ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq recorded over 36,000 cases of domestic violence in 2025, marking a 150 percent increase in comparison to the previous year, with spousal violence accounting for over 25,000 of the total number of cases, a human rights watchdog said Wednesday.

"The number of domestic violence cases officially registered with the competent authorities during 2025 reached 36,289 cases," the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR) said in a report on Wednesday.

"These figures, despite their gravity, do not reflect the true magnitude of the phenomenon as much as they represent the cases where survivors dared to break the silence and reach police stations and judicial authorities to file official reports," the report lamented. 

In communities largely governed by conservative religious ideologies and outdated notions of patriarchy, women in Iraq endure crippling marginalization on account of their gender across all walks of life; in their homes, on the streets, in the workplace, and even in the courts.

According to the report, over 19,500 husband-against-wife instances have been recorded, with nearly 6,000 cases of wives abusing their husbands. Violence against parents accounts for over 3,600 cases. Furthermore, 2,300 cases of fraternal violence has been reported, over 1,800 instances of parents abusing their children, and nearly 3,000 miscellaneous cases.

Physical violence was the most common form of abuse in 2024, followed by sexual violence and then verbal abuse, with Baghdad recording the highest proportion of cases at 31 percent.

Given the societal stigma attached to domestic violence, it is likely that the offical record of cases falls far short of the true number of instances in the country.

The monitor said that "the current figures show a terrifying surge in violence rates," compared to last year's 14,000 lawsuits, marking an increase exceeding 150 percent.

An earlier report in October by the same center claimed that 53,000 cases of domestic violence were recorded in two and a half years.

Article 41 of Iraq's Penal Code, which the observatory said is often "exploited to justify violence," reads: "There is no crime if the act is committed while exercising a legal right. The following are considered to be in exercise of a legal right: The punishment of a wife by her husband, the disciplining by parents and teachers of children under their authority within certain limits prescribed by law or by custom."

IOHR demanded the amendment of Article 41, and the expedition of legislation of "the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, away from political polarization," as well as launching national awareness programs, and expanding the network of government shelters.