Providing an account of the experience of Baghdad Women Association in running 4 counseling and listening centers to combat violence against women and girls in Baghdad, Iraq
Running counseling and listening centres in Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad Women Association
Benoite Martin - 2015
© Baghdad Women Association April 2015
Baghdad Women Association Baghdad Women Association (BWA) was established in 2004 as a response to the suffering of the women of Iraq under the dictatorship and later by foreign occupational forcers. The occupation led to the erosion of security in the country as well as a complete disruption of the society. Many women were widowed, their husband, fathers and other male relatives were lost or killed and they were responsible for the protection, care and support of their children under these difficult circumstance. Rural women and girls were even more vulnerable under these conditions. This had a negative impact on women and young girls some of whom were forced into child marriages. Baghdad Women Association was formed to address the particular way in which women were affected by these events. Vision “Our vision as Baghdad Women Association is to combat all forms of violence against women and girls and ensuring legal protection, equality, respect and all human rights for women and girls.” Mission “BWA will work to reduce violence against women and girls by providing all necessary support services to survivors of such violence, advocating for the implementation of appropriate laws, policies and government programmes as well as working to increase women’s political participation through leadership development, knowledge and capacity building.” Objectives In order to develop appropriate strategies for achieving our vision and mission, we identified a set of clear objectives. There are three main objectives. 1. To help women to heal from abuse and to provide them with the necessary support. 2. To facilitate women’s access to decision-making positions and to develop their leadership capacity. 3. To change the thinking and behaviour of decision makers in order to prevent the violation of women’s rights, and to protect and promote the rights of women.
BAGHDAD WOMEN ASSOCIATION
RUNNING COUNSELING AND LISTENING CENTERS IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ
An account of the experience of Baghdad Women Association in combating violence against women
Background to the report Baghdad Women Association has been engaged in combating violence against women and girls in Iraq since 2004. While BWA opened the doors of the first counseling and listening center providing psycho-social counseling to women and girls in Baghdad back in 2009, the organization has since then opened another 3 centers providing support services in different areas of the capital city. BWA has accumulated valuable experience in running counseling and listening centers and providing services to women and girls victims of violence. With this report, BWA is sharing information about its work with listening centers, analyzing achievements obtained so far but as well reflecting on obstacles that the organization is meeting on its path. To open and operate its 4 listening centers currently available in Baghdad, Baghdad Women Association has built long-term partnerships with international organizations that have committed to provide financial support to the
organization but also provided opportunities for capacity building and sharing experience in providing services to victims of violence. Baghdad Women Association is deeply grateful and would like to thank the following organizations for their trust and support: UNFPA, the Norwegian Church Aid, the Norwegian Embassy, the International Rescue Committee, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Kvinna Till Kvinna and UN-Women. The compilation of this report was made possible thanks to a grant awarded by the Open Society Foundation in 2014 which supported Baghdad Women Association in conducting an institutional development program. Enhanced documentation of the work conducted by the Association was set as one of the outcomes of the program. BWA organized a workshop to strengthen the communication strategy of the organization in November 2014 and this report is an outcome of the work conducted during the event.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
4
Background of targeted districts
8
Running the listening centers
12
Achievements of the listening centers
18
Obstacles to running centers
28
Recommendations
31
1
INTRODUCTION
Violence against women is one of the most systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. It is a horrendous form of discrimination which is deeply rooted in power imbalances and structural relationships of inequality between women and men. In Iraq, as in other parts of the world, violence against women is prevalent in the society. However, the history of Iraq and the particularity of its context, as in a post conflict country, where the societal structures have broken down and the rule of law is absent, make women even more vulnerable to violence. Gender issues and women rights remain weak and rarely present on the governments’ sociopolitical agenda. Baghdad Women Association
