عوامل خطر برای شیوع خشونت خانگی علیه زنان در قبرس

This paper, which is based on the first national survey on domestic violence against women in Cyprus, presents the risk factors associated with the prevalence of domestic violence. The sample size of the survey is 1107 Greek-speaking women living in the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Overall, 28% of the women that took part in the survey report to have suffered domestic violence from their partner or husband at least once in their lives. Multiple logistic regression shows that age, marital status, place of living and family budget are significant risk factors for the prevalence of domestic violence against women in Cyprus.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its World Report on Violence and Health (2002), defines violence as the “intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation” (WHO, 2002, p. 5). Similarly, the General Assembly of United Nations (1993) defines violence against women in particular as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. Violence against women is recognized by many studies as a global social problem (Ardabily et al., 2011, Brownridge and Halli, 2002, Kocacık and Dogan, 2006, Kocacık et al., 2007, Leppäkoski et al., 2011 and Ustaa et al., 2007). This study focuses on the socio-economic factors which determine domestic violence against women in Cyprus. There is ample international literature regarding risk factors for the prevalence of domestic violence against women. Urban residence, older age, lower education and lower family income are socio-economic characteristics of a woman-victim which are significantly associated with the occurrence of domestic violence (Bontha and Shantanu, 2009 and Oyunbileg et al., 2009). Parallel, a study by WHO (2005) shows that lower education is associated with significantly increased violence against women by their partners in many countries. Richardson et al. (2002) and Jeyaseelan et al. (2007) show an increased risk of physical violence against unemployed women of low socioeconomic status. Apparently, higher socio-economic status acts as a protective buffer against domestic violence. Finally, a Pakistani study (Azhar, Sohail, Yasin, Mahmood, & Mushtaq, 2012, p. 1617) underlines that “women are more prone to bear and face domestic violence due to economic dependence” confirming the significance of economic factors in the prevalence of domestic violence against women. A multi-country large-scale study conducted by the American health research company, ORC Macro, in ten countries around the world, examines the characteristics of women who experienced violence in order to identify some of the common risk factors for violence (Kishor & Johnson, 2004). The study reveals that in all countries, women who have been married more than once, divorced or separated, report higher rates of violence than women who have been married only once. In addition, in most countries women who are older than their husbands are more likely to report having experienced violence. In all countries the findings demonstrate that rates of domestic violence tend to be lower in couples who share responsibility for household decisions than for couples in which one makes household decisions alone. Conclusively, various studies support that among other socio-economic characteristics of the women, younger age, lower education, low socio-economic status and lack of sharing responsibilities with the partner are identified as significant risk factors for the prevalence of domestic violence. Even though the factors which determine domestic violence against women vary in different parts of the world, in principle, any woman regardless of socio-economic status may suffer domestic violence (Flury, Nyberg, & Riecher-Rössler, 2010). The phenomenon of domestic violence against women in Cyprus has never been investigated in the form of a national survey. Official information on the number of reported incidents is only provided through the Cyprus Police or through the Association of the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family, an NGO that runs a domestic violence hotline and a women's shelter. Based on the recent report of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (2011) “Criminal statistics collected by the (Cyprus) Police show a general trend of increased reporting of violence in the family with reported cases almost doubling from 2002 to 2008 (538 and 969 cases, respectively). Over this period, the large majority of cases have involved physical violence (79%), followed by psychological violence (18.5%) and sexual violence (2.4%). In terms of gender, the majority of victims during the period 2002–2008 were women at 71.18%”. Statistics from the Cyprus Police Department can partly describe the trend in reported cases of domestic violence against women but cannot provide the true picture as many incidents are not reported. In 2010, 884 incidents are reported to the Police, of which 611 concern physically abused women. This trend is also verified by statistics of the Association of the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family. According to the statistics, domestic violence triples over the years 2004–2009; while over 80% of the victims are women in 2009 as compared to 8.6% who are men. In addition, the 2010 annual report of the Association of the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family (2011) depicts 1051 incidents out of which 815 involve abused women aged 41–50 (17.8%). Moreover, 96.1% concern psychological violence towards women (1009 out of 1051) while 78% are living with the perpetrator. Based on the statistics, it is clear that incidents which involve physical abuse are reported to the Police while incidents involve psychological abuse are reported to the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family. Two studies conducted in Cyprus concerning the perceptions of Cypriots on domestic violence (Intercollege, 2000) and the perceptions of health professionals on domestic violence (Apostolidou, Apostolidou, Payiatsou, & Mavrikiou, 2007) conclude that the society in Cyprus is still conservative and male-dominated. At the same time, women do not easily disclose incidents of violence against them as they consider such incidents very diminishing. This study comprises the first attempt to record accurately the current situation in Cyprus concerning domestic violence against women from an intimate male partner or husband. The main purpose of this paper is primarily to investigate the socio-economic risk factors that determine this situation. Specifically, the challenge of this study is whether international findings coincide with the Cyprus’ survey findings. The need for this study arises from the dearth of data on domestic violence against women in Cyprus. The Cyprus Police, the Social Welfare Services, the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family and the Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Violence in the Family are the main departments and organizations that provide official information on domestic violence. Still, the various ways of recording these incidents and the lack of a common database impose a need for this study.

