Domestic Violence in Middle East

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Dirasat , Human and Social Sciences, Volume 41, No. 1, 2014

Domestic Violence in Middle East

Debbie D. Abuelghanam*

ABSTRACT

This research project is based on interviews o or!ani"ations that provide domestic violence services in #iddle

$ast. The stud% investi!ates three basic areas & services provided to domestic violence victims, trainin!

provided to sta and'or volunteers o a!encies as well as or speciali"ed !roups, i.e. police and courts( and the

t%pes and amounts o operational undin! or the association. The article also attempts to address the deinitions

within the sphere o )ivil Societ% domestic violence a!encies. #an% previous investi!ations have loo*ed

speciicall% at the prevalence o domestic violence in +ordan as well as how societ% has dealt with the issue. No

studies have dealt with trainin! and undin! while a ew have discussed services. t is hoped that this stud% will

be!in illin! the !aps in *nowled!e related to the issue o domestic violence as well as to assist in deinin! the

breath, depth and scope o )ivil Societ% in #iddle $ast -1.

Keywords: /omestic Violence, Violence !ainst omen, amil% Violence, #iddle $ast, domestic

violence services, domestic violence trainin!, domestic violence undin! .

INTRODUCTION

There has been a plethora o inormation written

about the issue o domestic violence in +ordan.

However, most articles are written b% western

academic writers, albeit man% have visited the area.#an% ewer academic articles have been written b%

those rom the re!ion with more e3tensive

*nowled!e about the culture and wh% domestic

violence in the #iddle $ast and +ordan in particular,

has dierent comple3ities than those in the est.

Then there are numerous articles related to

/omestic Violence written b% civil societ% a!encies

which in some respects have been ar more

illuminatin! and more *nowled!eable about the

speciics o the issue in +ordan.

Thereore, based on the !roups o mentioned

articles, it is an established act that /omestic

Violence is indeed a major problem in +ordan.

-Nasser 1565( amil% 7uidance and wareness

)enter & 8ar9a 2011( :nited Nations /evelopment

und or omen 2004. hat is less clear are the

services provided or domestic violence victims, the

trainin! provided to those wor*in! with

; acult% o nternational Studies, The :niversit% o

+ordan.


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violence is a major problem in +ordan. Thereore,

the ne3t step is to determine what is currentl% bein!

done in +ordan to provide services to victims and

what other

© 2014 DAR Publishers/University of Jordan. All Rights

Reserved.

services are needed( to train a!enc% sta and

support persons as well as what other trainin! is

necessar%( and determine the current inancial

support as well as to decide what other unds are

necessar% to address this problem.

The importance o this stud% is threeold. irst, it

will hi!hli!ht the wor* currentl% bein! done in )ivil

Societ% to address the issue o domestic violence.

Secondl%, it will brin! to the oreront an% possible

problems aced b% the a!encies. Third, it will assess

the sector and propose possible solutions which will

beneit the a!encies, the donors and )ivil Societ% as

well.Hence this article will do the ollowin! irst, it

attempts to !ive a more complete picture o the civil

societ% or!ani"ations and !overnmental ministries

that provide services to victims o domestic

violence, whether directl% or indirectl%. Second, it

will discuss the ran!e o services provided to

victims and the importance o them accordin! to the

a!encies providin! the services. Third, it will

discuss the trainin! provided to sta and volunteers

o individual civil societ% or!ani"ations, as well as

others within the s%stem such as doctors, law%ers,

courts, etc. ourth, it will loo* at the undin!

provided to domestic civil societ% or!ani"ations.

#ore speciicall%, the t%pes o undin! provided, the

amounts dedicated to eradicate domestic violence,

and the stabilit% o the undin!. inall%, it will

evaluate the areas o services, trainin! and undin!

and ma*e recommendations or the services

providers, the undin! sources, and people involved

in developin! le!islation and polic% as well as or

uture research on this issue and to civil societ% in

!eneral.