The unstable security situation in Iraq since 2003, characterized by the insurgence of armed groups against the American Occupation later followed by a sectarian conflict between 2006 until 2009, led to a substantial increase in reported cases of GBV in Iraq. Patriarchy and sectarian violence has entrenched the authority of families, tribal and religious leaders, many of whom condone harmful traditional practices and violence against women, including forced marriage and the so called honor killings. Violence against women in Iraq is further aggravated by a set of laws that excuse or provide mitigated sentences for rape, abduction, assault and murder of women
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in direct violation of international conventions to which Iraq is a party. Protection given by the Government and governmental institutions like the police or the judicial system is limited due to a poor Rule of Law which means that often legislations are not systematically implemented. In the recent years, the political context of Iraq was characterized by an increasing marginalization of the Sunni communities which favoured the emergence of revolts and formation of armed groups in the Province of Anbar and Ninewa. In June 2014, the extremist group, the so-called Islamic Army (IS), after taking over the city of Mosul, took control of large swathes of territories and extended rapidly its control over parts of Anbar, Kirkuk, Salahedin and Diyala. Atrocious crimes were committed against populations that fled en-masse to safer locations. Religious minorities were targeted in particular and experienced mass killings, kidnappings, rapes and
Baghdad Women Association
other threats. Currently, it is estimated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that more than 1.8 million persons are internally displaced due to the armed confrontations and threats. Women and girls are the first to be affected by this situation as a majority of IDPs lack of adequate shelters and access to basic services and needs. Running centers
listening
and
counseling
Women have been isolated and have been suffering from a large amount of stress to cope with a difficult security and economic situation. The violence has isolated the women even more as it is considered shameful to talk about violent events. Baghdad Women Association seeks to provide needed support services in the form of psychological, social and legal advice to those women victims of violence. The women will have an opportunity to open up with trusted persons about what
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6 is happening at home, have a chance to relieve some of the suffering by sharing their story and experience and seek for support and advice to break the cycle of violence they are subjected to and foresee solutions and a brighter future for them and their children. The women, having a severe lack of education, are also raised with a very patriarchal concept of what is the role and the tasks of a woman. They often do not have the knowledge, ability and strength to challenge these ideas and make decisions for themselves out of the standard gender roles that have been assigned to them. This is why through the listening and counseling centers, BWA seeks to empower the women so they can take a greater role in their community. At first, identify what their strengths are and recognize their value as full member of their community and build their skills so they can participate and take a role in the life of the community. Experience of Baghdad Women Association in running listening and counseling centers Through a project implemented jointly by Norwegian Church Aid & UNFPA, during the period 2009-2010, BWA was among other 6 Iraqi local women’s organizations that were identified and given support to
Baghdad Women Association
establish and run a “Listening and Counseling Center" providing services to victims of GBV. Besides the financial support, the project extended technical support to the centers by building the capacity of BWA’s staff. A series of trainings and workshops were held where BWA Listening Center staff participated thus gaining knowledge and acquiring skills on managing the cases of women victims of GBV. The center, based in the district of Kerrada, was then supported by diverse international organizations over the course of 2011 and 2012, including the Norwegian Embassy, the Canadian Organization for Development and Peace and USAID-Access to Justice. In 2013, this center was then supported by the Norwegian Embassy. Strong of its experience in running this first listening center, BWA was able to open a second listening and counseling center in the district of Hay Al Nasser in early 2012 with the support of the International Rescue Committee. In 2013, BWA opened a third and fourth listening centers in Al Sader City with the support of Kvinna Till Kvinna and Al-Ameen district with the support of IRC. In January 2014, BWA, strong its experience in running such centers, provided technical support to the organization Hawa to open a center in the governorate of Diyala.
