Association of Women Empowerment with Intimate Partner Violence in Saudi Arabia

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Introduction

A serious global public health concern, violence against women affects not only the health of the victims but also that of their families and society as a whole. Physical violence is defined as using force against another person by shoving, biting, slapping, stabbing, shooting, or pinching. Verbal abuse is the use of words to cause harm to the person being addressed. Although brutal, it is still the least acknowledged violation of fundamental human rights.1 Any behavior that threatens, intimidates, or diminishes the victim’s sense of self-worth or self-esteem is considered emotional, intimate partner violence (also known as psychological or mental abuse).2,3 Sexual violence occurs when a wife is physically coerced into having sex against her will, coerced into having sex out of fear, or coerced into doing something sexual that she finds demeaning or humiliating.2,4 Economic abuse happens when an intimate partner has control over the victim’s finances.2,5

According to estimates, 35% of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lives.2 Nevertheless, because abuse against women is frequently unreported, this figure is probably underestimated. Thirty percent of women report experiencing physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their relationships. A WHO poll conducted in ten countries revealed that between 15% (Japan City) and 71% (Ethiopia Province) of women who had ever been in a relationship reported having suffered physical or sexual abuse (or both) at some point in their lives from an intimate partner.6 It is alarming to learn that men, usually men in their close social circles, are responsible for almost 4 out of 10 (38%) female homicides.

The field of IPV research is lacking in the Middle East.7 A systematic review of IPV prevalence in Arab countries found that the reported prevalence (ever) ranged from 6% to more than half (59%) for physical abuse, from 3 to 40% for sexual abuse, and from 5 to 91% for emotional/ psychological abuse.8 A study on women accessing medical facilities in Alexandria, Egypt in 2012 found that 77% of the women had experienced domestic abuse.9 A previous study found that the lifetime prevalence rates of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse were 39%, 30%, and 6% respectively.10

The lifetime prevalence rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) varies from 35% to 45% in different parts of the Kingdom.11–16 According to earlier research, between 20% and 30.3% of female patients in primary care clinics in Riyadh,17 central Saudi Arabia, and Al-Jawf province, northern Saudi Arabia,18 had experienced IPV in the previous year. According to previous surveys, 39.3% of married women in Al Ahsa,11 the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, and 34% of married women in Jeddah,12 western Saudi Arabia,12 reported having experienced violence at some point in their lives. The disparity most likely results from differences in each local sub-community’s sociodemographic makeup.

Women’s acceptance of their beliefs about domestic abuse reveals their status in a particular social and cultural context and provides insights into the social, cultural, and behavioral transformation stage of the countries’ evolution towards a gender-democratic society.19–24 Women’s perceptions of men’s power over women’s behavior and the cultural acceptance of that power are the best indicators of domestic violence, according to studies.21 A systematic evaluation of 15 Ethiopian studies25 found that over 50% of women support domestic abuse. These perceptions have a negative impact on women’s lives in several ways, including re-victimization, seeking help when needed, and the effectiveness of government and non-governmental organizations’ efforts to reduce domestic abuse.19,26,27 Reasons for using violence included burning food, fighting with the spouse, leaving the house without telling anybody, neglecting the child, refusing sex, being unfaithful, defying, and having suspicions of adultery. Sayem et al28 found that approximately 49.5% of Bangladeshi women who experienced physical violence believed that a man should be able to beat his wife. The proportion of women who think their husbands should be allowed to beat their wives was higher among rural women.29

When discussing varying levels of women’s independence, “autonomy” and “women’s empowerment” are frequently used interchangeably. Most studies focus on women’s decision-making and physical autonomy (movement freedom).11 Numerous studies have examined other facets of autonomy, including speaking one’s mind, keeping one’s health, and participating in the labor force.30

Social conventions in Saudi society restrict the choices available to women, even with education.11 However, this empowerment may not protect them from domestic abuse. A recent evidence assessment evaluating preventative interventions for violence against women and girls concluded that there was “insufficient evidence to recommend social empowerment interventions”.31 A study of 744 married Indian women living in urban areas found that career training and social clubs—participatory treatments meant to enhance women’s social empowerment—increased the risk of domestic violence.32 Due to the dearth of data and the adverse health effects Saudi Arabian research has shown, a current study that links the prevalence rate to protective and risk factors is necessary. A prior study conducted in Bangladesh found that longer-married, more powerful women were less likely to experience physical abuse. This might be the case because, in Bangladeshi society, a stronger woman obtains some protection against physical abuse during a longer marriage. This is expected since women are shielded by having more children as their marriages last longer. The discovery that more powerful women who had only sons were less likely to experience physical abuse lends credence to this.33

Studies contend that women’s empowerment can give women the autonomy and power to mitigate IPV through education, enabling them to know their place in society.34 Empowerment is associated with lower levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) revictimization, though the direction of this association is still unknown. This claim, though, appears pointless because some strong-willed women nonetheless encounter IPV.35,36 Empowerment was linked to better outcomes for six months among women who experienced IPV in a prospective national study of women veterans from all eras of military service living in US households.37 The study’s conclusion suggested that empowerment may play a significant role in protecting IPV victims from unfavorable outcomes in the future. These findings support the idea that empowerment plays a crucial role in helping victims of violence recover.38,39 An investigation into whether women’s empowerment guarantees a decrease in intimate partner violence (IPV) in Bangladesh found that older cohorts of more empowered women were more vulnerable to physical violence than younger, less empowered women.33 Less empowered women who were childless had a higher chance of experiencing physical violence than more empowered women who had only male children. Compared to more empowered, primary-educated women, women with less education and power were more likely to be victims of physical abuse. Compared to more powerful women who had been married for over 19 years, less powerful women who had been married for less time were more likely to experience physical abuse.

The most important challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are closing the gender gap and empowering women. Women who are empowered will have greater freedom of movement, financial and social independence, and family decision-making authority. In addition, this would eventually lead to the adoption of contemporary contraception, prenatal care, institutional delivery, trained birth attendance, and—above all—a superior standard of health for children. Further comprehensive research is necessary to ascertain the impact of women’s empowerment on intimate partner violence (IPV).40,41 The Saudi Arabian government implemented the Law for Protection against Abuse in September 2013, which aims to protect against all forms of abuse and to provide social, psychological, and medical treatment. According to the Saudi Vision 2030, women would have more freedom to travel, new career options, and more autonomy and decision-making authority (a driver’s license was first provided in 2016). The recent spike in women’s empowerment in the workforce and society will influence future research conducted in Saudi Arabia on the prevalence of intimate partner violence.

In our previous study, we asked 400 married women attending the Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs primary healthcare centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to rate the prevalence of various forms of domestic abuse and the factors that contribute to it.42 We found a 44.8% lifetime overall prevalence of IPV. The present study used the same data to investigate three main areas: (1) the level of views Saudi women have towards IPV, (2) their relationship to IPV prevalence, and (3) the relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV prevalence in Saudi Arabia. This study was conceived based on the growing concern about violence against women, particularly by intimate partners, but also the lack of knowledge regarding the underlying risk factors that are related explicitly to husbands and women’s empowerment traits. In Saudi Arabia, no prior research has looked into the potential connection between IPV and women’s empowerment. This could serve as a springboard for future nationwide studies.

