Child abuse victims get new lease of life from UNICEF, JRF

AMMAN — UNICEF and the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), aid young children to overcome child abuse by providing special assistance and protection.

The JRF has recently dealt with a case of a 13-year-old girl, who suffered verbal and gender-based abuse from her father, according to Iman Aqrabawi, head of Intervention Services of Child Safety Programme at JRF.

He would confine her to the house most of the time, which had a severe impact on her personality and self-esteem, according to Aqrabawi.

As part of the treatment, the girl went through a series of intervention programmes to help her regain self-confidence. 

“We have also managed to help her mother become more engaged in supporting her daughter’s needs. Her father underwent a series of psychological support services to help change his attitude towards his daughter,” Aqrabawi said.

Furthermore, the team at JRF worked closely with the father to educating him about the personal and familial repercussions of abusing his daughter the way he did, according to Aqrabawi. 

The team also helped him, unemployed at the time, to find work. The interventions gave great results, Aqrabawi added.

UNICEF Jordan Representative Tanya Chapuisat, shared another story with The Jordan Times. 

Ruba (not her real name), is a 17-year-old Syrian girl who entered Jordan with her parents in March 2016, where she lived in the Azraq Camp ever since.

In March 2018 Ruba got married and she had her first baby in October 2018.  In 2019 Ruba’s mother passed away and her father travelled to Turkey. Ruba had an abusive husband and she felt left behind, according to UNICEF.

Ruba suffered from malnourishment and had problem taking care of herself and her baby, and that is when she started visiting UNICEF’s partner’s nutrition clinic.

On June 13, 2019, Ruba was identified by a child protection case manager as a case of child marriage, child-parent, malnutrition and domestic violence, according to UNICEF.

During the assessment, Ruba stated that she suffered physical abuse from her husband. Ruba also shared that she thought of hurting herself. The child protection case manager tailored a care plan according to her and her child’s needs.

The plan included ensuring Ruba and her baby’s safety by referring the case to the Family Protection Department (FPD), which in turn had the husband sign a pledge not to hurt Ruba again, the UNICEF official said.

The plan also included referring Ruba to the mental health clinic for assistance, increasing the husband’s awareness of the negative consequences of domestic violence, and raising both parents’ awareness about the rights of their child and the consequences of negligence on their child’s health. Furthermore, Ruba was referred to a women empowerment programme.

As of November 2019, both Ruba and baby enjoy more healthy diet and they were eventually removed from special nutrition programmes. 

Additionally, Ruba reported improved relationship with her husband as a result of UNICEF’s intervention, according to the UN agency.