The ollowin! sections will present a literaturereview on civil societ% domestic violence services,

trainin! and undin!. The review will cover the

topics in !eneral and

then speciicall% in relation to +ordan

Defining te Te!minolog" Utili#ed $" Ci%il

Societ"

There are numerous terms used to describe the

issue o domestic violence. This is an important

point or two reasons. irst, to ensure that what is

bein! investi!ated is the same problem. Secondl%,

because most a!encies that provide domestic

violence services also oer several other services

and domestic violence is not necessaril% the primar%

ocus. The terms used to describe these

or!ani"ations are domestic violence, wie abuse,

intimate partner violence, violence a!ainst women

-V and amil% violence -V. n !eneral, the%

are used interchan!eabl% but !iven the dierences

in terminolo!%, there are also dissimilarities in

deinitions and concepts and the% do not necessaril%

relect the same scope o action. Thereore, it is

important to loo* at the dierences to ma*e certain

what is bein! e3amined is understood and able to be

used or comparison.

The irst three terms discussed in the previous

para!raph are similar. The most commonl% utili"ed

is domestic violence and it reers to violence in the

home which is perpetrated b% a ather, brother, or

husband' si!niicant other on a emale -adult or

minor. ie abuse is speciicall% in relation to

violence inlicted b% a husband a!ainst his wie.

There are three dierences between wie abuse and

intimate partner abuse. irst is the le!al relationship

between the two people involved & spouses,

bo%riend'!irlriend, and common law marria!es.Secondl%, the perception in +ordan -obtained rom

interviews is that domestic violence is related to

those events that occur in the home, whereas the

others include all abuse whether it ta*es place in or

out o the home. Third, these terms are used

speciicall% in relation to actions o ph%sical

violence and do not appear to be associated with

ps%cholo!ical and'or verbal abuse.

The term violence a!ainst women -V comes

directl% rom the :nited Nations /eclaration on the

$limination on the Violence a!ainst omen, which

is an international a!reement passed in the :nited

Nations 7eneral ssembl% in 155=. t states that

Bviolence a!ainst womenC Bmeans an% act o

!enderAbased violence that results in, or is li*el% to

result in, ph%sical, se3ual or ps%cholo!ical harm or

suerin! to women, includin! threats o such acts,

coercion or arbitrar% deprivation o libert%, whether

occurrin! in public or in private lie.C -:nited

Nations 7eneral ssembl%


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/ecember 155=, rticle 1. This deinition !reatl%

broadens the t%pes o acts to be addressed.

BViolence a!ainst women shall be

understood to encompass, but not be limited

to, the ollowin! -a ?h%sical, se3ual and

ps%cholo!ical violence occurrin! in the

amil%, includin! batterin!, se3ual abuse o emale children in the household,

dowr%related violence, marital rape, emale

!enital mutilation and other traditional

practices harmul to women, nonAspousal

violence and violence related to e3ploitation(

-b ?h%sical, se3ual and ps%cholo!ical

violence occurrin! within the !eneral

communit%, includin! rape, se3ual abuse,

se3ual harassment and intimidation at wor*,

in educational institutions and elsewhere,

traic*in! in women and orced prostitution(

-c ?h%sical, se3ual and ps%cholo!ical

violence perpetrated or condoned b% the

State wherever it occursC -The :nited

Nations Special D. -Ehawaja, F Gara"i 200>, 640A41 7iven the

rate o incidence, in !eneral, this means most

people, even i not abused, will *now someone that

has been.

t is not just the prevalence o the issue that is

relevant but how +ordanian societ% sees the issue

because it will aect the perception o the issue in

the communit%, the acceptance o prosecution and

punishment as well as the revictimi"ation o the

victim. /omestic violence is not perceived as a

societal problem but rather one associated with the

amil% in +ordan. -HajAahia 200>

urthermore, the studies show that +ordanians

believe it would be better i the victim not brin!

criminal char!es a!ainst the perpetrator but let the

amil% address the problem instead o see*in!

assistance rom or!ani"ations outside the amilial

circle -social services, !overnment, or le!alor!ani"ation. hen societ% maintains when women

are not !ood wives that it is acceptable to hit her

then it also will not be acceptable to prosecute the

abuser. -bid. lso see HajAahia 2000

)onse9uentl%, there is little support or punishment

o the abuser so women are hesitant to come

orward to report the abuse and even more reticent

to ile char!es. -HajAahia 2002b. lso see

Ehawaja F Gara"i 200> 7iven societ%Is

perception, a woman that comes orward is

revictimi"ed b% the abuser, the amil% and man%

times the le!al s%stem that is there to protect her.

