Ref: 58/2021

Date: 23 November 2021

On Sunday, 20 November 2021, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course under the HAYA Joint Programme entitled “Women’s Rights and Intervention and Protection Mechanisms to Eliminate Violence Against Women.” The training course was conducted in cooperation with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Student-Parent Central Council in Rafah.

The course was held between 16 to 21 November 2021 with 27 people in attendance, including 10 women. So far this year, PCHR has conducted 11 training courses targeting 279 teachers, counselor, and student-parents, including 183 women (65.9 per cent).

This training course is a part of a project conducted in partnership between the PCHR and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) through the HAYA Joint Programme, funded by the Government of Canada.  The project aims to develop the knowledge and skills of teachers to contribute to decreasing violence against women, particularly gender-based violence, based on an updated educational methodology promoting human rights.

The training program addresses several topics that meet the needs of the participants and promote the concepts of human rights, particularly women’s rights as stipulated in international conventions and gender-based violence issues. The topics covered in the training program include the following: the concepts, forms, causes, and means to address gender-based violence; the legal intervention and protection mechanisms for women who are victims of violence; Palestinian legislations and their role in protecting women; national intervention programs for victims of violence; and the role of teachers in decreasing the phenomenon of violence.

At the training’s closing ceremony, Abdul Halim Abu Samra, Head of PCHR’s Training Unit, asserted the importance of the training in targeting parents as a vital social group who play a crucial role in raising future generations. Abu Samra stressed parents’ significant role in combating violence and curbing its devastating effects on the family, the educational environment, and the society.

Abu-Samra added that the negative impact of violence against girls and women is not limited to them, but extends to their families and societies, undermining development; thus, costing countries large amounts to address its effects. He called on participants to exert all efforts to end this phenomenon, particularly as violence against women and girls is the most commonly practiced violation of human rights.

Mr. Salah Abu-Kosh, Chairman of UNRWA Schools’ Student-Parent Councils in Rafah, and a trainee, commended PCHR’s work and its contribution to raising awareness and capacity building of parents for the elimination of violence against women. He thanked PCHR and the trainers for their efforts in the course and called upon his colleagues to disseminate the information they received to their peers and larger social circles.

Mr. Fares Tawil, UN Women Project Manager for the HAYA Joint Programme, stressed that eliminating violence against women and girls requires using a community approach rather than working with individuals. Mr. Tawil emphasized that in order to support a new young generation that respects the rights of people we need to create an environment around them that respects and believes in the rights of people which includes students, teachers, parents, and community members. He stated that training with parents is just one step towards achieving this goal and the HAYA Joint Programme and its partners will continue working with different community members to raise awareness and create respectful relationships between men and women.

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The HAYA Joint Programme seeks to eliminate violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. HAYA is funded by the Government of Canada and jointly implemented by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development as well as other ministries and civil society organizations.