Accountability required

A meeting held by organisations concerned with family protection discussed the updated version of the National Framework for Family Protection, which outlines the intervention roles different institutions play in cases of domestic violence.

Discussions also covered the draft family protection law, which is now being considered by the Lower House’s joint women and legal committee.

During the meeting, an issue was whether cases handled by certain institutions should be reported to the police so that state authorities deal with them by applying the law.

The draft law stipulates that institutions should report all cases of violence involving children under 18 and adults subjected to felonies to the police.

The director of the Jordanian Women’s Union disagrees “with the provision that forces us to report cases of domestic violence even if the victim refuses to”, preferring not to resort to authorities, which would be a betrayal of the trust of the victims.

These organisations may be right, to some extent, in submitting to the wish of victims to not report their complaints to the authorities, but the government is equally right in wanting to be seized with all cases of family violence in order to take appropriate action when necessary.

As is, most cases of domestic violence go unreported, with victims, especially those of sexual abuse, preferring secrecy because of the fear of retribution, from their own family or from the perpetrators of the acts of violence.

The culture of keeping acts of family violence a secret as much as possible needs to be addressed. More importantly, there is a need of strong campaigns to do away with the stigma attached to a victim.

Such mentality, unfortunately, ostracises, if not outright punishes the victim, instead of given all the support needed by a vulnerable being that is traumatised.

It may be a long-term policy that requires much time and patience, but it has to be instated.

Meanwhile, grave cases of domestic violence must be referred to the police at one stage or another.

Perpetrators of such crimes need to know that their acts do not go unpunished.

Organisations concerned with the issue, well intentioned, no doubt, have no mandate or power to punish the perpetrators of domestic violence.

Victims need to be encouraged to report to the authorities. Most important, they need to know that they have nothing to fear because the law is applied fairly and across the board.