“Domestic violence cannot be overlooked or ignored. The Arab-American community must take active steps to open the “closed door” and address domestic violence”.
Women around the world face domestic abuse by men every day. However, domestic abuse is an issue that remains very quiet. Amongst the varying forms of violence against women, domestic violence is an epidemic that plagues many homes in the United States and around the world. This site focuses particularly on domestic abuse in Arab Immigrant communities; its main focus is to shed light on domestic abuse and violence and how the Arab community responds to abuse or is influenced by traditions and culture in Arab immigrant communities.
The goal for this page is to explain to NGOs, non-profits, and anyone in the community interested in Arab Immigrant domestic abuse, so that cultural specificity and sensitivity can be given to victims in their time of need. The information here is to provide knowledge into an Arab women’s mind, home life, and current situation, providing some explanation of why abuse may be happening in the home and why women may be unable to seek help, which later on may help organizations to provide better services that fit Arab women’s needs.
It is very important here to note that this site is not suggesting that Arab immigrant homes always face domestic abuse, nor is it saying that all Arab homes condone abuse. To the contrary, this site is just explaining the situation in the homes that DO experience abuse. I am solely looking at women and studies that deal with domestic abuse situations, but there is no implication that a culture and tradition of patriarchy will necessarily lead to abuse. It instead focuses on how, and in what ways, Middle Eastern culture and traditions can lead to the conditions of possibility of domestic abuse in Arab immigrant homes and, once abuse occurs, what types of abuse can be seen and how women react to these crimes.