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Baghdad Women Association
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2
BACKGROUND OF TARGETED DISTRICTS
In 2009, Baghdad Women Association opened its first listening and counseling center in the district of Al-Kerrada, Baghdad. Strong of its experience, BWA was soon able to open other centers in districts of Baghdad including in Hay-Al Nasr, Al Ameen and Sadr City. The districts where BWA chose to open listening centers are all districts where women and girls are particularly vulnerable and occurrence of violence towards women is widespread. Al-Kerrada The first listening and counseling center opened by BWA in 2009 was located in the headquarters of the Association in the district of Al-Kerrada. A small room of the
Baghdad Women Association
main office was dedicated to receiving women and providing them with listening and counseling services. It was the first center offering this kind of services to women and girls opened in Baghdad. While Kerrada was an area of Baghdad which was targeted by a large number of car bombs back in 2009, it had the advantage of being central and offered easy access to the districts of 9Nissan and Saydia to conduct outreach visits. The district of Saydia is characterized by sheltering a large number of IDPs which are of lower socio-economic levels and numbers of divorced women and cases of rates reported are high. 9Nissan district is known for its traditional character, hosting poor families and suffering from
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low provision of basic services. The listening center was first financially supported by UNFPA and the Norwegian Church Aid, support was then received from Development and Peace, Open Society Foundation and the Norwegian Embassy. While at its opening only social and legal counseling was offered to women and girls, services were developed to include legal court follow up, health counseling and women empowerment trainings. The first hotline was also opened to provide access to women who are not able to physically come to the center. In 2014, the local Court recognized Al-Kerrada center as a suitable and official location to organize and host children visitation rights for divorced parents. Al Nasr The second listening and counseling center of BWA was opened in Al-Nasr district in 2012. Al-Nasr is a very poor and traditional area where traditional customs
Baghdad Women Association
heavily impact the lives of women. The district remained for a long period of time under the control of local militias which were severely restricting women's freedom. The center was opened near the central market of the district, in a small street, near a primary school, in order to provide easy access to women. Relationships with local political, religious and other traditional leaders had to be developed in order to ensure acceptance of the work of the center in the area. Besides offering listening and counseling services to women, the center provides awareness and opportunities for dialogue with young people, men and women to ensure better understanding about the negative impacts of violence against women on women and girls but as well on the community. In 2014, a financial initiative was launched to enable women to benefit from group credits to launch very simple financial projects (ROSCA). A referral pathways has as well been initiated in order to ensure better
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10 coordination with local authorities and other service providers (police, health center, city council and schools) to women and girls victims of violence. The center in Al-Nasr has been financially supported by the International Rescue Committee. Sadr City The third listening and counseling center of BWA was opened in Sadr City at the start of 2013. Sadr City is located in the North East of Baghdad and is home to 4 million people who were forcedly displaced from rural areas in the South of Iraq. Suffering from a large neglect from the Government, the district was dominated from 2005 to 2009 by the Mahdi militia which led to chaos and daily military operations. Beside a culture of violence, women are subjected to a patriarchal society and traditional customs. Early and forced marriages are common practices in Sadr City. The listening center is located near the marker and beside a vocational training center run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs which makes access easy to women. Besides providing support services to women, dialogue with religious leaders and men and boys was primordial. BWA center has as well become a place for divorced parents to exercise their visitation rights to the children.
Baghdad Women Association
The center in Sadr City has been financially supported by Kvinna Till Kvinna. Al Ameen The fourth listening and counseling center of BWA was opened in May 2013. Al-Ameen is a southern-east district of Baghdad where customs and traditions are strong but where girls benefit from higher chances of education. Besides support services, literacy and computer courses have been offered to women coming to the center. The center is as well a location recognized to exercise visitation rights for divorced parents. The center is located near the market and the police station. The listening center has been financially supported by the International Rescue Committee and UN-Women. Moqdadiya, Diyala In 2014, BWA supported the organization Hawa to open the first listening and counseling center for women victims of violence in Diyala. Strong of its experience as a result of running 4 similar center, BWA tailored a capacity building program for Hawa organization during which staff assigned to work in the center (social workers, psychologist, lawyer and managers) were familiarized with addressing women victims of violence. Staff of Hawa were offered a week
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11 internship in the premises of BWA in Sadr City to witness the running of the center. Technical support was as well provided to Hawa by BWA all along the duration of the project in order to strengthen the capacity
Baghdad Women Association
of the organization to administrate the project. In 2015, Hawa is still running the center with the financial support of Kvinna Till Kvinna.
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3
RUNNING THE LISTENING CENTERS
Since 2009, Baghdad Women Association has been running 4 listening and counseling centers in Baghdad. Along the years, BWA has strengthened the capacity of its staff members to provide adequate support services to women and girls victims of violence and to ensure enhanced awareness towards violence against women of communities it is targeting. This section aims to describe how BWA is running its listening centers and which services are commonly provided within the centers to the targeted communities. Staff members working in centers
Baghdad Women Association
There are typically 3 profiles of staff members working in the listening and counseling center. The case management worker is in charge of receiving women at the center and analyzes the needs of the woman. She registers the basic data of the case and refers the woman to available support services she will benefit from. The social worker provides listening services to women. She creates a trusted and comfortable atmosphere for the woman to talk and share about her case and issues. She remains available as long and as many times as the woman requires.