Materials and Methods

Study Area/Setting

Saudi citizens, National Guard members, and their relatives can receive state-of-the-art medical care from National Guard Health Affairs, a sizable healthcare institution. Four of Riyadh’s top main and secondary care facilities serve the population that visits National Guard Health Services. The following primary healthcare facilities’ out-patient clinics were used to recruit participants: 1) King Abdulaziz Iskan City Clinic (which serves 60,000 people); 2) Khashm Al-Aan Clinic (which serves 150000 people); 3) Umm Al-Hammam Clinic (which serves 90,000 people); and 4) Dirab clinic (which serves 10,000 people).

Study Subjects

Married women between the ages of 15 and 65 who participated in outpatient clinics at Ministry of National Guards-Health Affairs (MNG-HA) primary care centers in Riyadh during the survey were included in our study. Women who came with their spouses were not allowed.

Study Design

This study is an analytical cross-sectional research.

Sampling Method and Sample Size

An estimated 350 women were needed, based on a 25% global lifetime prevalence rate of women impacted by IPV2 (the degree of precision is considered to be 0.05 and 95% CI). To compensate for the incompleteness of the data collection, 400 married women were sampled.

The target population for the study consisted of all married female patients between the ages of 15 and 65 who were willing to participate in the outpatient clinics at the primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) of the NGHA in Riyadh. With the premise that the distribution of females matches the precise distribution of the catchment area of the four PHC centers, a straightforward random selection procedure was used to choose samples proportionate to the size of the entire catchment area of each center (as previously noted). As a result, 190 individuals from Khashm Al Aan, 115 from Umm Al Hamam, and 15 from Dirab PHCCs were selected as participants for Iskan.

Data Collection

  1. Attitude toward IPV:

The WHO multi-country (WHOMC) VAW instrument, validated in Arabic, was used in this study.6,43 The questionnaire contained a part on attitudes towards women’s roles in society and when a husband has the right to abuse his wife. Based on this section, 10 items regarding attitudes towards IPV were answered on a 3-point Likert scale: agree (0 points), disapprove (2 points), and not sure (1 point). The total and percent mean scores (PMS) were calculated for each woman. Each woman’s attitude was divided into three categories: “positive” (>80%), “neutral” (60–80%), and “negative” (<60%).

  • B. Assessment of women’s empowerment:

    • Based on data from the 2000 National Health Survey of Oman, Al Riyami and Afifi30 developed a questionnaire for this assessment. The women’s empowerment module includes two indices measuring women’s participation in decision-making and freedom of mobility.

    1. The decision-making process: We asked married women, “Who gets the last word on”. The eight things that involve making decisions are cooking, family planning, spending money on the house, buying clothes for the kids, medicine, health care, problem-solving, and seeing family. A woman is empowered for everything when she accepts responsibility for her choice. The decision-making index had eight points; a woman with an index value of zero is considered least empowered, and a woman with an index of eight is considered most empowered. The reliability of the decision-making index was evaluated using the Cronbach-alpha coefficient, which had a value of 0.56.30 The continuous variable was then converted to a bivariate by applying a cut to the score higher than the 25th percentile.
    2. Freedom of movement. Married women were asked, ”Does your husband allow you to go alone? For six locations: shopping, visiting a hospital or health facility, dropping by a child’s school, seeing friends and family, and going for a walk. In such field, a woman is considered powerful if she can go alone the majority of the time, if not always. The index’s point value ranges from 0 to 6. Regarding freedom of movement, women who score zero are the least empowered, while those who score six are the most empowered. This index’s Cronbach-α coefficient is 0.82.30 A cut score greater than the upper 25th percentile was then utilized to turn the continuous variable into a bivariate. Women in the other group were perceived as having great authority, whereas those who scored between 0 and 5 had little freedom of movement.
  • C. IPV screening as an outcome measure:

    • This study used the WHO multi-country (WHOMC) VAW instrument, which has been validated in Arabic.6,43 The questionnaire consists of 12 components. The questionnaire included sections on demographics, IPV, and injuries to the respondent and her partner that were deemed culturally appropriate to enquire; other sections on general health were left out. The four forms of IPV that are covered by the modified questionnaire are (1) physical violence, (2) emotional abuse, (3) sexual abuse, and (4) economic abuse.

    Data on the following was gathered for every form of IPV:

    1. The degree and frequency of violent experiences in the past and present, whether they were frequent, infrequent, rare, or never. When a person answered “always” to any of the IPV items, violence was taken into consideration, and the prevalence of various forms of violence was calculated in accordance. Based on the woman’s reporting of one or more forms of violence, the overall prevalence of IPV was assessed.
    2. Reasons for IPV: The Family Violence Prevention Fund’s suggested screening questions were used to determine these causes.43
    3. The history of child abuse and maltreatment by the woman and her husband, including beatings, sexual harassment, witnessing the father hit the mother, etc.
    4. Demographic information about the lady and her spouse, such as age, education, occupation, and income, as well as their relationship, such as consanguinity, length of marriage, subsequent marriages, cohabitation in the same home, and additional children from previous marriages. A thorough explanation of the questionnaire’s components was provided in our earlier study.42

    The National Family Safety Program (NFSP) data collectors at MNG-HA in Riyadh were invited. The NFSP is a unique national program in Saudi Arabia that combats IPV by raising public awareness, creating preventative efforts, and providing support to victims of abuse. The staff members of this program are specialized social workers and researchers who have conducted research, dealt with women on delicate matters, addressed confidentiality issues, and provided participants with safety strategies in case they report IPV. We made sure that none of these staff members worked in primary health care (PHC) clinics to reduce any potential adverse effect on recruitment should it turn out that any of them knew the ladies or had previously visited them. They approached the woman about participating in the study while waiting to see the doctor. They were trained in data collection techniques, privacy assurance, and effective communication strategies. The best ways to approach participants were as follows: (1) establish trust; (2) comprehend the dynamics of intimate partner violence; (3) comprehend the safety and autonomy of abused women; (4) learn how to ask questions about abuse; and (5) be straightforward and nonjudgmental.44 Women were informed they could withdraw from the study or not participate.

    A pilot study was carried out to determine if the study would be feasible in terms of participant willingness, the number of women recruited in each clinic, the most efficient way to approach participants, the time needed to complete the questionnaire, and possible dropout reasons. It also helped us decide if the validity and reliability of the tool were adequate. Twenty pilot study participants were selected, randomly evaluated, and subsequently excluded from the main trial. The results of the pilot research were taken into consideration while making any necessary modifications.

    Data Management

    Data input and statistical analysis were performed using IBM Corporation’s SPSS® version 20.0 (Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics, such as percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations, were used to measure the attitude statement responses and demographic characteristics. Before determining which statistical test to employ, the Shapiro–Wilk test was used to examine the data for normality of the following variables: women’s empowerment score, women’s attitude score, and women’s age. The association between women’s views (positive, neutral, and negative) and degrees of empowerment (empowered and non-empowered) with all forms of IPV and total violence was investigated using analytical statistics. These included the Mn-Whitney test, the Person Chi-square test, and the Chi-square test for linear trend. The following independent variables were used in the logistic regression analysis to see if women’s empowerment could independently predict IPV: woman’s age (in years), women’s attitude (score), husband’s and wife’s experience of child abuse (yes versus no), women’s empowerment (score), and polygamy (yes versus no). A p-value of 0.05 was used in all analyses to indicate statistical significance.

