Violence against women
Violence against women is the most prevalent phenomena that all communities, including Arab suffer from. Unfortunately, the rise in violence against women was a result of instability in the region. During the crisis women generally suffer more than men because they are the most vulnerable group i.e. being the weakest and least possessor of materialistic and symbolic social power.
Violence against women is an integral part of violence as a whole. That is because the cost of violence is not reflected on women only but on the society as a whole. That is because it deprives society from a full and balanced participation of half of its active power; namely woman. Such society will be exposed concurrently to internal corrosion once built on distorted social, ethical and cultural basics that allows discrimination, isolation and violence against its other half.
Violence against women is not limited to physical violence. It is much border and include all forms gender-based discrimination and human rights deprivation. Deprivation includes education, work, political participation, health services as well as domestic, work place through to violence during armed dispute and at the hands of terrorist groups.
Official and non-official efforts are within member states to eliminate this. These efforts come in different forms, mainly passing laws and setting strategies by communal parties
AWO grant great attention to this issue and have previously released Arab strategy for eliminating violence against women 2011 – 2020: Woman right for violence free life. AWO strives through its programs and activities to eliminate all forms violence against women.
Arab states that passed Laws eliminate violence against women:
Jordan
Family Protection Law (2008)
Bahrain
Family Protection Law (2015)
Lebanon
Law on protection of women and family members from domestic violence (2014)
A group of Arab states are currently working on passing relevant laws such as:
Tunis, Palestine, Egypt Morocco, Iraq (Family protection law is adopted in Kurdistan) and Yemen.
Some Arab states such as Algeria has made amendments to its legislations concerning eliminating violence against women.
National strategies for elimination violence against women adopted by AWO member states:
Tunisia
The National strategy for all forms of violence against women
Bahrain
The national strategy for family protection
Algeria
National strategy for combatting violence against women: woman security …..Family stability
Palestine
National strategy for eliminating violence against women for the years 2011-2019.
Iraq
National strategy for eliminating violence against women in Iraq
Egypt
National strategy for eliminating violence against women
Morocco
National strategy for combatting violence against women
AWO publications in the field of eliminating violence against women:
- The Arab strategy for combating violence against women 2011 – 2020: Women’s right for a violence free life.
- Arab framework for protecting women against violence
- TOT on training programs on eliminating violence against women
- “The role of media in eliminating violence against women” forum