Domestic violence among Omani women: prevalence, risk factors and help-seeking behaviour

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence is a serious and often underreported problem. No studies on domestic violence have been conducted in Oman. AIMS: This study determined the prevalence and risk factors of emotional and/or physical domestic violence in Omani women, and the help-seeking behaviour of those experiencing domestic violence. METHODS: This cross-sectional study in 2019 included literate women aged 18-60 years old attending primary health care centres in Muscat region. A self-administered questionnaire was used to record the characteristics of the women and determine the prevalence of emotional and physical domestic violence. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for domestic violence. RESULTS: Of 1051 women approached, 978 agreed to participate. Mean age of the women was 30.6 (standard deviation 6.9) years. Domestic violence was reported by 28.8% (282/978) of women: 21.0% (205/978) had experienced emotional domestic violence, 18.0% (176/978) physical domestic violence and 10.1% (99) both emotional and physical domestic violence. Domestic violence was significantly associated with husband's alcohol consumption (odds ratio (OR) = 9.85, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.00-96.94), feeling depressed (OR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.75-4.81), insomnia (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.57-4.10) and somatic symptoms (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.08-2.78). Only 5.4% (11/205) of women experiencing emotional violence and 6.3% (11/176) experiencing physical violence had sought help from their doctors. CONCLUSION: Emotional and physical domestic violence against women is common in Oman and is associated with poor health outcomes. Addressing domestic violence in Oman is important and requires collaboration between different sectors.