NAGHAM KARAJEH

Gaza – Violence against women is a blatant violation of human rights since it hinders women from fully enjoying their rights and has major implications that affect the entire society, not just women. While violence does not define a culture, religion, country, or socioeconomic class, it is a widespread phenomenon that civil and international cultures must confront in order to empower women and protect them from violence.

The Women's Affairs Center, in collaboration with the AISHA Association for Woman and Child Protection and the Union of Health Workers’ Committees, launched the "There is No Justification for Violence" campaign a month ago as part of a project to eliminate violence against women and girls in the Gaza Strip in the wake of the Corona pandemic, with the goal of raising the voices of women and girls who have been victims of violence and communicating them to local decision-makers.

According to Salma Al-Swerki, psychologist and manager at the Women's Affairs Center, “the most visible implications of the campaign (There is no justification for violence) is the uptick in violence rates against women in the Gaza Strip as a result of the spread of the Corona pandemic, which forced women, who had to stay at home with their abusers due to lack of a source of income and the poor economic situation.”

"If a child grows up seeing his mother being subjected to violence, learning incorrect beliefs, practices, and traditions, the child will believe that violence can be inflicted against women over time and as a result, the rate of violence against women will increase,” she said.

"The campaign goal was to eliminate gender-based violence and raise women's awareness,” she explained, "Among the activities that have been carried out as part of the campaign are an online campaign, the prep of radio ads to combat violence, and we are in the process of releasing a short film and sending many text messages to women, showing how women can deal with a variety of issues they are subjected to and how they divulge and report violence.”

She highlighted that the campaign has a large reach through social networking sites for women and girls, and that it has excelled in addressing as many people as possible.

Added that the campaign has provided support to 200 women from all regions of the Gaza Strip,” she said, "As part of the campaign, we have carried out many activities, including providing psychological support, and until now 40 women have received the psychological support, as well as social and legal support in the form of legal counsel and court representation. Our other aim is to support women’s economic empowerment to start their small-sized enterprises to make a living.”

"I am married and the mother of three children," 26-year-old M.D. said, “My spouse and his family inflicted many forms of violence against me. My spouse is unemployed, and suffers from epilepsy, so he has to take medicines. I decided to apply to the Women's Affairs Center to receive psychological support because of the intensity of the abuse and hard beatings I had endured. Then, I was incorporated into marriage therapy sessions to empower me and gain a skill via professional training, and I was given a protective bag with all of my essentials in case I was assaulted."

"My sons and I were regularly subjected to violence by my drug addicted husband. Once, he poured gasoline on us in an attempt to burn us. So, I applied to the Women's Affairs Center to ensure our security,” 49-year-old H.A., a mother of eight children from the North Governorate, told us. “And I received financial support from the center and attended the training courses to develop my own project. I have just begun my poultry farming project. I left my spouse and now live with my children in a separate house. I earn a living for my family, and meet their needs.”