Domestic violence against women in Gaza rises

But the war made them do it
March 27, 2009

More human rights violations from Hamas, this time against the usual target: Women. Ok, its men in Gaza not necessarily Hamas. However, there aren't many others left in Gaza besides Hamas after the civil war in 2007. Anyway, I digress:

The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Gaza, local Palestinian NGOs and mental health professionals are reporting increased incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault against women in Gaza since the beginning of 2009.

An unpublished UNIFEM survey of male and female heads of 1,100 Gaza households conducted between 28 February and 3 March indicates there was an increase in violence against women during and after the 23-day war which ended on 18 January.

“According to our staff, and through clinical observation, there was increased violence against women and children during and after the war,” said public relations coordinator for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Husam al-Nounou. “We can attribute this to the fact that most people were exposed to traumatic incidents during the war, and one way people react to stress is to become violent.”

So it was the war that caused men to beat or kill their wives? I guess we could find similar numbers in southern Israel where post traumatic stress from daily rockets attacks affects more than 50 percent of the population.

But don't blame the men. Although, if you read about how many women are treated in Islamic nations (and in America) you will find violence against women is rarely limited to war.

But al-Nounou insists.

“This war was extremely harsh, people felt insecure, vulnerable and unable to protect themselves, their children and their families; when people were trapped at home this increased the stress and anxiety,” said al-Nounou.

The center says child visits for divorced parents has doubled since the war (from 30 to 60). Bakr Turkmani, an attorney at the PCDCR, said "the number of divorce and separation cases has increased significantly since the war, and domestic violence played a role in the increase."

However, Turkmani must accompany the victims to the police station, otherwise their reports of abuse are not "accepted.” Why? Because compaints from women are not taken seriously. Therefore, most rapes and abuse are not reported in Islamic societies, according to organizations who work undercover with Muslim women.

But its the war:

Director of the women’s unit at the leading Palestinian human rights organisation, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Muna As-Shawa, said the centre had received reports of increased domestic violence and sexual assault during and after the hostilities. The unit had counselled over 600 women.

“During and after the war women struggled to fulfil their roles as mothers, and care for their children without electricity and water, while under attack,” said As-Shawa, “and if the husband died, sometimes the father-in-law took the inheritance and tried to take custody of the children.”

Presumably because the father in law was stressed too.

The full article is here.