The dissertation posed the question; How has social media facilitated a network of support for women suffering domestic violence in Kuwait?.
Domestic Violence, also known as Intimate Partner Violence, is described as behaviour exhibited by a current or former partner or spouse that instigates physi
cal, sexual or psychological harm to a woman (Hueker & Smock, 2020; Unwomen.org, 2017).
I researched the widespread issue of Domestic Violence in Kuwait which has inevitably soared during the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns in Kuwait.
According to UN Women, 1 in 3 women suffer from physical or sexual abuse from intimate partners worldwide.
Some staggering facts discovered from the research:
In a conducted questionnaire, 86.3% of people have heard of cases of Domestic Violence in Kuwait.
For 3 every month, to understand the impact of social media, I looked into Digital Anti-Violence campaigns from Kuwait & neighbouring countries, Saudi Arabia & Jordan as well as analysing law reformations or introductions.
The campaign in Kuwait was created by @abolish153 and tackled this issue head-on by addressing it through controversial campaigns but making a prominent statement.
In Saudi Arabia, the King Khalid Foundation produced the “No More Abuse” campaign in 2013 on social media platforms which caught media attention and enabled a draft law criminalising domestic abuse.
The United Nations Populations Fund in Jordan launched the #SpeakUpJo: 16 Voices on Sexual Harassment, an annual campaign marking the UN “16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” on social media in 2018. of lockdown, 15 million cases of Domestic Violence are expected globally (UN Women).
These unfortunate facts have only proven how much worse Domestic Violence has become as a result of COVID-19 or Shadow Pandemic.
