UAE Abuse the United Arab

UAE Abuse

The United Arab Emirates' Successes and Failures in Resolving Domestic Disputes: An Evaluation of the Performance of the UAE's Social Support Centers

Domestic violence, defined as both physical and/or emotional abuse taking place in the home between members of the same domestic unit or family, remains a large problem throughout the world. It is difficult to determine the true rates of domestic violence and partner abuse that occur each year due to the fact that many lack access to any means of reporting such incidents, let lone to services that might assist them in overcoming this violence and leaving or changing the abusive relationship in such a way that the abuser is left without the power or ability to continue their abuse. When domestic violence goes unreported, it often goes unnoticed, and is thus allowed to continue and potentially to spread.

Many abuse victims even amongst those that do have access to programs, agencies, or organizations that offer aid and legal reporting assistance choose not to make use of these resources. Commonly cited reasons for this refusal to seek assistance include a belief that the abusive partner will change their behavior -- that they didn't "mean" it and that they truly love the victim. Many victims blame themselves for engaging in behaviors that made their partners angry, convinced that the abuse would go away if only the could be a better partner to the abuser. On the other end of the spectrum, many victims of domestic violence do not seek assistance out of fear of retaliation; noting the abuse that they suffer at times when they are trying to make their partners happy, these victims are loathe to see what happens when they "truly" anger their partners.

There is reason behind this fear, too, and it is not simply borne out of the fear that victims live in on a daily basis. According to one study of statistics related to domestic violence, women are ten times more likely to be murdered by their abusive partners in the six months following a decision to leave them than they are at anytime during the relationship itself (Kiume 2007). Abusers rarely stop their behavior simply because their relationship with the victim ends; abuse and domestic violence, whether purely emotional or also physical in nature, are all about control, and ending the relationship does not end the desire for control on the part of the abuser (Goldsmith 2010). In fact, true challenges to this control such as a termination of the relationship can cause a sort of internal crisis for the abuser that manifests itself in very noticeable and extreme external ways (McNeely et al. 2001).

This demonstrates the deep psychological issues that are factors in the emergence and continuation of relationships that devolve into domestic violence and partner abuse. Many abusers were exposed to domestic violence either as victims or as witnesses during their childhood, and if left unchecked this has the potential to change their views of normative relationships as requiring this type of control of one partner through the abuse of another (McKinney et al. 2006). Other major childhood events and trends that create a feeling of lost control and/or of abandonment can lead to the development of a variety of different psychological issues that manifest in very similar ways as exposure to abuse and domestic violence might, with a perpetuation of the abuse cycle (McKinney et al. 2006; "School Drop Outs" 2010).

The psychological past of victims and their psychological development during and after an abusive relationship is no less profound than that of the abuser in a domestic violence situation. Individuals who remain in abusive relationships as adults were often subjected to some form of violence as children, again either as victims or witnesses, and this can cause them to develop in such a way that they actually seek out partners that exhibit the same characteristics as the abusers from their childhood (Unifem.org 2010). Just as abusers can perpetuate their behaviors through the next generation, victims can perpetuate their own victimhood and that of their offspring by unconsciously seeking out and then by remaining in abusive relationships (McKinney et al. 2006; McNeely et al. 2001). This is no way exonerates the abuser or even mitigates their guilt in domestic violence relationships, but it shows the psychological and personal complexities that go into domestic violence, and that are a result of domestic violence and abuse cycles (Outlaw 2009).

There is no nation or region of the world that is free from the specter of domestic violence; it has truly reached all inhabited corners of the globe and has in fact existed and persisted in every culture known to mankind. Domestic violence and partner abuse know no national or cultural boundaries, and no legal or religious doctrine has ended such violence even when these areas of moral and ethical control explicitly forbid the occurrence and continuation of such abusive relationships. The fact that domestic violence is a universal issue points to inherently human problems that lie at its root (Outlaw 2009; McNeely et al. 2001).

Dealing with domestic violence, then, requires both knowledge regarding the psychological underpinnings of identities as a victim and an abuser, as well as the ability to provide a means of protecting victims while addressing these generally deep-seated psychological issues. This can be very difficult to achieve and has in fact proven to be impossible to achieve on a consistently reliable basis (Unifem.org 2010; National Domestic Violence Hotline 2010). This does not mean that efforts are completely wasted, however, or that large-scale programs and organizations that attempt to address issues of domestic violence should not be continued; instead, efforts should continue to become more refined and thus more effective as knowledge regarding domestic violence and its effects on individuals and also on society at large continues to grow and becomes more refined.

It is with this in mind that the United Arab Emirates or UAE established its nationally sponsored Social Support Centers, or SSC. There was also a more pragmatic reason for the creation of these Centers; burdened with a great number of social ills, the law enforcement infrastructure in the UAE needed a way to divert certain cases to other department. The police department in Abu Dhabi now refers all cases involving domestic disputes, domestic violence, conjugal differences, missing persons, teenage problems, family financial problems, suicide attempts, severe accident victims, juvenile cases and other cases perceived to require conflict resolution techniques to the SCC, which has personnel trained to provide psychological and social support to clients using these and other counseling techniques.

