REFÎF ÎSLÎM

Gaza- The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. Women around the world have held activities such as seminars, conferences, events to raise awareness about violence against women as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign. Local organizations in Gaza have also held activities to draw attention to gender-based violence. The Centre for Women's Legal Researches and Consulting (CWLRC) is one of them. The centre is an independent non-profit centre established in Gaza in 2005 upon the initiative of a group of Palestinian lawyers and civil society activates who believe in the importance of enhancing women's social and legal rights through providing legal consultation training and researches to achieve equality, justice and democracy in the Palestinian society. We spoke to Wafaa Hilles, the project's coordinator of the CWLRC, about their campaign.

The centre focuses on women receiving support

Wafaa Helles told us that enacting the Family Protection Law and raising awareness about online crimes are the most important issues to be addressed. She emphasized that the centre will focus on women who have received support as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign and try to include the women in various social activities.

Social media campaign

Stating that enacting the Family Protection Law will not only affect women but also all family members, Wafaa Helles said that the law is important to prevent the increasing cases of violence and crimes. “We will launch a social media campaign by posting a video to provide legal consultation training and create a safe space for Palestinians. We will also hang banners across the country and join the programs of local radio stations to raise awareness. We have also held campaigns to draw attention to the rights of women and children,” she told us.

Awareness-raising training

Talking about the online safety of women and girls, Wafaa Helles said, “Many women apply to our centre to complain about online crimes against them. For this reason, we include online crimes on our agenda this year. We have prepared awareness-raising videos to share on social media. We also hold awareness-raising training on how to use the internet, how to protect the information, and how to prevent smear campaigns.

“People should participate in the activities”

CWLRC organizes activities in Gaza on November 30 and in the southern provinces on December 6 for women, who are victims of violence and receive support. The activities have been already announced on the Facebook account of the centre. “People should participate in the activities,” Wafaa Helles said.