Domestic Violence in Urban American Muslim Women,

Abstract

There is a perception in US Media that American Muslims have higher rates of domestic violence (DV) than the general US population. Available data, though not of the highest quality, suggests DV rates in American Muslims are similar to their non-Muslim peers. The purpose of this study is to respond to the need for more data of actionable quality on this important issue.We anonymously surveyed 332 American Muslim women over the age of eighteen at five mosques in the Greater Boston area and found rates of DV in American Muslim women to be comparable with American women in general. We used data from ADDHealth as a surrogate for America as a whole. We utilized a questionnaire to understand the underlying physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of DV affecting our study population. The data suggests there is less intimate partner violence and more aggression coming from parents and brothers in our study population than in the ADDHealth data. Also, rising socioeconomic and employment statusare not buffers against DV for our study population, as they are for theADDHealth participants. There were no differences based on ethnicity or country of birth. The results of the study are important in directing the conversation to a more evidenced-based discussion that highlights the gender disparity in Muslim communities, which is similar to the US population in general. Data also indicates measures that target the whole family, with focus on both boys and girls, are needed to ameliorate this significant issue.