This study reveals certain aspects of Cypriot society concerning the risk factors of the prevalence of domestic violence against women from their intimate partner or husband. As this is the first attempt for recording any kind of data regarding domestic violence in Cyprus the findings are crucial. The paper presents the socio-demographic factors which affect the prevalence of domestic violence and how they do so. In general, the findings are very similar to international research findings. The results should alarm relevant services and the community as a whole and should contribute to the adoption of measures to combat this severe social problem in Cyprus. Some findings are enlightening and reveal the conservative and patriarchal society in this southern part of Europe. Out of 1107 women that took part in this survey, 140 (12.6%) did not answer the question on whether they have ever suffered from domestic violence from their intimate partner or husband. This rate shows that even in the absence of an interviewer, women do not easily disclose issues which they may consider as “personal”. Analyzing the data, we find that the woman's age is associated with the prevalence of domestic violence and actually the highest risk is between the ages 45 and 54. Very old women have lower chances of being abused (category of 65+ years). Marital status is an important component of the Cypriot society. Marriage is considered a natural step in the life of a woman and a successful marriage is of great importance. Therefore, the fact that only 22.9% among married women admitted that they have faced domestic violence and married women have the lowest risk factor to face domestic violence may possibly be owing to the need to protect their marriage. Among the divorced women, those who admitted domestic violence – the number of whom is as high as 71.2% – show a dramatic difference in evaluating and disclosing domestic violence. Of course there is always the possibility that married women are under-reporting domestic violence since it can be a serious reason for marriage dissolution (Amato and Previti, 2003, Anderson, 2010 and Ayoub et al., 1999). Even though only 22.9% among married women admit that they have faced domestic violence, the percentage of married women that admit to have suffered violence among all women who have suffered violence is as high as 50.7%. These results, suggest that domestic violence is still a taboo in Cyprus and divorced and separated women most probably are more willing to admit that they have suffered from domestic violence rather than other groups, e.g. married women. Limassol is the city with the highest risk in the prevalence of domestic violence. The police force in Limassol is much smaller proportionally to its size; therefore its effectiveness concerning the monitoring and prevention of incidents of domestic violence against women may be affected. Yet, further study is needed to actually determine the reasons why Limassol is the most vulnerable in incidents of violence against women. Budgets of households, familyocracy and extended family in southern Europe and Middle East are still playing a significant role as welfare pillars (Clark et al., 2010, Jacobson et al., 2010 and Minas et al., 2013). Hindin and Adair (2002) also note that lower level of household wealth is associated with a higher likelihood of intimate partner violence. Evidently, our findings are in line with international findings. As this study shows domestic violence prevails in households with low or very low budgets. Household wealth in Cyprus is an indicator of overall economic and social success and therefore implications can emerge when this wealth is not high enough. Despite some limitations of the study, it offers results that can be very useful especially for the policy-makers. Deeper understanding of the risk factors that result to violence may lead to the development of a strategic planning in the area of violence against women that Cyprus is so much in need.