    Results

    The Demographic Traits of Wives and Their Spouses

    The demographic characteristics of women and their spouses are shown in Table 1. About 96% of women lived with their spouses, and for 97% of women, this was their first marriage. According to 14.8% of women, their husbands were living with other spouses, and 29.4% of those husbands were married to other individuals. Of the women surveyed, 64.1% said they were married to a relative (44.4% to 19.7%, respectively). According to Table 1, 59% of husbands and 40.5% of women said they had experienced abuse as children.

    Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Study Sample

    Women’s Beliefs and Attitudes on the Abuse of Women

    Among the overall number of women, 54.9% held a positive opinion on women being assaulted, 15.5% had a negative attitude, and 29.6% held a neutral attitude. While 29.7% of all women believed that a wife should sleep with her husband regardless of her desires, around one-third (34.8%) felt that a woman should obey her husband regardless of her opinions. Table 2 shows that women thought that a husband should be allowed to beat his wife if she is suspected of treason (27.8%), leaves the house without informing him (21.4%), or neglects to raise the children (18.4%).

    Table 2 Women’s Response to Beliefs and Attitude Statements to Women’s Violence

    Empowerment of Women

    Over two-thirds of women (67%) and one-third (33%) were classified as less empowered based on the decision-making measure (Table 3). Table 4 shows that 40% of women were classified as less empowered and 60% as highly empowered based on the Freedom to Move index.

    Table 3 Response of Women to Decision-Making Process Index

    Table 4 Response of Women to Freedom to Move Index

    Association Between Attitude and the Occurrence of IPV

    Between women who reported a positive attitude towards IPV (ie, being against abuse) and those who reported neutral or negative attitudes (ie, agreeing to be abused by husbands), the prevalence of IPV increased significantly (χ2LT=4.35, p=0.037) to 45% and 56.8%, respectively. A strong correlation was found between the attitude level and the overall prevalence of IPV. (Table 5 and Figure 1)

    Table 5 Prevalence of IPV according to Women Empowerment and Women’s Attitude to Violence

    Figure 1 Association of women’s empowerment and women’s attitude to IPV with IPV prevalence.

    Association Between Empowerment and IPV Prevalence

    There was a significant correlation (p<0.001) between the women empowerment decision-making process index and all forms of domestic abuse. Empowered women reported a significantly lower prevalence of total IPV (30.1% versus 77%, χ2=74.91, p<0.001) than non-empowered women. Only physical types of IPV showed a significant correlation with the measure of women’s empowerment known as freedom of movement. The rate of domestic violence reports by empowered women was significantly lower (16.2% versus 27.7%, χ2=5.77, p=0.016). (Table 5 and Figure 1).

    Figure 2 shows the correlation between the mean score of women’s empowerment and the reporting of violence against intimate partners. A significant relationship was observed between the reporting of abuse and lower mean perceptions of women’s empowerment in all types of abuse.

    Figure 2 Association between women empowerment (mean score) and reporting of intimate partner violence.

    In the logistic regression study of IPV, women’s empowerment was included as an independent variable after controlling for the age of the wife, women’s attitudes towards IPV, the wife and husband’s experiences with child abuse, and polygamy. Women’s empowerment was a protective factor (OR=0.734, 95% CI: 0.63–0.85) against IPV, whereas the wife’s history of child abuse was a risk factor (OR=3.98, 95% CI: 1.88–8.42). (Table 6).

    Table 6 Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women

    Discussion

    Forty-five percent of the 400 Saudi women surveyed said they have been victims of IPV. Compared to non-empowered women, empowered women had a significantly reduced prevalence of IPV when it comes to decision-making and mobility. When possible confounders were considered, women’s empowerment was a significant IPV protective. There was some, but not much, correlation between a favorable attitude towards IPV and a lower risk of domestic abuse.

    Women’s acceptance of their views regarding domestic abuse reveals a lot about their status in a given social and cultural context and provides insights into the social, cultural, and behavioral transformation stage of the countries’ evolution towards a gender-democratic society.19,26,27 A systematic review of fifteen studies found that more than 50% of women support domestic abuse. Among the reasons given were food burning,19,27,45 arguments with the spouse,19,26,27,44,45 leaving the house without telling the husband,19,26,27,43,45 child neglect,19,26,27,45 refusing sex,19,25–27,43,45–48 being unfaithful,19,25,43,46,47 disobeying her husband,19,25,48 and suspicion of infidelity.19,25,47,48 In our study,15.5% of the women said they had a negative attitude, which meant they put up with their husbands’ mistreatment. A third of the ladies agreed that a wife should obey her husband’s orders even if she is not convinced to do so and should sleep with him even if it makes her uncomfortable About 25% of women agreed that a husband had the right to beat his wife if she was accused of betraying him, leaving the house without warning him, or not giving the kids enough attention. These findings were consistent with a prior study that examined the extent and correlates of conditional acceptance of wife-beating among men and women in Benin, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe using data from the demographic and health surveys (DHS).49 The study demonstrated that wife-beating was widely accepted by both men and women in all the countries examined under specific conditions. It was nearly universally accepted in Uganda, Mali, and Ethiopia. A prior survey indicated that some women consider beating to be a regular and loving behavior.50

    Rules or standards of behaviour in society that people choose to follow even when they break them are known as cultural and social norms that encourage violence.22–24,51 The Saudi Law for Protection against Abuse52 addresses behavior in society that is considered unpleasant and may foster an environment that is favorable to abuse. Additionally, it broadens the public’s comprehension of what constitutes abuse and its repercussions while creating valuable and scientific instruments to combat it. It also provides legal processes for the prosecution and holding perpetrators accountable It was discovered that there was a substantial correlation between the attitude and the overall prevalence of IPV. In particular, the prevalence of IPV was much lower among women who expressed positive views regarding IPV—that is, those who do not accept being mistreated by their husbands—than among those who reported neutral or negative attitudes. However, after controlling for confounding variables, women’s attitudes toward IPV were not a significant predictor of IPV prevalence. To put it another way, attitude might not be sufficient to end IPV.

    There may be differences in the pattern of IPV in less industrialized environments compared to more industrialized ones.53 The context influences the intensity of the violence; traditional rural settings typically have higher rates of violence than urban settings.6 Women who lack social and economic authority are more vulnerable to domestic abuse.54,55 In our research, women who felt empowered reported significantly lower rates of domestic abuse. Even after taking into consideration the wife’s age, women’s views towards IPV, and the wife and husband’s histories of child abuse and polygamy, women’s empowerment remained a protective factor. As a result of women’s empowerment, the prevalence of IPV may decrease by more than thirty percent. All forms of IPV were found to have a strong correlation with the women empowerment decision-making process index in our research. The results of our investigation corroborated those of a prior study,41 which discovered that women with more remarkable decision-making ability had a much lower incidence of IPV. Although not significantly, women who scored higher on autonomy were less likely to be victims of intimate partner violence. Previous research has also reported this correlation.33,56,57 It is possible that this association stems from the fact that higher decision-making facilitates open communication, compromise, and problem-solving, lowering the risk of disagreements turning violent in intimate partner relationships. Another possibility is that women who actively participate in decision-making subvert stereotypes and conventional gender norms, which uphold unequal power dynamics.58 This subverts the underlying beliefs that may encourage abusive behavior.