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The lawyer provides free legal counseling to women. The lawyer will guide the woman in legal proceedings, especially when she needs to obtain official documents and when necessary, the lawyer will ensure representation of the legal case in the Court. Capacity Building members
of
BWA
staff
Since 2009, BWA staff members have received diverse capacity building trainings in order to address violence against women. BWA has gained expertise in addressing women and girls, victims of violence, listening to them and re-building their self-confidence as well as raising awareness of the wider community, women, men, religious and tribal leaders, and other stakeholders on gender issues and violence against women. As BWA opened its first listening center in 2009, it was enrolled in a large capacity building program provided by UNFPA and
Baghdad Women Association
the Norwegian Church Aid, gaining basic skills to run the center. Since then, while acquiring experience through running 4 centers, BWA staff members have also greatly benefited from long-term trainings provided on a bi-weekly basis by the International Rescue Committee from 2012 to 2015. Topics of trainings focus on: understanding gender-based violence and violence against women, managing cases, active listening and communication, body language, facilitating dialogue, training of trainers, use of database program, securing data, negotiation, developing communication material, monitoring and evaluation, running rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), etc. Strong of its experience, BWA has been able to share its expertise with another local organization, Hawa, building its capacity to open a listening and counseling center in the governorate of Diyala in 2014.
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14 Receiving a woman victim of violence
Woman enters the center in need of support
1. Meets the case manager (reception) taking basic information
2. Meets the social worker in a private room – face to face discussion without time limit
3a. (if needed) Meets the lawyer to get legal support and hearing
3b. (if needed) Meets a doctor to obtain health support
4. (if needed) Court Representation
Support services and other activities offered by the centers The primary activity of the listening and counseling centers is to provide support services to women and girls who are victims of violence. However, beside direct support aimed to breaking the cycle of violence, BWA is looking at empowering
Baghdad Women Association
vulnerable women who may be at risk of violence as well as working with the wider community to raise awareness and put in place referral mechanisms in order to better identify and respond to cases of violence against women.
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15 Support Services to Women Women who are victims of violence can approach the center and benefit from psycho-social support provided by social workers and psychologists and legal counseling provided by experienced lawyers. In case the woman needs support to obtain specific documents (Identification documents, marriage, birth, death certificates, DNA test, etc), she will obtain guidance in procedures to follow. A woman may benefit from legal representation in Court in order to claim for her rights if needed. Medical counseling is as well available for women in need of emergency healthcare. Hotline Each listening center has a hotline which enable women who are unable to come to or reach the center are still able to access its listening and counseling services. The hotline service enables to reach out to women who are not able to access the center for personal reasons or who may be living too far away. Some women, for security reasons and in order to preserve their anonymity, prefer to share their personal story on the phone but they often come to the center after trust has been established. Awareness-Raising Empowerment
Baghdad Women Association
and
Women
The centers offer opportunities for women to gain awareness through organizing sessions and workshops on diverse topics. Violence against women, legal knowledge on marriage, divorce and other family issues, public and reproductive health are topics regularly taught to women and girls from the targeted communities. BWA also launched empowerment programs: BEWIYC (Become an Empowered Woman in Your Community) is an IRC program which develops self-confidence and decision making of vulnerable woman who are encouraged to take a greater role within their family and their community; Literacy and computer classes are also provided in the center of Hay Al Nasr. In 2014, a ROSCA scheme (rotating savings and credit association) was launched in Hay Al Nasr which enabled a group of women to save and gather money to launch simple financial projects after they gained household budget management knowledge. Awareness-Raising men and boys
of
stakeholders,
BWA takes the opportunity to approach tribal and religious leaders of the community, along men and boys in order to raise awareness on violence against women and understand its impact on the community as a whole. A focus is made on the practices linked to early and forced marriages which have negative consequences on the health and well-
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16 being of women. Approaching community stakeholders is essential so they understand the impact of the work of the center and encourage women to approach the center and benefit from its services. Building Referral Pathways In each targeted district, BWA has developed connections with local stakeholders of the community including local authorities, security forces, police stations, health centers, schools and other traditional leaders. These stakeholders support BWA in identifying and referring cases to the listening centers so that women and girls victims of violence can benefit from needed support and help. In Hay Al Nasr, Al Ameen and Sadr City, monthly meetings are organized with stakeholders so that coordination and follow-up of cases of violence against women is facilitated among all service providers. Collecting and analyzing sensitive data about violence against women As women victims of violence are welcomed to the center, basic data related to their case is collected. Intake forms are filled in order to keep contact details as well as register the occurrence of violence and services provided by the center to the beneficiary. This information is highly sensitive and is treated with high confidentiality. Data is stored in computers which can only be accessed by
Baghdad Women Association
social workers in charge of the case and closets containing information are locked and are not to be accessed by any other staff member working at the center. Collected data is stored in a database. In the course of 2015, BWA will set up a new database which will allow the storage of more precise data and will enable better analysis of the data. Data will be collected in a harmonized manner across the 4 listening centers run by BWA. By the end of the year, BWA will be able to conduct a research analyzing the occurrence of violence against women in Baghdad through analysis of the data collected. Advertising the center To ensure that the center is playing a key role within the community, it is important to plan adequate advertisement of the services offered by the center. Communication material has been developed, including folders and business cards, in order to explain about services and share contact details and are regularly distributed in key locations: markets, health centers, schools, police stations, hairdressers, etc. Advertisement through street banners is as well conducted. BWA also relies on the word-of-mouth as women inform each other about the work of the center. Community leaders are also key to refer cases to the center and regular communication is maintained with them.
