Jordan Times
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Queen urges decision-making community to continue striving for violence-free Jordan
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania commended
the achievements of the Family Protection Project (FPP) on Tuesday, reiterating
the fact that it is the culmination of the efforts and commitment of the Family
Protection Task Force, together with governmental and nongovernmental
institutions working in the field.
Speaking during a meeting with family protection stakeholders yesterday, Queen
Rania also stressed that the progress made was entrepreneurial and requires
continued coordination and concerted efforts, with a focus on the same messages,
approaches and awareness-raising and educational methods, as well as the
identification of organisational roles and responsibilities, albeit in a more
detailed manner.
An initiative of Queen Rania, the FPP is part of a Jordanian-UK technical
assistance agreement signed five years ago to generate national efforts geared
towards combating violence against women and children, within a unified platform
of action.
Chaired by the Queen, the meeting included an overview of the project, its
achievements thus far, and its prospects for the future, illustrated in a
three-year strategic plan of action, which was presented by National Council for
Family Affairs (NCFA) Vice President and Secretary General Rowaida Maaitah.
During the meeting, which brought together family protection stakeholders,
decision-makers and practitioners from governmental and nongovernmental
institutions, the Queen also underlined the need for developing a practical
institutional framework of action as well as a human-based one.
The former, she added, pertains to the identification of roles and
responsibilities of the various organisations, in addition to coordination and
networking between and amongst such institutions in an easy manner.
The latter, according to Queen Rania, relates to strengthening the capabilities
of individuals working in the field, via training, rehabilitation and the
exchange of academic experiences in the areas of social services and counselling.
The Queen, who is president of the NCFA, highlighted the importance of
monitoring and evaluating current progress, noting that consistent follow-up is
needed for the project to yield the desired outcome.
Queen Rania also spoke of dealing with the family and its challenges within its
primary environment through investing in community-based support targeted
towards those in need.
Operating under the umbrella of the NCFA since its establishment in 2001, the
main objective of the FPP is to raise the capacity building of concerned
institutions and individuals. It seeks to use a multidisciplinary approach that
responds to family violence by way of ensuring the appropriate legislative
environment and the provision and dissemination of services to victims,
perpetrators and their families, as well as by developing awareness-raising
strategies on the issue.
The meeting, attended by members of the Family Protection Task Force — formerly
known as the Family Protection Management Team — representing various
governmental and nongovernmental organisations, also shed light on the
three-year strategic plan.
The plan constitutes six main components: Prevention, protection, legislation
and policies, research and studies, networking and cooperation, and monitoring
and evaluation.
The NCFA, in cooperation with its partners, developed the plan to ensure
sustainability of progress made thus far, build on current achievements and
prepare for future challenges. The plan also serves as a guarantee by all
concerned parties in the field to implement their respective roles and take the
necessary measures to develop procedures, protocols and training manuals.
During yesterday's meeting, attendees also agreed upon a mechanism through which
governmental organisations can better coordinate their efforts, whereby each
institution will establish a specialised unit in charge of administering its
various roles and responsibilities with respect to family protection issues and
procedures.
Furthermore, attendees also reinforced the need to expand the FPP Task Force to
include the major ministries in the Kingdom, represented by their secretaries
general, in addition to other relevant organisations.
Maaitah said the FPP's work over the past five years helped identify the
strengths of current efforts and shortcomings, which will be addressed in the
strategic plan.
Throughout the last five years, the Task Force became a force of change,
spearheading key developments in the field, particularly in areas pertaining to
policy and service development; prevention and protection mechanisms and
networking.
The project was specifically influential in revising relevant laws and
recommending amendments, particularly those of the Penal Code, to allow for the
use of video-recorded interviews when dealing with cases of child abuse. It also
established a system for setting up homes for family protection.
The FPP also introduced the concept of abuse in the Ministry of Education's
curricula.
Most important, however, was the development of a National Framework for Family
Protection - a working mechanism for dealing with violence in the family by
advocating for cooperation and coordination between the relevant service
providers, stipulating the roles and responsibilities of each organisation,
particularly as such collaboration is needed to ensure the successful
development and delivery of services in response to family violence.
In 2003, and in recognition for its efforts, the FPP/Jordan was awarded the
prestigious United Nations Prize for Human Rights, a prize that is awarded every
five years.