The effectiveness of these centers in regards to halting and dealing with domestic violence is questionable for several reasons. First, the wide variety of individuals referred to the Centers splits the focus of this organization/department, despite the fact that sixty-percent of cases handled by the SSC in 2005 involved disputes between a husband and a wife, with a rise in the total number of disputes of over twenty percent when compared to the previous year. There is some evidence that the Centers have had some success in repairing spousal relationships, with the divorce rate in the UAE dropping from forty-six percent in 2005 to thirty-five percent in 2009, but this does not necessarily mean that the Center has shown promise in ending domestic violence, but merely in maintaining marriages (Khaleej Times 2010). With the majority of couples seen by the SSC having never received any marriage counseling before, and given the specific moral and religious standards of the country, it is not surprising that this definition of "success" has been achieved.

At the same time, the SSC has seen an increase in the number of marital conflicts cases between couples native to the UAE and in many immigrant couples that were drawn to work opportunities in the country. The majority of the inhabitants of Abu Dhabi, for example, are now expatriate workers from India, Pakistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and the United Kingdom (Abu Dhabi 2010). The growing number of expatriate residents has significantly increased the burden on the SSC not only in terms of the number of people it must serve, but also with the languages and cultures with which its personnel must become familiar (Abu Dhabi 2010).

Over ninety percent of the total population in the United Arab Emirates are now expatriates from other countries. The success of the Social Support Centers in dealing with issues of domestic violence is not only dependent on the expertise and knowledge of the psychological issues attendant to domestic violence, but also must take into consideration the great diversity of cultural, religious, linguistic, and social, customs, beliefs, morals, and values. This paper will attempt to identify the degree to which the efforts by the government of the UAE through the department of the SSC has been successful in meeting this challenge. Some evidence as to the successes and failures of the UAE and the SSC in this regard is found in current literature; this literature also provides a basic understanding of certain psychological and social problems associated with domestic violence.

Literature Review

Domestic disputes, domestic violence, family violence, or intimate partner violence are terms often used interchangeably and usually are related to conflicts between or among family members (Buzawa et al. 2008). Whatever it is labeled, these issues occur in every country, across all religious lines, and evidence of abusive relationships and both abusive and victim-type personalities can be seen in a variety of social situations (Versola-Russo & Russo 2009; Williams et al. 2008; Gomez & Speizer 2009; Khan 2006; Alkhateeb et al. 2001). These types of abusive relationships not only transcend national, cultural, and religious boundaries, but can also be found in relationships amongst people of all ages and a complete diversity of sexual orientations and identifications (Lundy & Grossman 2005; Bimbi et al. 2008).

McNeely et al. (2001) assert that domestic violence is also not merely a gender issue, but is truly a human issue, and to perceive the problem of domestic violence and partner abuse as one in which men are consistently and solely the abusers and women always the victims of male abuse is simply untrue and a dangerous assumption to make. Furthermore, the issue of domestic violence is more complex than other instances of violence in most societies and cannot be handled at all in the same manner if effective relief is the goal of intervention. This is because, "in nondomestic offenses the life-courses of victims and offenders are generally completely separate, only intersecting briefly at one point of time when the criminal offense is committed but with domestic violence, the life-courses of victims and offenders are inextricably interwoven." (Buzawa & Herschel 2008, pp. 392).

In most societies, incidence of domestic violence is positively correlated with concentrations of impoverished populations (Horton, 2008). That is, communities with greater degrees of poverty are more likely to have higher rates of domestic violence and a greater proportion of these populations will be exposed to abusive relationships, thus perpetuating the cycle of abuse in these communities indefinitely (Horton 2008; McKinney et al. 2006). Other factors that have been found to have positive correlations with increased rates of domestic violence and partner abuse include younger ages of motherhood -- especially pregnancy and delivery prior to the age of majority in a given society -- as well as racial and ethnic segregation, whether by explicit and official imposition or by unofficial happenstance and the perpetuation of racially divided communities (Horton 2008).

These factors, however, are less strongly associated with domestic violence than is a concentration of poverty, and these factors are themselves positively correlated with communities of concentrated impoverishment in countries around the world (Horton 2008; Evans 2005). Farmer et al. (1997) found that existing and new analysis support the hypothesis that improved economic opportunities for women decrease the level of violence in abusive re1ationships. Though the reasons for the correlation between poverty and domestic violence, and especially for the decrease of domestic violence toward women in communities where women gain increased financial power have not been fully identified, but it is likely that the increased freedom and greater ability to escape abusive relationships that this economic equality provides is a substantial factor in this noted trend (Farmer et al. 1997).

There are other factors that have also been positively correlated with domestic violence that are also positively correlated with increases in poverty levels. Namely, drug and alcohol abuse are often cited as factors in specific cases and instances of domestic violence and partner abuse and though drug and alcohol abuse are found at every socioeconomic level of society they are prevalent in impoverished communities (Maiden 1997; Horton 2008 & Bimbi et al. 2008). Studies have shown that treating abusers for alcohol and drug abuse can greatly reduce the likelihood of continued patterns of abuse, and a greater prevalence and availability of drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs can assist in bringing down community-wide rates of partner abuse, but this intervention far from fixes the problem entirely (Maiden 1997).