    In India, it was discovered that women’s economic independence was a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV).59 Women’s empowerment, in conjunction with gender equity, can lower the incidence of violence against women. This might result from their increased family participation and the ensuing disagreement over decisions about how to spend their money and what to do about their kids’ medical needs. When paired with gender parity, women’s empowerment can lower the rate of violence against women. The women empowerment decision-making process index showed a strong correlation with all forms of IPV, including economic violence. Empowered women reported a significantly lower occurrence of both financial and general violence than did non-empowered women.

    Previous research has linked child abuse to victimization later on.60–65 The adverse effects of maltreatment or neglect in childhood, as well as the development of insufficient coping mechanisms, may shed light on the relationship between IPV victimization and childhood maltreatment.66 In our study, the wife’s history of maltreatment of children was found to be a significant predictor of IPV. Women who experienced maltreatment as children were four times more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in the future than non-victimized women. These findings suggest that when it comes to IPV (victimization and perpetration), individuals with past histories of child abuse or neglect ought to be given more consideration. Polygamy and an increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) have been linked by numerous studies, including ones carried out in Saudi Arabia.6,16 Alquaiz et al16 discovered in their Riyadh study that polygamy, perceived poor self-health, lack of family support, and women’s young age were risk factors for IPV in Saudi women. However, this study did not find that polygamy or the age of the women were independent predictors of IPV.

    Limitations

    This research is subject to many limitations. Since our study is cross-sectional, conclusions on causality cannot be made. To assess IPV more correctly, longitudinal cohort studies should be carried out to ascertain baseline IPV exposure from the previous year and receipt of IPV-relevant prophylactic interventions. An interview questionnaire served as the basis for this investigation. Because of this, there may be remembrance bias and cultural prejudice in the disclosure of some issues. Due to social conventions, feelings of shame or embarrassment, and the stigma associated with talking about marital issues—particularly sex—the majority of women tend to underreport concerns linked to empowerment and violence.67 We did not include wives and spouses in our study. If this exclusion reflects a secure marriage where the husband is more supportive of his wife, then it may have increased the occurrence of IPV. Moreover, employing a convenient sample resulted in practical difficulties in addressing women formally and methodically, which might have led to selection bias. In addition, the study’s recruitment included women who went to PHCCs for minor ailments. As a result, it’s possible that this group does not fairly reflect all women in the intended audience. Furthermore, it is challenging to quantify research on gender-based violence due to the long history of highly subjective meanings of terms like abuse and violence, which differ among cultures. Strict interviewer training, painstaking questionnaire pre-testing, and standardized instruments comprised the study’s methodology. We think that these actions contributed to a decrease in bias.

    Conclusion

    Over the past 20 years, Saudi Arabia has made enormous progress in preventing domestic abuse and empowering women. The National Family Safety Program was started by a royal decree in 2005, and it is now required to protect family members from abuse and violence. The first national law to protect women from domestic abuse and violence was the “Protection from Abuse Law”, which was passed shortly after in 2013. Despite these significant advancements in human rights, women’s empowerment was not officially on the governmental agenda until the 2016 publication of Saudi Vision 2030. Saudi Vision 2030 includes a dedicated national initiative on women’s empowerment. It targets women’s rights in all circumstances, including decision-making and movement, and collaborates with all governmental and non-governmental organizations. This national initiative, coupled with strict legislative measures against domestic abuse, would not only protect women after the fact but also prevent violence against them. Consequently, over time, the prevalence of IPV will progressively decline.

    According to our research, women’s empowerment is a strong predictor of IPV in women. Women’s empowerment could serve as a deterrent to violence against intimate partners. Women’s attitudes towards violence were not a good approach to measure it. The support of women who lack social and economic power should be the aim of government action. Social standards in Saudi Arabia restrict the choices available to women, even with an education. This could change our perspective and allow for developing a brand-new metric for women’s empowerment.

    Using focused empowerment techniques to address IPV is crucial to creating a culture in which women can prosper without facing violence or oppression. Future studies should keep looking for creative ways to combine comprehensive violence prevention programs with empowerment initiatives so that all women have access to the tools and assistance they need to live safe lives. It is advised to implement advocacy programs and economic livelihood empowerment projects to change women’s perspectives on domestic abuse and to increase their ability for social independence, autonomy, and decision-making. The main goals of these interventions ought to be to alter public perceptions of violence and provide women the authority to engage in decision-making.

    Abbreviations

    IPV, Intimate partner violence; VAW, Violence Against Women; PMS, percentage mean score; NFSP, National Family Safety Program; PHC, primary health care; IRB, Institutional Review Board; MNG-HA, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs; KAIMRC, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.

    Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

    Approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at NGHA was obtained [Ref.# RC14/059 R]. Selected women were given a cover letter that describes the study objectives, their right to refuse participation or answer any question, the participants’ anonymity (absence of personal identities), and confidentiality of their responses (availability of data to the research team only). Then, verbal consent was obtained from all participants, and the IRB approved this verbal consent. The voluntary nature of participating in the survey was made explicit and unambiguous in the cover letter. Interviews occurred privately; no spouses, relatives, or friends were present. This study was conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki.

    Data Sharing Statement

    Most of the data supporting our findings is contained within the manuscript, and all others, excluding identifying/confidential patient data, will be shared upon request by contacting the corresponding author [Mostafa Abolfotouh [email protected]].

    Acknowledgments

    The King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) initiated and funded this study. The research coordinators from the Population Health Research Section at KAIMRC—Ms. Oraynab Abou Abbas, Ms. Shahla Al Dhukair, Ms. Donna Elsayed, and Dr. Maliha Nasim—would like to express their gratitude for their efforts in searching and reviewing the literature. Special thanks go to Ms. Sereen Al-Madani, the research coordinator from the National Safety Program at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for her continuous supervision and monitoring of the clinic data collectors. All individuals included in this section have consented to the acknowledgment.

    Funding

    There is no funding to report.

    Disclosure

    The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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    ADAA’s The Art Show Returns With Highly Curated Booths But Slow Sales

    Posted on by emandowa
    View of a fair with attendees.
    The Art Show crowd on opening night. Photo credit: Scott Rudd Productions

    ADAA’s The Art Show opened last night (October 30) in the Park Avenue Armory, with the usual benefit gala to support Henry Street Settlement, one of the nation’s oldest social services organizations. The 36th edition of one of the oldest fairs in the city has work brought by seventy-five ADAA member galleries, many of which are presenting highly curated solo booths that put very focused spotlights on each artist’s practice and narrative. This curatorial attention, coupled with the already present elegance of the well-dimensioned interiors of the Armory and the high-profile crowd, gave the fair a boutique feel.

    Despite this, sales and negotiations unfolded slowly in the early hours, reflecting a current trend: collectors are increasingly contemplative and deliberate, requiring extended conversations and negotiations before finalizing deals even as prices at most booths seemed more reasonable than in previous editions. The abundant selection of hors d’oeuvres and drinks may not have helped, as much of the crowd’s attention gravitated towards refreshments, diverting the focus away from art purchases.

