By Dalya Dajani

AMMAN - Family protection and police authorities on Monday said the kingdom must continue to strengthen regional cooperation, along with its institutional capacity and outreach to protect victims of domestic abuse.

Opening the second Regional conference on family protection from violence yesterday, senior officials from the Public Security Department (PSD) noted that just like other communities facing the challenges of domestic violence, Jordan has its own.

“While Arab society prides itself on its values and the strength of the family unit, unfortunately violent and abusive behaviour against women and children exists,” head of the Family Protection Department (FPD), Colonel Mohammad Zu’bi, told participants.

“These negative practices target the weak and vulnerable members of the household and not only destroy the family’s sense of security, but also violate their human rights,” he added.

The FPD official urged representatives of police authorities and specialists from 28 countries in the region to join forces to address the global plight.

Yesterday’s meeting brought together local and regional specialists dealing with family protection from both governmental and nongovernmental organisations in the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Italy, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Mauritania, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Jordan, who shared their countries’ experiences.

The gathering is a follow-up to the first regional conference on family protection held in Jordan last year, where police and experts shared their knowledge on the subject as well as experiences in preventive care and treatment of victims.

The conference concluded with several recommendations, among them the need for greater networking among child protection agencies in the region, enhancing partnerships with international specialists and NGOs and a follow-up conference.

A shadow NGO report in July last year showed that violence practised by husbands against their wives usually goes unpunished in Jordan. The report, titled, “Evaluation of National Policy, Measures and Actual Facts on Violence Against women”, noted that wives are “fearful of filing complaints of domestic abuse (under the general law of assault and battery) as society would end up rejecting [their] behaviour rather than condemning [their husbands’]”. It noted that wives who did report abusive incidents would often be “ridiculed and met with indifference by police officers”, thus undermining their right to take the case to court.

“If the court looks into her complaint, the judge’s decision will be influenced by the aforementioned factors and the verdict won’t be serious enough to stop the aggressor. Restraining orders do not exist in Jordan, and sharia courts require a woman to produce two male witnesses to prosecute the case,” the report noted.

Another study titled, “Domestic Violence: Knowledge, Attitudes and Society”, and carried out by the National Council for Family Affairs, indicated that 50.5 per cent of female interviewees do not report violence against them, as a result of uncertain, unfair procedures taken by governmental departments, such as the police and the court system.

The study noted that respondents felt that these institutions do not deal seriously with cases of violence against women.

In addition, 42 per cent of the women said procedures taken by the court are inadequate and do not prohibit abusers from repeating the assault.

Statistics earlier this year also revealed that 87 per cent of women in Jordan find justification for men who abuse women.

The two-day conference, held with the support of the Danish government, will today take a closer look at the FPD’s work in dealing with domestic violence.

The department, which was set up in 1997 under the umbrella of the PSD, has been at the forefront of the Kingdom’s efforts to address child abuse and domestic violence in the country. It works closely with a team of forensic physicians, psychologists and social workers who deal with these cases and provide the required rehabilitative care, while ensuring the case is dealt with appropriately through the proper legal channels.

A pool of local and international NGOs and organisations have also supported the FPD’s efforts in raising public awareness on the sensitive subject and ways of approaching and dealing with victims. They include Save the Children Denmark, which has been assisting the PSD in different areas including exchange of technical expertise between police officers, forensic doctors and NGOS.

Danish Ambassador Thomas Lund-Sorensen said despite the sensitivity of the issue, the abuse of women and children affects millions around the world and should be given priority.

“Often family issues are considered as sacred and victims of abuse are usually reluctant to take action… The challenge is to address the problem while respecting the values and unity of the family unit,” he added.

The ambassador said Jordan had taken concrete steps to address the issue with ongoing training of police and social workers and others in the field, noting that it was important that other countries in the region share their knowledge and expertise.

Jordan took a major step forward in providing better protection to victims of domestic violence with the endorsement of new Family Protection Law in February. The law imposes stiff penalties on violators ranging from fines to imprisonment of up to six months and gives the authorities the power to detain perpetrators of domestic violence for 24 hours “to protect the victim”.

The court has the right to bar perpetrators from approaching “safe houses” where victims are sheltered to guarantee their safety.

The law also obliges nurses and doctors at primary healthcare centres and hospitals, as well as teachers at schools, nurseries and community centres to report cases of family violence.

In addition, the Family Protection Law provides alternative solutions for dealing with abuse cases through “family conciliation committees”, formed in each governorate to mediate between victims and perpetrators where possible. Serious cases, however, are taken to court.

Victims can also file for financial compensation in cases of physical harm or psychological abuse.

Conference participants are scheduled to examine several issues today such as activating joint Arab action towards domestic abuse. Also, a session will be dedicated to the role of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in studying the implications of domestic violence on the security of Arab states.

In addition, the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies will present its findings on a survey that examines Internet and mobile phone use by children in Jordan.