Population size:
34.8 million [1]
Number of people experiencing domestic abuse each year:
1 in 3 women.[2] No research on male victims or other gender identities.
Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:
No research.
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
Highest ever recorded no. of cases during the lockdown. [3]
Current law and policy:
Saudi Arabia has recently made great strides in improving the position of women and girls. In 2018 sexual harassment was criminalised. However, women are still under the control of men due to the cultural and social significance of the guardianship system.
Saudi Arabia was elected by the UN to a four-year term on its Commission on the Status of Women which was met with mixed views internationally and over a dozen women’s rights campaigners are currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
Sources
[1] Worldometer, “Saudi Arabia Population (Live)”, (worldometers.info)
[2] https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-8156-4