- Naa( l /abbas( +abiri F l $mam 200J.

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/omestic Violence Services K /ebbie /.

buel!hanam

$ven i the victim wants to prosecute, the laws

in +ordan are not helpul. There is technicall% no

law that speciicall% deals with /omestic Violence,

nor are there restrainin! orders available. Thereore

victims must use the assault and batter% law, which

is not created to assist the domestic violence victim(

in act it ma*es it ar harder or her to prosecute the

perpetrator. -:nited Nations /evelopment und or

omen 2004

That is not to sa% that the perseverance o civil

societ% or!ani"ations wor*in! on domestic violence

have not made strides in the last 1>A20 %ears.

ctuall% there are several reasons to believe that

services provided b% associations, awareness

lectures, and assistance b% !overnmental entities is

havin! an eect on the issue.

irst, both social scientists and the public

have become increasin!l% sensitive to

violence in !eneral. This is possibl% due to

the openness accompan%in! the

democrati"ation process and the inluence o

!lobali"ation on the +ordanian communit%.

Second, various non!overnmental

or!ani"ations, such as the National )ouncil

o amil% airs, have oered public

orums to discuss the issues and to publici"e

them. Third, as a result o the establishment

o amil% ?rotection :nits within the local

police departments to deal with reportedcases o violence, the prevalence o reportin!

o amil% violence has increased

e3ponentiall%. ourth, amil% violence is

emer!in! as a major threat to the oundation

o the amil% and is believed to be lin*ed to a

variet% o social problems aectin! the

amil%. -Lweis, 7haraibeh,

lANatour, F roehlicher 2005, p. M5

Since the evidence shows that domestic violence

is prevalent in +ordan as well as that strides are

bein! made to address the issue, it is important to

loo* at the services that civil societ% or!ani"ations

must provide to eectivel% address the problem o

domestic violence.

Te '!o%ision of Domestic Violence Se!%ices

The statistics reveal, at the international level,

victims o domestic violence turn to communit%

based or!ani"ations somewhere between 10A=>D o

the time when see*in! assistance and support ater

an incident o domestic violence. -Hennin! F

Eles!es. 2002 However, in +ordan speciicall%

man% are either !overnmental or semiA!overnmental

-Non 7overnmental Lr!ani"ations N7LsO b%

decree entities that provide services, with less than

a third o them bein! private N7Ls or )ivil Societ%

Lr!ani"ations -)SLs. -:nited Nations 7eneral

ssembl%


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communit% awareness, plannin! and polic%

ma*in!, amendin! and passin! le!islation, provide

trainin! and support or sta and volunteers or

other a!encies. -/elehant%Abuel!hanam 155M(

National )ouncil or amil% airs 2006(

Ehawaja F Gara"i 200>( HajAahia 200>( HajA

ahia 2002b.

The list o services that an association can provide is lon! and varied. ithin the list are

several services which are at the core o the

e3istence o a domestic violence or!ani"ation. The

irst two are the 24 hour hotline and crisis services.

The hotline allows the victim to reach out or

assistance, support, and possible intervention. The

crisis services are to ensure the saet% and health o

the victim and possibl% other amil% members

because B-a violence can happen at an% time, and

survivors need to be able to access services at an%

time( -b telephone hotlines are an important

!atewa% or survivors to access inormation and

reerral( and -c even a brie crisis intervention ma%

ma*e a critical dierence in a survivorIs lie.C

- #ac%( 7iatina( #ontijo F $rmentrout 2010, p.