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Baghdad Women Association
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4
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE LISTENING CENTERS
Over 6 years of running its 4 listening centers in the Governorate of Baghdad, Baghdad Women Association has accumulated diverse achievements in combating violence against women and girls. BWA, in all its centers, has organized diverse activities that provide services not only to women and girls victims of violence but also aim to raise awareness of the community at large and to engage traditional leaders and local authorities in actively identifying cases of violence and enhancing security of women and girls in their district. Across its 4 centers, from 2009 until 2014, Baghdad Women Association has provided support services to 2890 women and girls. All were provided with psycho-
Baghdad Women Association
social counseling while 856 of them obtained free legal counseling, 92 received court representation and 40 received free medical consultations. A total of 1293 women and girls were enrolled in empowerment activities, whether it was awareness-raising, capacity building or vocational training. A total of 596 traditional leaders and men and boys were engaged in awarenessraising activities to learn about violence against women. In this section, Baghdad Women Association will share additional insights about activities and cases received by the centers and will provide analysis of the impact and successes met by the centers.
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Activities conducted in each counseling and listening center opened by Baghdad Women Association in Baghdad in 2009. The staff of Kerrada center has focused on reaching out to women and girls living in the districts of 9Nissan and Saadiya through conducting regular field visits to diverse locations.
Al Kerrada Center The counseling and listening center in Kerrada district was the first center
Year / Activities
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total
Support Services for Women Psycho-social counseling Legal Counseling
25
40
80
73
385
179
782
7
14
47
250
152
470
50
50
20
40
120
120
Court case support Medical Counseling
20
Awareness raising and empowerment of women BEWIYC sessions GBV Awareness
Baghdad Women Association
20
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20
April 2015
20 Al Nasr Center The counseling and listening center in Hay Al Nasr district was opened in May 2012. The center focused on providing services to the community as a whole through raising awareness of women, girls, leaders,
Year
men and boys on violence against women. It also offered several empowerment opportunities for women through training and organizing the first rotating credit association in the district.
2012
2013
2014
Total
Support Services for Women Psycho-social counseling Legal Counseling
117
155
341
613
42
42
168
252
140
140
120
400
30
30
Awareness raising and empowerment of women BEWIYC sessions GBV Awareness Legal Awareness
60 100
100
Public and reproductive health awareness
80
80
ROSCA scheme
30
30
60
340
80
80
14
14
Awareness raising of boys and men GBV Awareness
140
140
Legal Awareness Referral pathways Regular meetings with service providers
Baghdad Women Association
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21 Al Ameen Center The counseling and listening center in Hay Al Ameen district was opened in 2013. Beside support services to women and Year
girls victims of violence, it provided empowerment to women through personal skills training and computer and literacy trainings
2013
2014
Total
Support Services for Women Psycho-social counseling Legal Counseling
494
230
724
51
83
134
60
80
140
100
100
60
60
60
120
Awareness raising and empowerment of women BEWIYC sessions Literacy awareness Computer awareness Awareness raising of boys and men GBV Awareness
60
Sadr City Center The listening and counseling center in Sadr City was opened in January 2013. In Sadr City, BWA has focused on raising awareness on issues linked to early and
Year
forced marriage and marriage outside of courts which are common phenomena affecting women and girls.
