Report: Palestinian Women Abused

P.A. taken to task for tolerating crimes against women 

Nearly one-quarter of Palestinian women are victims of domestic violence, abused or raped while governmental agencies do nothing to protect them, according to a new report.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch blamed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for failing to make violence against women and girls a legislative priority and urged the government to take steps to prevent it.
 
“PA officials across the political spectrum appear to view security only within the context of the ongoing conflict and occupation, all but ignoring the very real security threats that women and girls face at home,” said Farida Deif, a researcher in the Women’s Rights Division and co-author of the report.
 
The report found that violence against women “is getting worse while the remedies available to victims are being further eroded: Palestinian women and girls who report abuse to the authorities find themselves confronting a system that prioritizes the reputations of their families in the community over their own well-being and lives.” 

Entitled “A Question of Security: Violence Against Palestinian Women and Girls,” the study documents cases of violence from spousal and child abuse to rape, incest and murder. It is based on research conducted in the Palestinian territories from November 2005 to early 2006. 

Police officers and clan leaders regularly “mediate” rape cases by returning the abused women to the “care and protection” of their attackers, without referring cases to the courts. Few cases of sexual violence are ever prosecuted: According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian courts rendered only one rape conviction in 2004.

Laws reduce penalties for men accused of “honor killings” or attacks against female relatives who commit adultery and absolve rapists who agree to marry their victims. Rape within marriage is not considered a crime. Victims say they are often afraid to report abuse or rape.

Even social service centers, such as the Bethlehem Home for Girls, force pregnant girls to marry their rapist for the sake of the child. “The majority do not want to marry him [the rapist],” the head of the home told Human Rights Watch. “But the baby is what’s important.”

There’s also been an increase in incest cases and fathers don’t deny it. “They say, ‘I have a right to her body over others’ or ‘I want her to go to her husband experienced,’” said Lina Abd al-Hadi, the legal advisor to the governor of Nablus.

“When confronted with cases of violence against women and girls, the Palestinian criminal justice system is more interested in avoiding public scandal than in seeing justice done,” said Lucy Mair, the report’s other co-author. “A woman’s basic right to life and bodily integrity are seen as a secondary concern at best.”