The problem of violence against men in the Kurdistan region of Iraq continues to increase amid the absence of solutions, the worsening economic situation and its dangerous social repercussions.

Although it is difficult to determine the real numbers of violent men throughout Iraq due to the embarrassment of submitting complaints about their exposure to violence by their wives, due to social considerations, the reports confirm that thousands of men have been subjected to violence during the past few years.

The deteriorating situation in the country and the pressures of daily life are behind the escalation of violence (French)

increased violence

The head of the Civil Rights and Citizenship Organization, Diaa Boutros Seliu, confirms that there has been an increase in cases of violence against men in recent years.

Sliw shows to Al Jazeera Net that any person in Iraq, whether man or woman, is exposed to several forms of violence, whether domestic, societal, political or economic violence, due to the tragic conditions that the country has been witnessing since 2003.

He attributes the reasons for the escalation of violence to the deteriorating conditions in the country and the pressures of daily life, as well as the role of the media and social media, and the weak role of civil society organizations to educate society on how to combat this violence.

Sliw expresses his belief that giving women a greater role in society and relying on them and allowing them to work will reduce cases of domestic violence, whether against women or men.

Statistics

Sliw revealed that the statistics of the first half of 2022 recorded in Kurdistan regions 233 complaints of violence against men, 21 suicides by violent men and 3 men killed by women.

He added that in 2021 there were 521 complaints submitted by men who were subjected to violence, 68 cases of suicide by violent men, and 6 cases of men being killed by their wives, noting that the region recorded more than 101 thousand cases of divorce during 10 years, a large percentage of them due to men's exposure to violence, What left 71 thousand children without parents.

Sliw called for the need to pass a law to combat domestic violence, pay attention to nursing homes, support civil society organizations concerned with the family and its affairs, as well as activate the role of the media in educating societies.

Jumaa stressed the need for the law to have an active role in order to eliminate violence (Al Jazeera Net)

legal remedies

Lawyer and legal expert, Muhammad Juma'a, rules out the law's contribution to the increase in cases of violence against men, because the laws of the Kurdistan region punish the wife if she abuses the man.

He explains to Al Jazeera Net that the domestic violence law in Kurdistan does not differentiate if the wife or husband is violent, as all violence is a criminal, so the laws did not encourage this type of violence.

On the method of reporting cases of violence against a man, Jumaa states that according to the law, the man himself is required to take the initiative to report the occurrence of violence against him, and he must bring witnesses or medical reports that prove the fact that the abuse occurred against him, and he must go to the competent court of investigation or The family violence center specialized in submitting an official report about being subjected to violence by his wife or a member of his family.

Juma'a points out that most of the men's reports of being subjected to torture are malicious, through which the husband tries to defend himself legally in the event that his wife accuses him of abusing her.

However, this does not negate the existence of cases of violence against men, but it is mostly not reported because of the societal norms and restrictions that shame men from doing so.

The legal expert stressed the need for the law to have an active role in order to eliminate violence, and victims of abuse should trust the law, and psychological programs should be given attention to solve the problems of couples, because treatment of violent behavior is one of the effective and successful ways to eliminate domestic violence.

Hammondi believes that human rights organizations and the intervention of parties can reduce cases of violence (Al Jazeera Net)

many factors

For his part, the representative of the Ambassador of the International Commission for Human Rights in Kurdistan, Dr. Salah Al-Hamundi, says that there are many reasons for this phenomenon, which is widespread throughout the world and not only in the Kurdistan region.

In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, he shows that there are many factors for this type of violence, including economic ones, and others due to the absence of marital understanding, as well as politics and the negative role of the media and the absence of law.

Al-Hamundi reveals the escalation of incidents of violence against men over the past years, as the period between 2014-2020 recorded about 3,797 cases of violence, and 568 cases of suicide by violent men, as well as many emigration due to violence, according to the data of the Kurdistan Men's Union, a non-governmental organization.

Smari believes that the reasons for the violence of men are due to lack of awareness, social status and attachment to communication sites (Al-Jazeera Net)

He expressed his belief that the strong presence of international and local human rights organizations, and the intervention of parties in Kurdistan can reduce cases of violence.

Human rights activist Maha Ibrahim Samari expresses to Al Jazeera Net her rejection of violence against men, attributing its causes to lack of awareness, lack of culture, the nature of the social situation, and Internet problems that destroyed family relationships.

The human rights activist calls for blocking some abusive websites, and for educating women and men on the correct way of dealing with them.

Shawky: The absence of law enforcement and the application of clan customs are among the main causes of domestic violence (Al Jazeera Net)

family rift

In turn, the writer Nour Shawqi suggests that the absence of law enforcement and tribal customs and its repercussions on society and its development;

One of the main causes of the problem of domestic violence.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Shawqi warns of the problems of social networking sites when the woman tries to apply what she sees in those sites within her home environment to her husband, and so does the husband, so a clash occurs between him and his wife, and a rift occurs in the traditional relationship that they coexisted with.

He notes that sometimes the wife tries to be dominant in the house through the use of violence or other methods through which she deals negatively with the husband, and all of these lead to the collapse of the family and thus the disintegration of society.

Shawky calls for organizing campaigns to raise awareness of society through social media, television and publications, and for civil organizations to hold meetings with well-balanced personalities in society to conduct instructive lectures to solve the problem from its roots.

He stressed the need for the government to take practical steps to discuss the causes of the problem and find solutions to it, and to preserve the rights of all segments of society, to contain this matter.