2013
2014
Total
Support Services for Women Psycho-social counseling
444
Court case support
327
771
42
42
40
40
Awareness raising and empowerment of women BEWIYC sessions GBV Awareness
143
143
56
56
Awareness raising of boys and men GBV Awareness
Baghdad Women Association
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counseling centers run by Baghdad Women Association and outline characteristics of cases that have been received by the centers in 2014.
Statistics of cases received in centers The following statistics have been gathered across the 4 listening and
Type of violence that women beneficiaries have experienced
7% 25% 53% 15%
Psychological
Physical
Economical
Sexual
Age of women benefiting from listening and counseling services
227
264
255 143
Less than 25
Baghdad Women Association
from 25 to 35
from 35 to45
more than 45
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23 Education level of women benefiting from listening and counseling services
High school Illiterate Middle school 4% 28% 17% Read&write Primary school 12% 37%
Illiterate
Read&write
Primary school
Middle school
High school
Bachelor
Social status of women benefiting from listening and counseling services
350 300 250 200
332
150 100
214 138
86
50
121
0 Widow
Divorced
According to the statistics collected across the 4 centers in 2014, psychological violence is the type of violence that is mostly reported on by women beneficiaries requesting support from Baghdad Women Association. Sexual violence is the form of violence which is the less reported on, although the centers'
Baghdad Women Association
Married
Abandoned
unmarried
staff recognize that sexual violence might be wider spread, however many women consider shameful to raise this subject. While women from all ages are suffering from violence, statistics regarding the educational level of beneficiaries may not be relevant: the targeted districts where listening centers have been opened host
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24 very vulnerable communities and it is widely recognized that women from all socio-economic backgrounds are equally subjected to violence. Impact of listening centers The listening centers and other activities that are implemented in the frame of running the listening centers have impact at three levels: a. on women beneficiaries, b. on the targeted community and c. on local authorities. a. Impact on women beneficiaries Affected by a deteriorating security situation, Iraqi women have been increasingly secluded inside their homes since 2003 with few opportunities to go out in the public space and interact with others. Women have been isolated and have been suffering from a large amount of stress to cope with, due to security conditions and lack of economic opportunities. While violence has entered inside homes, traditional customs are contributing to isolating women even more as it is considered shameful to talk about domestic issues which should remain private. In the face of violence, women tend to remain alone and silent to safeguard the unity and the honor of the family. The listening centers have been providing needed support services to women suffering from diverse forms of violence in the form of psychological, social and legal advice. The women
Baghdad Women Association
beneficiaries have had access to a safe space where they have had an opportunity to open up with trusted persons about what is happening at home, had a chance to relieve some of their suffering by sharing their story and experience and seek for support and advice to break the cycle of violence they are subjected to. The assurance that the information shared will remain secret has enabled women to foresee solutions to their issues and to imagine a brighter future for them and their children. Activities organized in the frame of the listening centers have focused on empowering vulnerable women through raising their awareness towards their rights and the occurrence and consequences of violence against women. Besides clarifying the diverse forms of violence that women may be subjected to and highlighting how violence negatively impacts the woman, her family and her community, awareness focused on discussing legislations pertaining to rights of women, in particular the Personal Status Law which addresses matters linked to marriage, divorce, alimony, etc. It has enabled women to obtain insight on legal matters. The listening centers have facilitated the possibility to address courthouses and fill lawsuits on behalf of concerning cases. Empowerment of women has also been conducted in the form of trainings focusing on enhancing their self-confidence and decision-making
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25 capacities (BEWIYC trainings). It has contributed in enabling women to develop their skills and confidence and developed their abilities to take greater roles within the family sphere as well as within the community. b. Impact on targeted communities Activities organized in the frame of the listening centers have also looked at addressing community stakeholders such as traditional heads of communities, commonly represented by tribal and religious leaders. Tribal and religious leaders are stakeholders whom safeguard traditional and religious customs and whom maintain a patriarchal society which severely constrain women and their rights. They have systematically been engaged in dialogue with men from the community to discuss women's rights and understand the consequences of violence against women on families and the community at large. Often refuting that women have a larger role to play in decision-making processes whether at home or within the community, extensive dialogue has yet led traditional leaders to recognize the importance of the listening centers in raising awareness of the community and providing support services to women victims of violence. Although at first considered a threat to the stability of the community, gradual acceptance towards the work of the listening centers has been noticed.