    Newly appointed ADAA executive director Kinsey Robb, however, expressed satisfaction with the first night’s turnout, telling Observer that the benefit preview exceeded his expectations. “There was a stellar turnout and palpable excitement in the air for our exhibitors’ presentations, many of whom debuted new works and artists for the first time,” he said. “It was a joy to come together as a community, share in one another’s work and celebrate our longstanding partnership with Henry Street, for whom we raised over $1 million last night.”

    Image of a fair booth with abstract paintings and people talking.Image of a fair booth with abstract paintings and people talking.
    Of the seventy-five ADAA member galleries featured at the fair, forty-three presented solo exhibitions. Photo credit: Scott Rudd Productions

    At the entrance, Pace Gallery mounted a solo booth featuring unique monotypes by in-demand artist Chase Hall, with prices set between $50,000 and $55,000. Just ahead, Kasmin presented a series of rarely exhibited works by influential American photographer Tina Barney, all focused on the theme of family.

    One booth of particular note was that of Luxembourg + Co., with theatrical assemblages by Japanese artist Katsumi Nakai. Nakai, who relocated to Italy in the 1960s, became deeply immersed in the Italian art scene, working with the historic Galleria Il Naviglio in Milan. His practice, rich with influences from Lucio Fontana’s Teatrini and the shaped, altered canvases of Enrico Castellani and Agostino Bonalumi, also retains a link to Japanese origami traditions. These pieces literally unfold in the booth, shifting from monochromatic designs to vibrant, multicolored structures that evoke playful, almost biological forms. Priced between $14,000 and $50,000, Nakai’s work is part of an ongoing rediscovery effort following his showcase at Frieze Masters in London and a solo exhibition in London last year. This effort coincides with a newly opened show at Luxembourg + Co.’s New York location, featuring Nakai’s work in dialogue with that of Isamu Noguchi.

    Image of a booth with mosaaics based canvasesImage of a booth with mosaaics based canvases
    Thomas Sills and Jeanne Reynal presented by Eric Firestone. Courtesy of Eric Firestone

    Down the left aisle, Eric Firestone Gallery presents a captivating dialogue between Thomas Sills and Jeanne Reynal, two artists who were life partners and deeply influenced one another’s intricate, compelling art. Their works reflect a shared inspiration from their travels, particularly in the Mediterranean and South America. Reynal, trained in Paris as a mosaicist, developed an innovative abstract approach to this traditional medium upon her return to the U.S., cutting and intuitively assembling tesserae mixed with Venetian glass, semi-precious stones and shell fragments. The result is sculptural columns that evoke ancient Greek archeological ruins but at the same time appear extremely organic, like underwater corals or limestone formations, while her works on canvas take a more informal approach to the material, with a magmatic quality that recalls the experimental textures of Jean Fautrier and Jean Dubuffet. Meanwhile, Sills (1914-2000), a self-taught Black artist from the South, began painting in his 30s, inspired by Reynal’s work and encouraged by Willem de Kooning. Known for his mastery of color, Sills applied paint with cloths and rags, creating a distinctive softness and an inner luminosity in his pieces. Reynal’s works in this presentation are offered in the $150,000-$200,000 range.

    Speaking of light emanating from canvas, Tibor De Nagy is showcasing Icelandic landscapes by Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson that pulse with vibrant colors and gradients, capturing the unique natural forces and atmospheric frequencies of her homeland. These works are priced between $15,000 and $18,000.

    Nearby, Michael Rosenfeld showcases a solo presentation of Charles White’s evocative chronicles of African American lives. Next door, Peter Freeman’s booth immediately captures fairgoers’ attention with an installation featuring dollars suspended from the ceiling. This piece, part of “Just as money is paper, so is a gallery a room” by Croatian neoconceptual artist Mladen Stilinović, critically explores the role of money and labor in society, informed by his experience under a communist regime. Stilinović, a leading figure in Yugoslavia’s New Art Practice and a member of Zagreb’s Group of Six Artists, focused his work on a direct critique of societal values surrounding money and work.

    Booth with conceptual works.Booth with conceptual works.
    Mladen Stilinović, “Just as money is paper, so is a gallery a room,” Peter Freeman, Inc., Booth D13. Courtesy Peter Freeman, Inc., New York / Paris. Photography by Nicholas Knight.

    At Peg Alston’s booth, standout pieces by Sam Gilliam and Frank Bowling, including a Bowling work inspired by Cézanne and priced at $200,000, drew notable attention. Louis Armstrong’s music played in the background, creating an ambiance reminiscent of the era in which many of these works were conceived.

    Toward the back, Lehmann Maupin presented intricate collages by Malawian artist Billie Zangewa, hand-stitched from raw silk fragments. Her works, exploring themes of motherhood and life in Johannesburg, are on display at SITE SANTA FE through February and will later travel to the Frost Museum. Pieces at The Art Show were priced between $18,000 and $20,000.

    Nearby, James Fuentes highlighted the lyrical abstraction of Japanese artist Kikuo Saito alongside two lyrical paintings by Trinidad-born polymath Geoffrey Holder, whose estate the gallery represents. Holder’s Woman in Orange, sold on the first night for $150,000. Following a summer show at Victoria Miro with his brother, Boscoe Holder, Geoffrey Holder’s diverse body of work has attracted renewed interest, especially since Fuentes hosted his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year.

    Painting of a woman sitting with a black dress and orange background.Painting of a woman sitting with a black dress and orange background.
    Geoffrey Holder, Portrait of Carmen, 1960; Oil on masonite, 68 1/2 x 41 1/8 inches. Courtesy of the estate and James Fuentes.

    Among the fair’s notable discoveries this year are the darkly surreal work of self-taught artist Abraham Lincoln Walker (1921-1993), originally from Kentucky and based in Saint Louis. Recently discovered and presented for the first time by Andrew Edlin Gallery, Walker’s art nearly sold out in the early hours, with pieces priced between $10,000 and $40,000. His deeply dystopian works from the late 1960s to early 1970s depict elongated, masked figures and disjointed human forms, intertwining and hovering in ambiguous relationships in desolate, dark-toned landscapes.

    For those interested in emerging talents, a visit to the booth of Houston-based Josh Pazda Hiram Butler Gallery is worthwhile. Here, one finds the intricate, multilayered abstract paintings of Ana Villagomez, who recently enjoyed a sold-out show at Nino Mier Gallery in New York. All works are uniform in size and priced at $18,000, reflecting her growing appeal among collectors.

    Image of attendees looking at intricated bastract paintings.Image of attendees looking at intricated bastract paintings.
    Ana Villagomez, “The Lightning is the Mother’s Song,” presented by Josh Pazda Hiram Butler. Photo: Scott Rudd

    Josh Pazda Hiram Butler is not the only Houston gallery represented this year: ADAA has launched an exciting new initiative, “Spotlight On…,” designed to showcase the art scenes of cities beyond major art hubs. The inaugural edition celebrates the vibrancy of Houston’s fine art community, featuring presentations by Houston-based ADAA members with panels and institutional engagement.

    Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino is presenting a solo exhibition by artist Reynier Leyva Novo with works from his ongoing series, Mnemosyne’s Whisper. This series debuted earlier this year in Novo’s solo exhibition “Former Present Today” at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston. Novo’s body of work explores historical memory, questioning how it is shaped and manipulated through monuments and other symbolic representations. The booth has acrylic paintings and canvas drawings that reflect on the removal of Confederate monuments in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. One side of the exhibit features an abstract blue block created by amplifying a single pixel of the sky that once framed these monuments, effectively erasing their image. The contrasting side showcases a drawing that uses infrared light to reveal traces beneath the erased documentation of the historical moment.

    Cuban artist Reynier Leyva Novo presenting his work with Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino. Photo credit: Scott Rudd Productions

    ADAA’s The Art Show continues at Armory Park Avenue through Saturday, November 2. 

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    Ex-Nebraska Rep. Fortenberry asks judge to disqualify prosecutor in false statements case

    Posted on by emandowa

    Attorneys for former Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry filed a flurry of motions this week seeking, among other things, to disqualify the attorney prosecuting him for allegedly lying to FBI agents investigating foreign campaign contributions.

    It’s the second time they’ve asked a judge to remove Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins, who first prosecuted Fortenberry in California in 2022 on the same allegations.

    The judge there denied the motion.

    And a jury in Los Angeles found him guilty of one count of concealing conduit campaign contributions and two counts of lying to federal agents during an investigation into $30,000 Fortenberry had gotten from a controversial Nigerian billionaire, Gilbert Chagoury, at a fundraiser in L.A. in 2016.

    People are also reading…

    Fortenberry ultimately donated the money to charity after he learned about it because it is illegal for U.S. elected officials to accept foreign money. But the FBI says he lied in interviews about the money.

    Fortenberry resigned from the House of Representatives a week after his conviction. And he later appealed.

    On Dec. 26, 2023, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed the conviction, saying Fortenberry should have been tried in Nebraska or Washington D.C., where he had made the statements at issue, not in California where the fundraiser took place.

    Four days after the mandate was issued, the five-year statute of limitations ran out to bring charges against him in Nebraska over the statements he made at his home March 23, 2019.

    But on May 8, a grand jury in Washington indicted him on two charges — falsifying and concealing material facts and making false statements — for statements Fortenberry made while still in office during an interview July 18, 2019, at his counsel’s office in Washington.

    Court filings in the case Tuesday showed the back-and-forth that followed the decision to retry him, this time in Washington.

    In an email exchange that followed, the government offered Fortenberry a plea agreement. Plead to falsifying and concealing material facts. In exchange, the government would ask for time served, plus a reinstatement of the previous $25,000 fine and any community service he hadn’t already completed.

    Tobin Romero, Fortenberry’s attorney, responded the same day with Fortenberry’s counteroffer — that the government drop the case — which was rejected.

    By Aug. 7, Romero had emailed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves directly asking him to reconsider. 

    Two days later, Graves declined, saying he was familiar with the matter, the plea offer and counteroffer.

    “I support the team’s assessment and decision to continue the prosecution,” he wrote.

    Jeff Fortenberry

    Jeff Fortenberry

    Associated Press file photo

    In motions Tuesday, Romero asked a judge to dismiss the indictment and asked for oral arguments on his request to obtain discovery as to whether Fortenberry’s case amounted to “selective prosecution” or “selective enforcement.”

    He’ll face a high burden in proving it, but pointed to a 1999 case where an African American defendant charged with cocaine distribution met the standard by showing state prosecutions, but not a single federal prosecution, of a white person in the entire year across four counties of Massachusetts.

    “Although courts appropriately pay deference to prosecutorial discretion in the vast majority of cases, the decision to re-indict and retry this case is the kind of unprecedented prosecutorial decision that warrants discovery into government decision-making,” he wrote.

    Romero said the defense team wasn’t able to find any cases in the past 10 years in which the federal government, following reversal by a Court of Appeals, retried a defendant who had received probation and had served most of it.

    He accused the government not only of disparate treatment, but also of “political bias” against Fortenberry, a Republican and supporter of Donald Trump, pointing to Jenkins’ financial contribution to “Stop Republicans,” a group dedicated to resisting Trump and the Republican Party.

    “Separation of powers principles ordinarily require courts to defer to the executive branch’s prosecutorial decisions, but the Constitution importantly provides for some limited checks by the judiciary,” Romero wrote in the motion.

    He said he had urged the government not to retry Fortenberry. Even if a retrial were to result in a conviction, he likely would be sentenced to serve no more than the remaining six months of his prior probationary sentence, the attorney said.

    Romero also pointed to Fortenberry’s first trial, saying the government focused extensively on its July 18, 2019, interview of Fortenberry where Jenkins questioned him for more than two hours, making him a witness in the case.

    “This is unavoidable — the July 18 interview is central to the case, as was SAUSA Jenkins’ role in it,” he wrote.

    The government hasn’t yet responded to the motions.

    Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.

    On Twitter @LJSpilger

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    Writing home from Iowa City

    Posted on by emandowa

    Features



    11 Hrs Ago

    Lisa Allen-Agostini -
    Lisa Allen-Agostini –

    TT writer, editor and stand-up comedian Lisa Allen-Agostini is in Iowa City from September 2-November 17 as a writer-in-residence in the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa. This is the first of three dispatches from her trip.

    THE first friend I made in Iowa City (IC) is an African-American policeman. He’s one of the people who have become part of my life since I touched down in the American Midwest on September 2. I am here as a Fall Fellow of the International Writing Program (IWP), a longstanding soft-diplomacy project of the University of Iowa and the US State Department.

    I was nominated for the IWP by the US Embassy in TT, and my visit is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the State Department.

    University of Iowa Police Officer Alton Poole in his office, Old Capitol Town Center, on September 24. The framed 1991 newspaper clipping behind him from The Daily Iowan is headlined: “Gunman kills 4; injures 2.” –

    Annually, the IWP brings published authors to this college town on the American plains to be writers-in-residence for roughly three months. Trinis Earl Lovelace and the late Sam Selvon, Wayne Brown and Michael Anthony were here. So were Jamaicans Barbara Gloudon, Lorna Goodison, Kwame Dawes and Kei Miller; Barbadian Cherie Jones; and Grenadian Oonya Kempadoo, among a handful of other Caribbean writers. I’m in big shoes.

    My cohort of 32 fellows includes writers from Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Armenia, Argentina, El Salvador, Brazil, Malawi, Botswana, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

    We meet up for some events, like the weekly panel discussion at the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL), in which fellows talk turkey about the writing life. We’re encouraged to attend cultural events and visit tourist attractions in and around this striving college town, but it’s not mandatory. We fellows are largely left to our own devices; mine have taken me to interesting places.

    The Old Capitol Town Center is less than a block away from my home-away-from-home, the Graduate Hotel, in the heart of downtown IC. While shopping for some essentials that I hadn’t flown with, I asked Michelle, a CVS worker at Old Capitol, where I could easily donate some of my IWP stipend towards the city’s homeless.

    “Oh, you need to meet Alton, he’s the perfect guy for this,” she said, waving over a red man. With funky glasses and a man-bun, he was wearing a hot pink plaid shirt and tight jeans. He walked me over to his office in what I eventually understood to be a police station. Alton is also known as University of Iowa Police Officer Poole.