114=

)ounselin! and support !roups are a necessar%

component o services provided once the victim is

out o harmIs wa% and needs to learn to deal with

the abuse. There are two t%pes o counselin! &

mental health counselin! and support !roups. The

mental health counselin! is ar more e3pensive

!iven the level o education re9uired to oer this*ind o counselin!, whereas support counselin!

does not demand the same level o education or

trainin!. These two t%pes o counselin! aord the

victim with inormation, resources, support and

empath%, as well as reduce isolation and promote

contact with others.#ac%( 7iattina( San!ster(

)rosb% F #ontijo 2005

#edical and le!al advocac% aids the victim in

obtainin! necessar% services, inormation

concernin! the medical and le!al s%stems, as well as

ensures that neither the medical or le!al s%stem

revictimi"es the victim.

hile both t%pes o services are provided b%

domestic violence a!encies, there is more emphasis

placed on le!al advocac% than on medical advocac%

in academic literature. - #ac%( 7iattina( San!ster(

)rosb% F #ontijo 2005( F #ac%( 7iatina( #ontijo

F $rmentrout 2010

There has been much emphasis placed on le!al

and court advocac%, especiall% in the est where

prosecution is !iven special emphasis in domestic

violence or!ani"ations. This t%pe o advocac% is

directed b% several overarchin! premises B -a to

improve survivorsP and their amil% membersP saet%,

-b to hold perpetrators responsible or the violence,

and -c to ensure that the criminal and civil justice

s%stems respond appropriatel% and sensitivel% to

survivors.C -#ac%( 7iattina( San!ster( )rosb% F#ontijo 2005, p. =M> hile +ordanian N7Ls

provide le!al advocac% it tends to be usurped b%

another service & amil% reconciliation. This point is

not just borne out b% or!ani"ational statistics but the

prominence o amil% reconciliation has been

stressed in several pieces o +ordanian le!islation.

Statistics rom a le!al N7L in +ordan show that

in the %ear 200M that services provided to victims o

domestic violence included 1=2M instances o le!al

consultations where J1 cases were judiciall%

processed and 6M cases were resolved with the

amil%. -National )ouncil or amil% airs 2006,

p. 1M This point is supported b% le!islation related

to domestic violence where The amil% Violence

?rotection Qaw with its amil%


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buel!hanam

200> t is a startin! point or the victim to be ree

rom violence as well as a sae location to be!in

receivin! other services necessar% or victims o

domestic violence.

There are several reasons wh% domestic violence

shelters are staed 24 hours a da%, J da%s a wee*

and while it ma% be one o the more e3pensive

services provided to victims it is usuall% an e3pense

well worth the cost. There are several objectives to

be achieved b% an% shelter, which include Birst,

the man% challen!es o survivors and their amilies,

includin! substance abuse problems and mental

illnesses, ma% re9uire roundAthecloc* responses.

Second, survivors who irst arrive at the shelter

durin! the ni!ht ma% need the help o a sta

member with the transition into the shelter. Third, i

sta members are alwa%s onAsite, survivors are

assured someone will be available i a need or

problem arises. ourth, survivors who recentl%

endured a terrible e3perience ma% need services,

such as counselin!, at an% time, da% or ni!ht.C

-#ac%( 7iatina( #ontijo F $rmentrout 2010, p.

114M.

7iven the above mentioned inormation, it is

believed that (1 Domestic Violence CSOs will only

provide core services whereas ministries, NGOs by

decree and NGOs will provide a full range of

services /ue to the abilit% to hire and und services

it is believed that )SLs with less sta and undin!

will not be able to provide a ull ran!e o services. Now that the core services have been covered, it

is time to turn to the issue o trainin!.

The ne3t section will loo* at trainin! o

emplo%ees and volunteers as well as the trainers,

and i the or!ani"ation provides trainin! or outside

entities such as police, courts, etc.

Ci%il Societ" and T!aining

Trainin! is an on!oin! issue or N7Ls. #ore

speciicall%, trainin! or domestic violence can

mean the dierence between eectivel% helpin! a

victim o domestic violence and causin! her to be

revictimi"ed. Those who have contact with victims

in man% cases have little or no trainin! in order to

provide eective services and thereore it is

encoura!ed that those wor*in! in the ield !et at

least inAservice trainin! about the subject o /V.

-?a%ne( )armod%( ?litcha F VandecarAGurdin

200J.

The importance o trainin! cannot be

understated. The selAconidence to be able to assist

victims comes rom /V trainin! pro!rams.