Baghdad Women Association
Overtime, traditional leaders have been playing the role of focal points as they supported in identifying cases of violence within their community and participated in referring cases to the listening centers. As a result, in some of the targeted districts, regular referral pathways meetings have been organized where traditional leaders play a great role in following up on cases. c. Impact on local authorities In the frame of running the listening centers, Baghdad Women Association has developed tight connections with local authorities in each targeted districts. The Association has conducted regular visits to local representatives in order to share information about work of the centers and opportunities available for women. In Al Nasr and Al Ameen districts, local authorities' representatives attend the regular referral meetings and are therefore informed and follow up on cases of violence that are detected in the district. They as well actively participate in referring women in need of receiving support. In 9 Nissan district, linked to the Kerrada center, the local council has approached BWA's listening center to support in identifying widows. BWA has facilitated processes to register widows to ensure that they receive social salaries. BWA has also taken the opportunity to regularly address local authorities and raise issues related to violence against
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26 women. In 2014, with the support of Mercy Corps, BWA conducted an advocacy campaign in the district of Sadr City about marriages that occur outside of the Court which results in women not signing a marriage contract. Without a contract, the woman is unable to demonstrate that she has been married legally and is unable to claim for her and her children's rights in case of divorce. Many cases of married women who did not have a marriage contract were addressed by the listening center of Sadr City and the data was used to undertake an advocacy campaign which addressed local authorities, religious and tribal leaders and the larger community. In the course of 2014, the Court recognized the listening centers of BWA in Kerrada, Al Sadr and Al Ameen district as suitable premises to host divorced families in order to visit their children. It was seen as a great achievement of the centers as the centers were recognized as safe and official locations to host parents and children and to allow parents to exercise their visitation rights. However, by the end of 2014, it was decided by BWA to close this service as it was interfering with its work with women and developing security risks for women. Success stories A 45 years old woman, when she got married, she discovered that her husband and his family are running a brothel. The husband allowed his cousin to rape his wife. Baghdad Women Association
The woman approached the center and benefited from psycho-social support. She was referred to the lawyer who represented her in court to request for divorce. The woman was as well provided with health services as she was suffering from sexual infections. She obtained a divorce. A young girl of 16 years old visited the listening center. She discovered that her father had installed a camera in the bathroom so he could watch his daughter while taking a shower. The girl ran away from her house and found shelter at her uncle's house. The social worker wanted to take legal action against the father but the girl refused and asked to organize a listening session with her mother. The mother decided that her daughter needed additional psychological support and the mother obtained support from the lawyer to file for divorce. A woman approached the listening center as her husband was accusing her of being sterile and unable to bear his children and threatening her to divorce her. The woman obtained the support of the lawyer to file a case in Court: the judge referred her to the medical institute in order to conduct medical tests. The results proved that the woman is able to have children and is not suffering from any problem that could prevent pregnancy. The divorce was obtained for the woman. One participant in the BEWIYC sessions, is holding a diploma of Commerce but was
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27 afraid to look for a job because her husband and his family refused that idea. She explained that she used to be so negative and too shy to demand for her rights but after attending the BEWIYC sessions, she became stronger and decided to take an important step in her life: to look for a job.
Baghdad Women Association
She was able to convince her husband by using negotiation skills that she obtained in the sessions. She has now become a teacher in a local primary school and is very proud of her achievement .
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5
OBSTACLES TO RUNNING LISTENING CENTERS
Because of traditional and religious customs and the patriarchal nature of the society, addressing violence against women in Iraq remains a taboo. Baghdad Women Association recognizes the sensitivity of its work in running the listening and counseling centers and in this regard, obstacles are met while running activities and achieving significant long-term impact. Obstacles have been identified at three levels: at the level of women, at the level of the community and at the level of local and governmental authorities.
