Saudi Arabia passes historic domestic abuse legislation

By Katie Bacharach

Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet passed groundbreaking legislation recognizing domestic violence as a criminal offense punishable by law. Reuters reports that the new law covers all forms of abuse, including physical, psychological, and sexual, as well as the threat of abuse. Previously, domestic abuse against women was regarded as a private matter in Saudi Arabia and it is still a relatively new concept for public discussion in the kingdom. There is some concern, though, that the new law is flawed because women remain subject to male guardians who must bring them to file abuse complaints, even though these guardians could be the abusers.

Read more at Reuters.

0 comments:

Post a Comment