Emotional Abuse among Syrian Refugee Women in Jordan

BACKGROUND: Violence against women is a worldwide issue. Emotional abuse of women is the second most common form of abuse after physical abuse. Thus, this issue needs focus and attention especially among disadvantaged communities such as refugees.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of emotional abuse among Syrian refugee women in Jordan.

METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenient sample of 182 Syrian refugee women residing in Mafraq Governorate. Participants were recruited from Maternal & Child Health Centers (MCHC) across the governorate. A validated Arabic version of the NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (NORAQ) was used to collect data from the study participants.

RESULTS: Participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 55 years, (mean age ± 30.2; SD ± 8.9 years). Forty four percent of the participants reported experiencing emotional abuse in the preceding year prior the evaluation. The lifetime prevalence of emotional abuse was 51.6%. About 21.4% of married refugees surveyed reported emotional abuse from their husbands. Thirteen percent of the married participant reported being emotionally abused by their brothers. Twelve of the unmarried participants reported that the perpetrators were family members (4 fathers, 7 brothers, and 1 mother). Logistic regression model revealed that Syrian refugee women who are married, live within large families, reside in urban areas, and have lower educational levels are more likely to suffer emotional abuse. A significant association was found between exposure to emotional abuse and poor mental health, including depression, insomnia and feelings of anguish.

CONCLUSION: High prevalence rate of life time abuse was revealed by this study. Overall, findings suggest that improving socio-demographic circumstances (i e education) would reduce their vulnerability to emotional abuse. This study may guide both future research and current efforts to combat emotional violence amongst Syrian refugee women.