Ref: 09/2022

Date: 30 March 2022

On Wednesday, 30 March 2022, through the HAYA Joint Programme, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded two training courses entitled, “Women’s Rights and Mechanisms of Intervention and Protection to Combat Violence against Women.” The training courses were conducted in cooperation with the education program at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) throughout the Gaza Strip and were held in Gaza City from 21 to 30 March 2022, with the participation of 41 teachers, including 25 women (60.9%).

This training course is part of a partnership between the PCHR and UN Women through the HAYA Joint Programme, funded by the Government of Canada. The course aims to develop the knowledge and educational skills of teachers and parents in UNRWA schools, as well as help them acquire new educational skills that will contribute to reducing violence against women, particularly gender-based violence, based on an updated educational methodology promoting human rights.

The training program includes several topics addressing the needs of the participants and promoting the concept of human rights, particularly women’s rights as stipulated in international conventions, as well as gender-based violence issues and parents’ roles in reducing the phenomenon of violence.

At the training courses’ closing ceremony, Mona al-Shawa, Head of PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit, asserted the importance of the training implemented by PCHR to combat violence against women and raise societal awareness around violence, mechanisms of intervention, and legal protections to address it.  Ms. Shawa called upon teachers to utilize their educational role in raising awareness around the dangers of violence against women by expanding their interactions with the community and school, as well as educating their students on values to eliminate discrimination and violence. Ms. Shawa stressed that this will enable us to build a generation that believes in the principles of justice and gender equality and fights against all forms of violence against women in the Palestinian society.

Mr. Khaled Abu Safiyah, UNRWA Human Rights Monitor, praised the training program and its contribution to raising awareness and the capacity building of educational institution staff in working to provide a safe, stimulating, and enriching learning environment by reducing school violence which falls under gender-based violence.

Abu Safiyah emphasized the importance of such courses that target educators as it offers a unique and enriching content for teachers and counselors.

The participants praised the course’s design and its focus on rich topics, as well as the skilled trainers and interactive training methods used in the course, which served to enhance and develop their professional skills.

At the end of the ceremony, all participants were awarded certificates for successfully completing the training program.

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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.