Herat Province, Afghanistan.

Materials and Methods: A total of 130 female victims referring to support centers in Herat, Afganistan were selected using the accessible sampling method. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data.

Results: No woman older than 40 years referred to the centers, and the age of 65.4% of those referring was below 30 years. The proportions of the women suffering from psychological, physical-plus-sexual and economic violence were 42%, 29% and 26%, respectively. In addition, 65.4% of them had been married for at most 5 years and only 10% had been married for over 10 years. Further analysis of the data showed that about 60% of the clients were illiterate and only 13.8% had a bachelor's degree; 72.3% of the victims were housewives and only about 21% had freelance or office jobs; more than 70.2% of the victims were at the lowest income level, and about 76.6% had married with their own accord. As regards the victims' spouses, 88.5% were under 40 years of age, 57.7% were illiterate and 29.2% were high school graduates. In terms of occupation, they were typically non-employed and had private jobs (13.8% workers, 22.3% farmers and 40.8% freelance). Furthermore, 95.4% had been married for the first time and 97.7% had one spouse. Finally, 83% of them (83.8%) were not addicts.

Conclusion: The most frequent complaints were related to psychological violence. Clients were typically under 40 years of age with a marriage history of less than 5 years. A typical victim in this study was a young illiterate woman who was financially weak; had a young, self-employed, low-educated spouse who had been married for the first time; had no other spouse; and was not a drug addict.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Violence against Women, Spouse Abuse, Protection of Women, Financial and Economic Violence

Full-Text [PDF 895 kb] (1117 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Public Health
Received: 2020/04/25 | Accepted: 2020/04/25 | Published: 2020/04/25