JEDDAH: Domestic violence against men is hardly spoken about, although such incidents are much lower as compared to women victims, an official of the Social Affairs Ministry has said.

The National Society for Human Rights has recorded 44 reports of domestic violence against men in Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Jazan and Madinah, Makkah and Abha last year, the official was quoted as saying by local media on Sunday.

“Violence against men in Saudi Arabia is one of the issues and there is no monitoring to accurately track the volume of cases. However, it remains much lower than the domestic violence against women and children,” Salih Sarhan Al-Ghamdi of Social Protection said.

According to Al-Ghamdi, there are cases of violence against husbands, but these are are rarely recorded and documented, as the man goes to his wife’s family or court to contain the issue and have a reconciliation.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Makkah region upheld a prison sentence of five days for an Arab man who was charged with beating his wife and threatening her with a knife.

In another development, the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in Jeddah has succeeded in bringing about a mutual agreement between a man and his wife.