Attitudes towards Violence against Women in Kuwait

This study reports on attitudes of a sample of 474 college-educated Kuwaiti citizens towards violence against women. Four constructs were examined, namely: 1) social aspects of violence against women; 2) socio-economic status/educational aspects of violence against women; 3) preventive indicators of violence against women and; 4) physical aspects of violence against women. Evidence regarding the reliability and validity of the instrument designed to measure the four outcome measures are reported. The findings showed a general disagreement with actions and/or attitudes that may reflect violence against women. Attitudinal differences due to participants' gender and place of birth were noted. Specifically, compared to men, women were in more disagreement concerning violence against women. Although differences between rural and urban participants were statistically significant, examination of the strength of the observed differences (effect sizes) suggested that the practical significance was limited. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.