    We bonded while he tried to connect me with Shelter House, a non-profit providing housing and services to unhoused people. He ended up driving me over there to donate and sign up to volunteer. We talked about active shooters, cop culture, mental illness, attitudes towards the homeless, and racism in the US.

    Iowa Man: A passerby outside the Graduate Hotel models his edgy University of Iowa kit after the Troy Trojans vs UI Hawkeyes football game, on September 14. – Photos by Lisa Allen-Agostini

    (IC’s Mayor Bruce Teague is African-American but IC’s stridently liberal population is largely white. Particularly in this US presidential election season—in which a candidate intimated that black immigrants eat dogs – I was braced for overt racism.)

    The IWP common room at the Graduate Hotel overlooks the Ped Mall, a four-block pedestrian shopping and entertainment area. Both the Ped Mall and shopping mall are magnets for the many unhoused people who walk IC’s streets with their worlds in their backpacks. A growing crisis in IC, the unhoused population has ballooned in recent years. It’s intertwined with a mental illness crisis as well as economic push factors, like high housing costs and joblessness.

    As fall begins and searing summer temperatures drop to the low teens, Shelter House and other organisations are preparing for the coming coldest months. In January gone, an encampment close to the Iowa River went up in flames. Camps have been torn down by civilians who’ve tossed away as trash people’s essential documents, medications and treasured personal possessions.

    Phodiso Modirwa, a poet and non-fiction writer from Botswana, at the Iowa City Public Library, on September 13. –

    I haven’t yet begun my volunteer work but I’ve met some street characters. One’s Andrew, who rolls a five-foot tower speaker around and does his own YouTube karaoke with his phone and a mic for anybody who’ll listen and plenty who don’t. I sang Michael Jackson with him one Saturday, before he gave the mic to some university youths who flawlessly rapped along to the hip-hop he favours.

    From the balcony outside the IWP common room I can see the ICPL. I love libraries and librarians, and I wasted no time in volunteering to give a talk on editing to the Teen Library’s publications committee. I borrow books and framed artwork from the ICPL collections, but I also went there one day for a workshop on “Failure Machines” led by Singapore fellow Daryl Li. While on a break, I spotted Andrew through the window and ran outside to hail him out. I hope he stays warm as fall begins.

    I was still on the break when James, a middle-aged white guy I’d never met, said to me quite out of the blue, “I’m not a bike thief.” He began to tell me about the vintage Bridgestone Kabuki SuperLight bicycle locked in the nearby bike stand, at my request pointing out minute details of the Japanese-made American-branded frame. It was surreal, made even more so when he told me his last name was Allen. We could be distant cousins, maybe. We certainly found kinship in our mutual weirdness and intense special interests. My greatest special interest is in writing, but I will follow any rabbit down a hole when I get the urge to do so, and I often do.

    Portuguese novelist and non-fiction author Catarina Gomes discusses her book Coisas de Loucos [The Stuff of Madness] with the students of the International Literature Today course at the University of Iowa, on September 30, while grad student Miharu Yano assists. –

    In IC, I’ve been researching the Ancient Greek nymph/ goddess Calypso, and I’ve found myself writing a suite of poems in her voice. Like me she is an island woman – her name alone is an obvious connection with me, as I come from the Land of Calypso (music). In Homer’s Odyssey she’s a villainous hermit who kidnaps Odysseus and holds him as her sex slave for seven years in her breathtakingly beautiful prison island Ogygia. She’s become a cypher for my own fears about how badly I communicate with people and my sense of inadequacy in making connections; in the most recent poem I’ve written, Calypso prays to iCloud to become a bot.

    I left my hermitage in the Graduate Hotel to take in African-American writer and musician Meshell Ndegeocello’s No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin during the Hancher Auditorium’s Infinite Dream Festival. Days later I went to hear celebrated Chicana poet Sandra Cisneros and former US Poet Laureates Joy Harjo and Juan Felipe Herrera read their work at the Iowa Memorial Union.

    Nigerian novelist and former IWP fellow Samuel Kọ́láwọ́lé visited Iowa City and read from his new novel The Road to the Salt Sea, at Prairie Lights Bookshop, on September 29. –

    Afterwards, I bounced up Ms Cisneros and Ms Harjo in the lobby at the Graduate. Ms Cisneros was kind enough to insist on buying one of my books. Fortunately, I had copies of my new historical crime novella Death in the Dry River; I also presented one to Ms Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Nation and the first Native American US Poet Laureate.

    Their enthusiastic reception of me was partly due to borrowed shine because they had both been MFA creative writing students in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Ms Cisneros emphasised what a boon the IWP writers were to them then. It was a timely reminder that, while we’re only here for three months, our IWP legacy will continue long after we’re gone. I hope to make the most of mine.



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    How Many People Watch TV in 2024? (User Statistics)

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    Table of Contents

    How Many People Watch TV in 2024? (User Statistics)
    Last Updated: September 26, 2024

    Quick Answer 🔍

    How many individuals view TV in 2024?

    Globally, there are at least 5.36 billion people watching television.

    Television serves as a crucial mass medium for communication.

    People generally rely on television for informative programs including news, sports, and documentaries, as well as for entertainment, advertising, education, and music.

    How Many Individuals Watch TV in 2024?

    As stated in the Advertising & Media Outlook, there are at least 5.36 billion television viewers worldwide.

    This figure may rise to 5.68 billion television users by 2026, as the global number of TV viewers continues to grow.

    According to data from the global television market in 2021, there were approximately 1.72 billion television households globally, anticipated to exceed 1.8 billion by 2026.

    In the United States, the estimated number of TV households was 119.9 million during 2018-2019. This increased to 121 million in 2020-2021 and reached 122.4 million in the subsequent year.

    The RRD (Un)Expected Report in 2021 revealed that 77% of individuals aged 18-24 in the US dedicate most of their time to video content on streaming services, with 9% watching cable TV and 6% preferring network TV. In contrast, 40% of those aged 55 and older spend most of their time on streaming services, 38% on cable TV, and 7% on network TV.

    Peak of Television Viewing

    The number of television sets surged to 12 million in 1951 from just 6,000 in 1946. By 1955, the popularity of television had escalated, reaching a point where half of US households owned TVs.

    Nevertheless, despite the technological advancements, it took another decade for color televisions to gain popularity in the US.

    By the late 1990s, nearly 98% of homes in the US had at least one television.

    The early 2000s to the present is considered a peak period for television, marked by the evolution of digital technology, advancements in media distribution, HDTV, TV streaming, online video platforms, web TV, and video-on-demand services.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, television usage surged. Lockdowns around the globe altered individuals’ daily routines.

    People increasingly turned to digital technology, including televisions, for news and entertainment.

    Many individuals, particularly those from Generation X, Generation Y (Millennials), and Generation Z (Centennials), engaged in excessive watching of movies and series.

    Evolution of Television

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    Watch TV

    In 1878, a mechanical system scanning images was one of the early television inventions that transmitted them onto screens.

    A large rotating metal disk was part of the mechanical camera used to send images through wires.

    Years later, the initial mechanical television featured a spinning disk with holes set in a spiral arrangement.

    The invention of the first cathode ray tube in 1897 was combined with a mechanical scanning system. Then, in 1927, an electronic television was created that scanned images utilizing a beam of electrons.

    Eventually, a significantly enhanced camera tube was developed after a number of years.

