“We do not know the exact number of cases in the Kingdom due to a lack of statistics," said NSHR Chairman Mufleh Al-Qahtani.

Of the 327 documented cases made with the NSHR, 125 were filed in Riyadh, followed by Jazan with 58, Eastern Province 49, Jeddah 34, Madinah 33, Makkah 27 and only one case in Al-Jouf.

Al-Qahtani called for the establishment of family courts to quickly deal with such cases. He added that domestic violence cases constitute only 8 percent of total court cases in the Kingdom.

In February 2011, the General Department for Social Protection under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs said that they received 425 cases of domestic violence from Riyadh, followed by 159 from Makkah, Asir 101, Madinah 63, Taif 60, Dammam 52, Jazan 49, Jeddah 41, Qassim 33, Tabuk 20, Al-Baha 17, Hail 15, Bisha 14, Al-Ahsa 13, Al-Jouf 12, Al-Kharj 12, Najran 12, Qurayat 3, Hafr Al-Batin 2, Khamis Mushayt 2 and Yanbu 2.

Commenting on these numbers, Dr. Samira Al-Ghamdi a psychologist and an anti-domestic violence activist, said that there isn’t a specific body that issues accurate statistics on domestic violence in the Kingdom and she believes the number of cases is much higher than reported.

Although Al-Ghamdi acknowledged increased awareness about the issue, she said private organizations, government departments, shelters, schools and hospitals need to unify their efforts to better help victims.

“There is a need to establish a unified body that can take care of all issues related to domestic violence, including issuing statistics, increasing awareness and helping victims," said Al-Ghamdi.

She also urged the media to do more to protect victims’ rights by not publishing their names or photos.