In addition to the larger demographic factors that have been linked to higher rates of domestic violence and partner abuse, there are certain behaviors and attitudes exhibited by individuals that suggest a likely emergence of physically abusive tendencies. Outlaw (2009) found, "strong evidence that some types of non-physical abuse serve as clear risk factors for physical abuse and may increase risk of more frequent violence among those already being abused." Versola-Russo and Russo (2009) suggest that the avoidance of anti-violence training, policies, and programs offered in the workplace or through law enforcement agencies is one sign of a potential abuser; "stalking" and other signs of an obsessive preoccupation with a specific individual is also strongly linked with the development of a full-blown abusive relationship (Melton 2005). Certain screening questions can be used by employers and by law enforcement officials alike to determine any predisposition that may exist towards domestic or workplace violence as well as the likelihood that a given individual will become an abuser at some point in the near future (Falk et al. 2001).

Abusers and victims are rarely if ever the only people of concern in domestic violence situations. Whenever children are a part of the relationship and/or domestic unit in which the violence is occurring, they cannot help but become victims themselves, even if this victimization occurs only through their role as a witness to the violence of an adult relationship -- exposure to this violence is damaging to emotional and psychological development in and of itself (McKinney et al. 2006). This can lead to serious emotional issues as adults if left untreated.

Exposure to domestic violence begins to manifest in identifiable traits, behavioral problems, and developmental issues from a very early age, and can lead to violent, aggressive, and generally disruptive behaviors in children of any age and through adolescence (Carter et al. 2003). With proper identification of abusive situations and a communication of effective means for avoiding/escaping such situations and coping with them in a conscious and proactive manner greatly reduces the appearance of these behavioral and developmental issues, however (Carter et al. 2003). Domestic violence is often part of a larger pattern of neglect and abuse within the domestic unit and early intervention in such situations is key to mitigating the damages caused to children that experience such situations; a lack of such intervention not only leads to larger and more prevalent behavioral issues during childhood, but has also been positively correlated with greater rates of criminality in adulthood, and especially of engagement in violent offences (Carter et al. 2003; Buzawa & Hirschel 2008).

The Unites States' National Domestic Violence Hotline website (2010) defines domestic violence as, "a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner," which can take the form of "physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person…[including] any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone." Though there are distinct differences that exist in the progression and effects emotionally sexually, and physically abusive relationships, their commonalities are much greater.

In all forms of domestic abuse, control and the desire or need to obtain it is a major factor. It is the desire or psychological need for one individual in a relationship to dominate and control another that ultimately leads to domestic violence and/or partner abuse (Goldsmith 2010). Most often, this desire or need for control is the result of dangerously low self-esteem on the part of the abuser, which can give rise to extreme and unfounded jealousies; when coupled with an emotional immaturity that limits the potential abusers' ability to control his or her anger, violence and an abusive relationship is the almost certain result (Goldsmith 2010). When children witness violent attempts to gain control as the predominant means of conducting adult relationships and resolving conflicts they might potentially grow into adults with similar attitudes and no other knowledge of more effective ways by which conflicts can be resolved (Goldsmith 2010; McKinney et al. 2006).

It is this pattern of abuse and the lack of adequate conflict resolution learning coupled with a lack of appropriate role models that is the single most accurate predictive factor for cases of domestic violence and the development of abusive individuals (All About Life's Challenges 2010). In families and communities where violence is tolerated and seen as normal children cannot help but develop these same attitudes toward violence. Again, because violence already has a greater prevalence in impoverished communities, children are more likely to be exposed to such attitudes in conjunction with other risk factors such as drug use, early sexual behaviors, and a lack of general productivity (All About Life's Challenges 2010).

All of these issues and trends identified in domestic violence and the patterns of partner abuse that most often exist in communities and families where violence is prevalent have a direct bearing on the ability for the United Arab Emirates' Social Support Center's to provide adequate relief from domestic violence as well as the efficacy of their violence prevention programs. Interrupting the cycle of abuse that occurs when the younger generation witnesses their adult role models engaged in abusive relationships should be a primary goal of the SSCs', but the organization's relative newness -- it is still less than a decade old -- will not have provided any measurable achievement in this area. In order to determine the actual level of success (or failure) achieved by the SSC, more immediate goals and influences must be measured. Though this can be difficult given the private and sensitive nature of domestic violence reports the literature does provide for some suggestions as to effective and immediate interventions and potential methods for measuring their outcome.

Specifically, early intervention in domestic violence relationships and for children that are witnesses to such relationships is key in preventing the development of the rigid social and psychological notions that lead to the perpetuation of such violence and abusive relationships (Mead 2002). It is at the earlier stages of any social interaction, regardless of the developmental stage of the individuals involved in and/or witnessing the social interaction, that the patterns of continued social interactions become set; altering the stimuli present in these interactions early on dynamically alters the way they are perceived and the resulting patterns (Mead 2002).