WUNRN
TUNISIA - FIRST PUBLIC SHELTER FOR
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS
By
Camille Lafrance - WeNews Correspondent - March 1, 2013
"We're
late," she says. "Look at
From its
1957 law granting women the right to divorce to its legalization of
contraception and abortion in the 1960s,
But when
it comes to domestic violence the country's shining reputation is missing
polish.
Resistance
to confronting the problem is deeply rooted in Tunisian culture, says Badi,
whose hold on her post could change as the government, which has been
undergoing turmoil, restructures. "Some people," the minister says,
"are afraid to see women gain autonomy; they fear it's going to break
families."
The
shelter opened in December 2012 on a large grassy plot on the outskirts of the
capital city of
It can
accommodate 50 women and their children and offers legal and psychological
assistance.
"If
their lives are in danger, if they can't stay with their husbands anymore,
those women need help to reconstruct themselves, to learn how to become
autonomous," says Badi, who was appointed by the post-revolutionary
transitional government in 2011, about a year after the revolution began.
Her ministry started this project as a partnership between the government,
which owns the building, and UN Women, based in
Violence Common
About 47
percent of Tunisian women aged 18 to 64 have been the victim of violence
(ranging from harassment to physical violence) at least once in their lifetime,
according to the last survey by the National Office of Family and Population,
published in late 2010. In most cases, the survey says, assaults occur in a
domestic setting.
Rabia Mekki, a project manager at the Ministry of Women's Affairs,
coordinated this new shelter, which houses women. She says neighbors objected
to the plans.
"When
the neighbors learnt there would be such a shelter close to their houses, some
were really reluctant," Mekki says. "They figured the center would
welcome women with bad reputations [prostitutes], or former prisoners."
Mekki is
now coordinating a second related center in
So far,
the shelter is still empty. Its location was supposed to remain secret, to
protect victims, but images of the site were broadcast on several Tunisian TV
channels the day of its inauguration.
"It's
a first step but I hope it won't be just a facade," says Dorra Mahfoudh, a sociologist
now retired from the
"This one [the shelter] is far from
Changing Mentalities
Mahfouz
hopes the shelters will be accompanied by prevention campaigns to raise public
awareness and "to change mentalities."
Until now,
the only help for victims came from independent advocacy associations, such as
the Tunis-based
Tunisian Association of Democratic Women.
Authorized under the deposed president, Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, the group created its own center dedicated to
women in 1993. It provides listening, orientation and free legal assistance,
but no housing.
"It's
a big deal, we only offer a temporary solution," says Ayet Ouetani, a psychologist
who coordinates the group's anti-violence efforts.
"At first we started hosting some victims in our own houses or putting
them up in hotels when they were really threatened but it's too complicated.
Sometimes we've been constrained to send them to shelters dedicated to tramps
and beggars."
Ouetani
says her group held back from creating shelters because it wanted the
government to take responsibility in that area.
A pilot
national center was created in the late 1990s, the first of its kind, but it
closed soon after, apparently due to administrative difficulties.
The
national strategy around that time, led by the former regime around 2000, in
favor of women, didn't help much. Minister Badi says the regime didn't act in
the area of domestic violence because it wanted to hide the country's reality,
so that
____________________________________________________________
Website Link Includes Data Graphs.
TUNISIA - 1 IN 5 WOMEN IS A
VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - SURVEY
On February 29, the
Tunisian National
Office of Family and Population(ONFP), in cooperation with the Spanish Agency for International Development
Cooperation (AECID), held a conference in Tunis, where it present the results of a national
survey conducted on violence against women.
The National Survey on Violence towards Women in Tunisia (ENVEFT, 2010) questioned 3,873 women aged between 18 and 64, living in all seven regions of Tunisia.
It is the first survey in Tunisia on the topic to be led in accordance with the recommendations of international organizations, adopting globally recognized protocols and definitions. This helped to address one of the major challenges of surveys on the subject of violence against women, according to one of the concluding statements of the ENVEFT. “By applying operational definitions, it allows for estimates and categorizations of violence and comparisons at a national and international level.”
For instance, the survey is premised on the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1993. This document defines the term “violence against women” as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
Furthermore, the survey used the World Health Organization’s (WHO) categorization of types of violence (physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence and economic violence) as its test variables. It found that in Tunisia, physical violence is the most frequent type of violence, followed by psychological violence. Coming in third place, sexual violence is less frequent, and economic violence is the least frequent. Approximately one out of five women has experienced physical violence, and one out of six has been the victim of sexual violence.
The survey yielded interesting results, comparing the prevalence of violence overall according to different variables, such as age, the matrimonial status of women or according to if it occurred within the private or publics spheres. It revealed that the private sphere (husband, fiancé, friend) is where a woman is most likely to be exposed to violence . The intimate partner is the author of physical violence in 47.2% cases, of psychological violence in 68.5% of cases, of sexual violence in 78.2% of cases, and of economic violence in 77.9% of cases. Family members are the authors of physical violence in 43% of cases, of psychological violence in 16.7% of cases, and of economic violence in 22.1% of cases.
Outside the private sphere, violence against women is sexual in 21.3% of cases, psychological in 14.8% of cases and physical in 9.8% of cases.
The survey is part of a wider initiative called the Gender Equity and Violence Prevention for Women in Tunisia, led by the ONFP and the AECID and first implemented three years ago.
The survey results were derived from the total number of answers rather than the total number of surveyed women.
Tunisia is home to the Arab world’s most progressive legislation regarding women’s rights in both the private and public spheres. As early as 1957, the Code of Personal Status abolished polygamy, enforced a minimum marriage age of 17 for females and 20 for males, enforced consensual marriage on both parties, made divorce possible at request of either party and spelled out post-divorce maintenance and financial arrangements, amongst other clauses. This survey on violence against women demonstrates that despite a very progressive legal framework, there is still much to be done before real parity is achieved for Tunisian women.