Roundtable held on Legal Framework for Gender-Based Violence

AMMAN — Domestic violence judges and officers that work in family protection and juvenile issues from across the Kingdom came together to discuss and share their experiences in handling domestic violence and gender-based violence (GBV) cases in Jordan.

The main purpose of the meeting was to highlight the main challenges they face in implementing domestic violence and GBV prevention laws. 

The roundtable discussion session, facilitated by supreme criminal judge Nasser Al Salamat and held by Terre des hommes Lausanne (Tdh), focused on increasing the application of protection orders stipulated in the law to ensure the protection of girls and young female victims, while focusing on the gaps that still exist in the process, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

The discussion also brought attention to the challenges that girls and young women face in approaching the judicial system to speak up or report abuse, such as a fear of social stigma, further abuse from offenders or behaviours imposed on girls and young women due to existing social norms. 

The roundtable gathered professionals from Amman, Irbid, Karak, Jerash, Mafraq, Zarqa and Ajloun, in addition to a law professor from the University of Jordan, and project managers from Tdh’s local partner organisations. 

The session concluded with the following recommendations: Activating law articles related to protection orders that ensure the victim(s) protection from further harm coming from the offender; solid collaboration between the family protection and juvenile officers and the domestic violence judges to ensure fair and unified access to justice for girls and young women; social norms, stigma and the fear of tainting the family reputation prevent or delay girls and young women facing domestic violence from approaching the judicial system.

Domestic violence judges need to start including alternative measures to ensure providing the needed support, such as mental health psychosocial support, to the victims and offenders to help reintegrate them within their communities was also among the recommendations, the statement said.

This activity was arranged and implemented by Tdh in Jordan under the “She Leads” programme, in partnership with Terre des Hommes Netherlands and the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs.