الملخص الإنجليزي
Violence against wives is a topic that has only recently gained interest despite being a very common marital problem for centuries. Amnesty International figures have shown that a billion women around the world suffer from violence at the hands of men indicating the persistence of cultural beliefs that refuse gender equality and that support the superiority of males. Violence against women is also reported in Islamic societies in spite of clear Islamic teachings that prohibit such acts and that call for the building of sound healthy families that are free from social disputes. Violence against wives is in reality directed at the whole society due to it's severe negative consequences on the community as a whole This is why social researchers should direct their attention to this problem in an attempt to minimize it's occurrence before it becomes a social norm. The researcher was stimulated to scientifically explore the various aspects of violence against wives in the Omani society with the following aims in mind: To learn and understand the nature of the problem.
1) To delineate the reasons behind it's occurrence.
2) To study its consequences on the women involved.
3) To study the wives" responses to such treatment.
4) To determine the availability of social services directed at managing such
cases. In this study the researcher explored the theories behind marital abuse directed at wives in addition to theories attempting to explain the continuation of the marital relationship despite the abuse. She also studied the Islamic teachings on marital relationships and the Islamic view on marital abuse. The status of women in the Omani society before and after the renaissance in addition to the social changes that stimulated the increase in the prevalence of marital abuse together with it's influence on the society as a whole were also explored in this study. 18. Omani wives selected at random from various parts of Muscat participated by filling questionnaires in this study. The study showed that the commonest types of marital violence in Oman are in descending order):Verbal abuse, Economic violence-not providing the wives needs, Physical violence, Sexual abuse, All these forms of violence were reported to occur contumely ad were not related to the duration of the marriage. In some instances the violence was secondary to impulsive behaviors, weak religious values or due to provocative attitudes on the wives'
part.
Abused women usually responded by seeking help from family members or friends and less commonly from the police or concerned women's societies.
- The study also explored the consequences as the wife became of the act of violence – whether it is physical, psychological or sexual.
- The study also tried to find out the proper specialties and agencies to solve the problem of violence against wives and to put forward the vision for psychological and social help that can be given to women who face violence.
- The study came up with many suggestions and solutions concerning activities, concerning women to protect her against violence, also to train people, psychologists, social workers, and the best scientific updated way to deal with that.
