Endorsement of the family violence response mechanism revives hopes for a better system of protection
03-02-2017
According to NCFA Secretary-General Fadel Al-Hmoud, and in light of the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers of the requirements of the new mechanism, particularly in terms of human resources, the National Team for Family Protection against Violence are hopeful that the plan's implementation mechanism for strengthening response to family violence cases will reinforce the family protection system at the national level and will enhance the efficiency of institutional response.
The approval of the plan's implementation mechanism came at a time in which Jordan is witnessing a regression in family and child protection, which is an issue that HM Queen Rania Al-Abdullah has warned against calling for "addressing the legal, social and coordinative loopholes in the existing system of protection".
In an earlier statement, HM said that "We are seeing an unacceptable regression in this area; 6 children were killed last year alone at the hands of their parents, even though some of them already had existing files in the country's institutions."
The Cabinet of Ministers approved in his meeting on Wednesday to provide entities involved with the implementation of the plan with their actual needs of human resources in coordination with the human resources central committee in the Civil Service Bureau.
The Cabinet also approved of dispatching the following: 10 doctors annually to work in the psychology and forensic medicine field; 10 nurses annually to work in forensic medicine clinics in the Family Protection Department and its sections; two specialists per clinic to work in the psychiatric clinics; 70 social specialists and 30 police officers annually to work in the Social Service Offices in the Family Protection Department; and 15 social specialists annually to work in Social Care Homes affiliated with the Ministry of Social Development. It also approved the issuance of a regulatory law for institutionalizing social work at the national level.
The National Team had previously formed a committee of its members to put forward the plan's implementation mechanism which was formulated and submitted to the Cabinet in a joint letter with the Ministries of Interior and Social Development on the 28th of March and was endorsed by the Cabinet on Wednesday.
The new mechanism stipulates that the Family Protection Department/Public Security Directorate will be supplied with police officers of about thirty a year and Social Care Homes/Ministry of Social Development with social workers of about 15 a year. It also includes the issuance of a new regulating law for the initialization of social work at the national level.
Furthermore, the mechanism suggests that schools run by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs should be staffed with 200 educational counselors a year and that the Awqaf Directorates in the different governorates of Jordan should be supplied with 34 male and female family counselors.
Also under the mechanism, Social Care homes (juveniles and those in need of protection and care) should be provided with security guards. Moreover, the mechanism provides that project allocations should be assigned by the Minister of Finance according to the implementation plan and that ways of securing the required funding for projects by the donors and by the Minster of Planning and International Cooperation should be addressed in accordance with the executive plan.
The Cabinet has also committed relevant institutions and ministries (Ministries of Health, Education, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Public Security Directorate) to supply the National Team with their respective three-year executive plans to meet their commitments stated in the Response Enhancement Plan incorporating their activities, the implementation timeframe and funding (available or non-available).
Al-Hmoud told Al-Ghad Newspaper that the implementation mechanism was set to implement the plan prepared by the National Team in response to the Tabarbour crime where a mother killed her three young children and tried to take her own life.
According to Al-Hmoud, the plan was prepared in partnership with national governmental and non-governmental institutions to strengthen the response of institutions to family violence cases comprising five pillars whereby each pillar specifies operational activities, implementing bodies, executive bodies, performance indicators, availability of funding and implementation timeframe.
The plan consists of five main pillars which are: enhancement of partnerships and coordination, determination of roles and responsibilities to all service providing institutions in the field of family protection from violence, and provision of sufficient human resources to offer service for family violence cases at the relevant institutions and raise their capacities. The fourth pillar concentrates on strengthening means of case, data and file referrals among institutions responsible for the management of the cases. The fifth and last pillar has to do with outreach as it concentrates on raising public awareness on the concept of family violence and its dangers to members, families and the society as a whole and creating safe family environments, stated Al-Hmoud.