    A few years later, RCA, a leading company in the US radio industry with two NBC networks, commenced selling television sets equipped with picture tubes measuring 12.7 by 25.4 centimeters.

    Early Television Broadcasts

    Capturing early television broadcasts required a single camera, and they faced difficulties showing the color white due to being in black and white.

    The first national color broadcast occurred in 1954. By the 1980s, the rise of cable networks allowed for the recording and replaying of programs.

    The 1990s brought advancements in cable technology, and direct-broadcast satellite television resulted in an increase in channel variety.

    In 1998, television broadcasts became accessible over the World Wide Web via computers. The 2000s saw the emergence of various cable TV channels.

    Throughout the years up to the present, high-end TV features providing superior video and sound quality have been developed.

    Who Watch Television the Most

    A report by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company shows that daily TV reach is greater among adults aged 50 years and older compared to younger individuals.

    Viewers from Generation X tend to prefer traditional TV over digital videos.

    Among the Baby Boomers, the majority watch cable TV, with 38% aged 55 and older choosing cable TV over other platforms; 21% are from the 40-54 age group, while 16% belong to the 25-39 age range, and only 9% are between 18-24 years old.

    The Average Age Who Watches Television

    In 2018, a US survey indicated that television is the preferred media activity for many individuals.

    Results show that watching television is favored by 37% of respondents aged 65 and older, followed by 33% in the 55 to 64 age range. In contrast, only 7% of individuals aged 25 to 34 and 1% below 25 specified television as their favorite media activity.

    However, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic led to a rise in TV viewing for the first time since 2011.

    During the mandatory quarantine and stay-at-home orders in 2020, many turned to television for news and entertainment.

    As noted by eMarketer forecasting analyst, viewership among those aged 65 and older has increased by…
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    The viewership for individuals aged 25 to 34 increased by 4.3%, while those aged 45-54 rose by 2%. Conversely, the group remaining indoors due to the highest risk of disease acquisition observed a significant rise of 4.9% in their television consumption.

    Who Spends Most Time Watching Television

    Among all nationalities globally, Americans hold the title for the highest television consumption.

    On average, Americans spend approximately 270 minutes daily watching television, even as television usage declines due to the rise of online streaming services and improved global internet access.

    In 2019, the average viewing time for African Americans was about 3.23 hours daily, compared to Asian Americans who spent approximately 1.5 to 2 hours in front of the TV each day.

    Following the United States, Poland ranks second in average television viewing time, with Polish individuals averaging 264 minutes daily.

    Other countries with high television viewership include Japan, Brazil, Russia, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

    The Average Number of Hours Watching Television

    The typical American enjoys over 4 hours of television each day, equating to about 28 hours weekly, which can total approximately 2 months per year spent watching TV without interruption.

    According to OnePoll’s 2019 findings, researchers estimate that an average individual dedicates roughly 78,705 hours of their lifetime to watching television, encompassing about 3,639 movies and 31,507 episodes.

    What Do People Frequently Watch

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    Credits: unsplash.com

    Those of older generations typically prefer watching news and sports programs on television, while younger and mid-aged viewers tend to favor entertainment and documentary content.

    Various programs often viewed on television encompass weather forecasts, news broadcasts, educational shows, sports events, documentaries, movies, TV series, advertisements, and even music performances via the TV.

    The most popular series among adult viewers aged 18-49 in 2021-2022 was NFL Sunday Night Football (NBC), as indicated by Nielsen’s ratings chart.

    Conclusion

    In recent decades, the number of TV households in the US has risen steadily. However, the penetration rate of pay-TV has struggled annually, standing at 71% in 2021—a drop of more than 10% in five years, attributed to the increasing popularity of on-demand online video streaming.

    Did you know that an average 65-year-old individual has experienced approximately 2 million television commercials in their lifetime?

    This is certainly a notable fact to keep in mind when you reach the age of 65!

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    We appreciate your time spent on this article titled: How Many People Watch TV in 2024? (User Statistics)

    The data utilized pertains to the years 2023 and 2024, while forecasted information extends to 2025 and 2026. Additionally, we further elaborate on the forecast extending to 2027 and 2028.

    * This information was taken from various sources around the world, including these countries:

    Australia, Canada, USA, UK, UAE, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, US, United Kingdom, United States of America, Malaysia, U.S., South Africa, New Zealand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.

    Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan.

    Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi.

    Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling Islands), Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia (Hrvatska), Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic.

    Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Metropolitan, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories.

    Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy.

    Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg.

    Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar.

    Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand (NZ), Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway.

    Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe.

    Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria.

    Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK (United Kingdom), USA (United States of America, U.S.), US Minor Outlying Islands.

    Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State (Holy See), Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (US), Wallis and Futuna Islands, Western Sahara, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

    Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Australia (Oceania), Middle East, South America.

    Article Title: How Many People Watch TV in 2024? (User Statistics)
    Most Recent Update: September 26, 2024

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    UN Women Leaders Network to convene a diverse group of women leaders worldwide to advance women’s rights and leadership

    Posted on by emandowa

    The UN Women Leaders Network was launched this week on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly. It is the first permanent network of its kind, composed of intergenerational and intersectional women leaders, and its members represent the change needed in the traditional image of leadership today.

    The network includes both emerging and more established leaders across ages, regions, and professions. The network will work together to promote the increase and advancement of women in leadership and decision-making spaces worldwide, and functions as a platform to a diverse group of women leaders to discuss and exchange ideas, solutions and experiences as leaders, community-builders and decision-makers.

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    Members of the newly launched UN Women Leaders Network unites a global intergenerational and intersectional group of women leaders advocating for women's leadership and participation in decision-making. Members of the newly launched UN Women Leaders Network unites a global intergenerational and intersectional group of women leaders advocating for women's leadership and participation in decision-making.

    Members of the newly launched UN Women Leaders Network unites a global intergenerational and intersectional group of women leaders advocating for women’s leadership and participation in decision-making. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

    Chaired by the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Sami Bahous, and created in partnership with the Government of Iceland, the UN Foundation, and the Council of Women World Leaders, the network will operate in support of UN Women’s work on women’s leadership. As the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action approaches in 2025, and world leaders are being called on to recommit to gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment, the network will serve as champions for diversity in leadership.

    The network includes leaders such as Amanda Nguyen, CEO and Founder, Rise; Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius (2015 – 2018); Aya Chebbi, Former African Union Special Envoy on Youth and Founder of Nala Feminist Collective; Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank; Hibaaq Osman, Founder and Chairperson, ThinkTank for Arab Women, the Dignity Fund, Karama and the Centre for the Strategic Initiatives of Women; Janet Mbugua, Author, Advocate and Founder, Inua Dada Foundation; Joyce Banda, President of Malawi (2012 – 2014); Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia (2010 – 2013); Julieta Martinez, Climate Justice and Gender Equality Youth Activist; Kathleen Hanna, Musician, Author and Feminist Activist; Kimberlé Crenshaw, Civil Rights Advocate, Scholar and Co-Founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum; Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 2011; Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace and Security, Georgetown University; Roxane Gay, Author, Professor and Advocate; and Tarja Halonen, President of Finland (2000 – 2012). A full list of the current leaders can be found here.

    Once fully mobilized, the network will consist of a group of 100 women leaders.

    /Public Release. View in full here.

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