"The increase in cases of violence is explained by the lack of awareness of women's rights."

Ms. Maha Ziad Al Obedyyin is Vice President of the Tafileh Women's Union (Jordan)

Gender equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities are two essential elements for social justice.

In Jordan, as in the rest of the world, the COVID-19 epidemic has exacerbated already existing inequalities. It has highlighted economic discriminationand the fragility of social safety nets, leaving vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of the crisis.

Expertise France supports, with European funds, Jordanian civil society organizations with the aim of fostering an equitable and inclusive society while modernizing and improving the quality and performance of the social protection ecosystem and its various actors, including CSOs and public and parapublic organizations.

On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Ms. Maha Ziad Al Obedyyin, Vice President of the Tafileh Women's Union, explains in this interview the actions put in place to fight against this violence with already concrete results.

 Learn more about this project on the project-sheet

Why is it important to work on preventing GBV in your community?

Cases of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV) have increased recently, especially during and after the COVID19 crisis. This happened due to factors related to lack of awareness of the rights and laws that support women and people with disabilities of both sexes. It was also because of the increasing discrepancy between social justice in terms of job opportunities and economic participation, and the negative perception in society of the roles of women and persons with disabilities. We believe in our role to help reduce the number of cases of domestic and gender-based violence, especially among women with disabilities, through a project implemented in partnership with Expertise France that is funded by the European Union.

What work has been carried out in partnership with the Expertise France EU-funded project and the Ministry of Social Development?

With the support of the European Union funded grant scheme implemented by Expertise France in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD)-, our project “Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities and their Families in Southern Jordan”, aims to promote and provide counselling and psychological and social support to overcome the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic related to gender-based violence and domestic violence. We are implement it in partnership with another Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the Maharat Society for the Care and Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in Ma'an Governorate. It targets people with motor disabilities, hearing and visual disabilities, and their families in the governorates of Tafileh and Ma'an and beyond. We conducted a programme, based on a guide we developed, to raise the awareness of the families of persons with disabilities on various topics including the concept of disability, types of disabilities, methods of upbringing, how to deal with persons with disabilities, domestic violence, and counselling for families of persons with disabilities. To complement that, we implemented a psychological and social support programme with the aim of emotional and psychological unburdening, exchange of experiences and assistance in overcoming crises in the home.

Participatory research was carried out to collect data on the phenomenon of domestic violence, with a particular focus on persons with disabilities, and a special section devoted to social and psychological service providers for survivors of violence to discuss ways to develop response programmes to domestic violence. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted with various experts and stakeholders. Those interviews included: women survivors of violence, case managers or experienced employees in the Family Protection Department, social workers in CSOs, community leaders, the Governor, employees of the Governor’s office, a municipal council member, preachers, volunteers, lawyers specialising in domestic violence cases, Community Police.

Also, a radio programme was broadcast in cooperation with local radio stations to talk about the activities of the project, hosting a group of participants to present the results achieved along with recommendations. Among other things, participants mentioned that more publicity should be given to psychological and social support programmes for people with disabilities and their families, given the need for such sessions and their impact. They also mentioned work to activate "Community Based Rehabilitation” (CBR) for people with disabilities in the southern region of Jordan, which would help change stereotypes about the roles of women and people with disabilities in society and focus on empowerment as a methodology that helps in achieving justice and equal opportunities.

The psychological and social support programme had a particularly strong impact on a group of eight women aged 18-34 with severe hearing disability. The programme increased their self-confidence and they decided they wanted to form a club and meet regularly in the CSO’s premises, as they felt this was a safe place for them. One of them volunteered to carry out similar activities in another governorate, an hour and a half away from the society. She said she hoped this would this would prevent women with disabilities, often the most vulnerable or least able to resist, from being the target of violence and abuse from family members or the local community.

Do you have examples of good practice, useful tools or experience to share?

We would like to share the importance of increasing access to information related to the concepts of psychological and social counselling and their supporting services. The results of the evaluation of the participation of two groups of women in the awareness and counselling sessions showed an improvement in knowledge of the topics related to psychological guidelines by 54% of the participants in the first group, and by 69% of the members of the second group.

Also, within 3 months, 58 persons with disabilities, of both sexes, used the hotline as a safe way to share challenges related to domestic and gender-based violence as persons with disabilities within their families. We consider the hotline one of the most effective tools that the project provides to members of the local community, which guarantees complete confidentiality. The hotline service is provided through the Amal Centre for Family Guidance of the Tafileh Women's Society, and it operates seven days a week. A social worker receives calls, and provides free consultations, and then the caller is referred to the competent authorities for further support. The topics of consultations varied, and included social, legal, and Sharia topics. The referrals happen through partnerships with various bodies and institutions such as the International Medical Corps and Women and Children Line 110 - Jordan River Foundation./.