Khaberni - The Italian Association for Women's Development, along with the "Vento di Terra" organization, in partnership with "Durrat Al-Manal" for Development and Training, and the Arab Women's Organization, launched today, Monday, at the headquarters of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the second phase of the project "We Will Not Abandon Any Woman.. Gender-Based Violence and Disability: Transforming Vulnerability into Capability".
The project, which spans 18 months with Italian funding, aims to enhance the protection and empowerment of women and girls, especially those with disabilities who are most vulnerable, and who are survivors or at risk of gender-based violence in refugee camps and Jordanian host communities, and protection centers in the Governorates of Amman, Mafraq, and Irbid, by providing an integrated framework of services including protection, assistance, empowerment, and social integration. The project targets 5,850 individuals, 90% of whom are women.
The project's second phase includes several components related to providing integrated social and health services that meet the needs of women with disabilities and those who are survivors or at risk of gender-based violence, in addition to implementing activities for economic and social empowerment that contribute to enhancing the women’s independence and building their self-capacities, as well as building the capacities of civil society organizations and Jordanian government institutions, and enhancing community mechanisms for prevention, protection, and integration.
The project is being implemented by the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Social Development, the Institute for Family Health Care, Sarah Hospital, Rafiq Al Khair Society for Social Services, Al al-Bayt University, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Clara Caldera, the President of the Italian Association for Women's Development, said that integrating gender-based violence and disability is a complex and ongoing challenge that requires multi-level responses based on intersectionality, expressing the organization's pride in contributing to this effort by closely working with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Jordanian institutions, and civil society organizations, aiming to ensure that women and girls can fully exercise their right to live freely and safely away from violence.
Alaa Al Khaldi from the "Vento di Terra" emphasized the organization's commitment to empowering women, enhancing their self-confidence, supporting them in building a safer and more dignified life, in addition to supporting families, improving their well-being, and creating hope for a better future for them.
Dr. Mohannad Al-Azza, Secretary-General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, praised the exceptional experience and the strong partnership between the Council and the Italian Association for Women's Development, which addressed challenges such as protection from violence, and etiquette of communicating with victims of violence in various forms, whether physical, sexual, or psychological.
He pointed out that persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable to violence, harassment, and sexual exploitation, due to barriers imposed by an unprepared environment that makes them rely more on personal assistants than on tools and methods that help them live independently, thus requiring more physical contact with others in education, rehabilitation, and treatment.
Azza explained that persons with disabilities are the most excluded from the protection system, hotline communication, and access to complaint and reporting locations, noting that this was observed in disasters and crises, along with the lack of ideally prepared protection programs to protect them from violence.
He emphasized the need for specialized ministries and institutions to allocate the necessary financial amounts to provide protection services and rehabilitate victims with disabilities, noting that the second phase of the project will include, for the first time in Jordan, the development of a practical guide to self-protection from violence in all its forms, explaining the guide’s mechanisms, tools, and methods for enabling persons with disabilities to know the allowed boundaries of contact and interaction, and how to act if contact and interaction exceed the permitted limit, as well as how parents can notice if their mentally disabled children are exposed to violence, and empower them to extract and recognize this information.
It is worth mentioning that the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Italian Association for Women's Development signed, during the first phase of the project, a memorandum of understanding aimed at ensuring access to an integrated system of specialized services for women with disabilities who are at risk and survivors of gender-based violence, residing in host communities, refugee camps, and protection centers in the Governorates of Mafraq and Amman.
The project included providing accessibility requirements and the necessary arrangements for persons with disabilities according to the Building Requirements Code for Persons with Disabilities at Dar Al-Wifaq and Dar Ameena, affiliated with the Ministry of Social Development, in addition to offering technical support in the field of training for staff working in organizations for persons with disabilities, civil society organizations, and gender-based violence protection centers for persons with disabilities, and preparing educational materials in accessible formats on this topic.
