Campaign aims to end discrimination against people deprived of family ties

AMMAN — With the aim of ending discrimination against people deprived of family ties, a campaign seeks to spread social awareness and empower care home leavers.

Launched by the Information and Research Centre - King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), the initiative seeks to identify and eliminate all types of social and legal discrimination and to build a network of civil society organisations as a support system for care home leavers, beneficiaries who leave after turning 18.

People deprived of family ties are those who have lost one or two parents, children of unknown parents, children of known mothers and unknown fathers, and victims of broken families who do not receive care.

The campaign also seeks to minimise social stigmatisation against this segment of society and to provide input to the Social Development Ministry’s National Strategy for Orphans, said Aida Essaid, the director of the IRCKHF.

At a meeting on Monday that engaged stakeholders and orphans in a discussion, she said that the campaign, through its online and offline platforms, aims at empowering care home leavers to become efficient and productive citizens.

Based on peer research, an IRCKHF study cited several forms of discrimination against orphans deprived of family ties that include stigmatisation related to names and national numbers, as well as challenges when it comes to education, work and marriage.

Out of the 18 care home leavers who took part in the study, 7 said they do not feel stable, 16 said they are worried about the future and 8 said they are not proud of themselves.

Meanwhile, 17 said they cannot deal with legal issues they might face after leaving the centres, 9 said they do not have a clear image of what their lives would be or where will they live after leaving the centres, 13 said they do not know of the Social Development Ministry’s services after leaving centres, while 11 said they feel they will be discriminated against.

The research mentioned that the terminology used to refer to this group in media coverage is “inconsistent” and varies according to the context, adding that some media reports still use stigmatising terms.

This issue as well as many others will be addressed through the social media campaign, in addition to theatrical performances that will be held and films that will be screened across the Kingdom.

The project is funded by USAID through a grant from its Civic Initiatives Support Programme implemented by FHI 360.