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Addressing Domestic Violence

Violence against women and girls represents a global problem with great health, economic development, and human rights implications. At least one out of every three women and girls worldwide experience violence or abuse in her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, a public health epidemic, and a barrier to solving global challenges, such as extreme poverty and armed conflict.

The following is an excerpt of the "Summary Policy Statement on Domestic Violence" by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, published in 2002.

"The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to convey a clear message that acts of domestic violence are at complete variance with the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and that violence in the family is a practice to be condemned. In addition, domestic violence is a criminal act in the United States. Such behaviors, on the part of either men or women, are rooted in longstanding social practices connected with an inability or unwillingness to apply the fundamental spiritual principle of the equality of women and men and to recognize the fundamental right of every human being to be treated with consideration and respect."

Baha'is work in partnership with the Interfaith Domestic Violence Coalition to address issues related to ending violence against women.

Guidelines for Spiritual Assemblies on Domestic Violence

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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States has developed a manual, Guidelines for Spiritual Assemblies on Domestic Violence, to provide informed, consistent and explicit guidance to Local Spiritual Assemblies on the subject of domestic violence. The manual is designed to familiarize Baha'is with the many forms of domestic violence, to eliminate misconceptions about it, and to assist Local Spiritual Assemblies in providing relevant guidance on this issue to members of their Baha’i communities.

Although this manual is intended primarily as a reference tool when a Local Spiritual Assembly is confronted with a situation of domestic violence, we welcome its examination by others who are also seeking to free humanity from this pernicious and age-old social disorder.