Baghdad Women Association
At the level of women As violence against women is a large taboo in a patriarchal society submitted to religious and tribal customs, it remains very challenging for women to raise issues related to violence they may be suffering from in the private or the public sphere. Violence against women is closely linked to the concept of shame and honor and women may prefer to remain silent to protect their own security and safeguard the honor of their family. Often, when raising such issues, women deeply fear from the reaction of their husband, their family and their community. It requires a lot of courage for women to come to the
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listening centers, share their story and request for support. Often, the husband or the family do not let the woman to come to the center as they fear from negative impacts. A long period of time is needed for women beneficiaries to build trust in the listening centers and the social workers, due to the sensitiveness of the information they have come to share. During the first meeting, women often do not address their personal problem directly and many listening sessions will be needed for the woman to open up and share her story. However, once trust is established between the woman and the social worker, the beneficiary usually comes back many times to discuss her issues as she has found the support she needed. However, customs and traditions weigh heavily on the woman and is most of the time not free to take the decisions that will bring a solution to the issues she is suffering from. Often, the woman will have
Baghdad Women Association
to face the disagreement of the husband or the family to her decisions. Most women do not have adequate access as well to economic opportunities which would allow them to make decisions. The woman remains therefore very limited in possibilities to take concrete action to put an end to the violence she is experiencing. At the level of the community As explained above, the community is subjected to religious and tribal customs and traditions. The tribal system and the religious leaders have often more power than the Rule of Law and the community often prefers to refer to the tribal law and religious interpretations than seeking assistance of legal Courts. The work of the centers has been negatively affected by the community and its local leaders represented by tribal and religious leaders. They hold a wrong understanding of the objectives and impact of the centers and are afraid that
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30 activities organized in the frame of the centers are negatively impacting the cohesion of families. BWA representatives have opened many communication channels with local leaders in order to engage dialogue and explain the work and the objectives of the centers in order to ensure acceptance of its work, but this is not always successful. At the level of local and governmental authorities Addressing local and governmental authorities on issues related to violence against women is often a great difficulty for staff members of the listening centers. Not only are they sometimes facing difficulty in finding counterparts that believe and are ready to promote issues linked to women's rights, but female staff members are as well often faced with harassment when visiting police stations and local courts. These are locations where very few women work and BWA staff members report that they often are afraid to conduct simple procedures in these offices.
Baghdad Women Association
Governmental authorities have not taken enough measures to ensure protection of women and promotion of their rights. On the contrary, the so-called "Jafari" Law has been discussed in Parliament back in 2013 and proposes very dangerous modifications to the Personal Status Law which would affect terms of marriage and divorce in particular, severely undermining the status and the rights of Iraqi women. Women's organizations have conducted diverse campaigns against this Law and the Parliament has not yet ruled over this proposition. As a result of not providing adequate measures to ensure the protection of women, governmental authorities have not organized and provided adequate support services to survivors of violence. In particular, the Government has until now refused the opening of shelters for women. Although such places exist in Baghdad, they are not officially recognized and authorized by the Government.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
o The four listening and counseling centers run by Baghdad Women Association are all running with financial support provided by diverse international organizations. However, BWA is concerned about finding a long-term solution in order to ensure sustainable support to the listening centers. BWA is in the process of thinking and strategizing in regards to alternative sources of funding, including income generating solutions. But this may take time to become a reality and in the meantime, Baghdad Women Association is in need of continuous financial support to the listening centers from international organizations. o The hotline has been playing a key role in reaching out to women and girls who are not able to attend the center. The hotline has become more relevant as the security situation has severely deteriorated in Baghdad and across the country. Baghdad Women Association is looking at expanding the hotline in order to reach out to more women and girls who may be living in farer areas in Baghdad Governorate or beyond. This will require campaigns and media advertisement. o Additional concrete solutions should be provided to beneficiaries of the centers in the form of economic empowerment. Vocational trainings, financial literacy and access to loans or credits are activities that should be made available to victims of violence so that they are given better opportunities to take decisions that will change their life for the better. o Baghdad Women Association is in need of continuous institutional development in order to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the organization, develop capacities of its staff members and design relevant strategies to tackle violence against women. In particular, BWA should look at enhancing its capacity to advocate on issues related to violence against women with Iraqi Institutions and the International Community. This could take the form of capacity building trainings and support to enhance documentation of its work on violence against women (reports, fact-sheets, etc.).
Baghdad Women Association
Running Counseling and Listening Centers in Baghdad, Iraq
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To contact the hotline of the listening centers
Al-Kerrada Listening Centre
Al-Nasr Listening Centre
07500137347
07710552251
Al-Ameen Listening Centre
Sadr City Listening Center
07509012879
07712321122
Baghdad Women Association Al Kerrada, Baghdad, Iraq. Website: http://www.bwa-iraq.org Email: bwa_baghdad@yahoo.com Phone: +964 7906973101