-Hamber!er( 7use( Goer!er( #ins*%( ?ape F

olsom 2004 Not onl% does the trainin! !ive sta

assurance but it will also provide the ollowin! it

increases proessionalism o sta and'or volunteers,

improves the level o inormation concernin! the

issue and the environment -medical and judicial

that surrounds it, as well as au!ments client

satisaction. -)ampbell( )oben( #cQou!hlin(

/earwater( Nah( F 7lass 2001.

The issue o trainin!, whether or sta and'or

volunteers at the time o hirin!, on!oin! trainin!

and periodic reresher courses as well as the needs

o speciic cate!ories o victims -i.e. children,

elderl% are important. or the issue o /V trainin!

is also vital or those within the le!al and medical

s%stems -i.e. police, attorne%s, doctors and nurses

that have contact with the victim and her amil% as

well as communit% awareness trainin! within

societ% to enli!hten citi"ens concernin! the issue o

domestic violence, educate them to be more aware

o the problem, as well as prevent possible uture

violence and revictimi"ation o the victim.

The importance o trainin! within the le!al

s%stem cannot be underrated. B)riminal justice

proessionals, includin! jud!es, law%ers, and police

oicers, sometimes unintentionall% or inadvertentl%

create diicult environments that leavecomplainants eelin! urther victimi"ed b% the

process.C -Glane% 2010, p. =>> ithin this

complicated atmosphere Bvictims continue to eel

urther traumati"ed b% attitudes and practices within

the justice s%stem response.C-bid t thereore

becomes imperative that trainin! or those that come

in contact with victims is implemented. Bcross

North merica there is evidence that speciali"ed

approaches includin! police trainin! on the

d%namics o domestic violence have a positive

eect on victim saet% and support, the processin!

o cases throu!h the justice s%stem, and oender

accountabilit%.C-bid, p. =>M.

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There are similar reasons as to wh% trainin!

should be conducted or those in the medical

communit% that come in contact with victims

althou!h it is more complicated. hile trainin! is

important or medical personnel in order to be able

to identi% and treat victims, the hospital policies

also aect this process. -#ins*%AEell%( Hamber!er(

?ape F ole 200>.n act, the trainin! will produce dierent results dependin! on the

department in the hospital that is trained. However

it is clear that Bliterature on selAeicac% and chan!e

in provider *nowled!e and attitudes toward /V as a

medical problem clearl% justi% the need or trainin!

pro!rams to help health care providers learn needed

*nowled!e, s*ills, and conidence to identi% and

help partner violence victims.C -bid., p. 1265

hile it has been established that trainin! is

needed or domestic violence or!ani"ations and the

le!al and medical communities it is also needed or

those that will come in contact with victims with

special needs. These would include those who wor*

with the elderl% and child victims as well as those

who wor* or !overnmental social service

pro!rams. There are two basic reasons or trainin!

emplo%ees in such !overnmental entities. irst, as

discussed earlier, is the *nowled!e, eicac% that

comes with the abilit% to deal with domestic

violence victims rom both a *nowled!eable and

proessional manner. Secondl%, and at least as

important, is the messa!e that is sent b% re9uirin!

!overnmental emplo%ees to have trainin!. t has been shown that Bwhen trainin! is not re9uired or

encoura!ed, it su!!ests that the !overnment is

choosin! not to emphasi"e the importance o the

pli!ht o victims o domestic violence. n contrast,

developin! policies that encoura!e participation in

domestic violence trainin! pro!rams sends a

messa!e that these cases are important to a!encies

as well as public oicials.C -?a%ne( )armod%(

?litcha F VandecarAGurdin 200J, p. 255

The last !roup that should be involved in the

process is the communit% at lar!e throu!h

awareness o the issue and prevention techni9ues.

7eneral inormation can come rom man% sources

but it needs coordination to cover man% !roups &

such as amil%, coAwor*ers, schools and universities,

etc. ?revention trainin! is an entirel% dierent s*ill

set. -#artin( Geasle%( Hoehn( #athew(


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buel!hanam

which lac* specialists in terms o

individuals with academic de!rees and

proessional trainin!.C

-bid. p. 2=

This speciic idea that trainin! or social wor*ers

at the universit% level should include courses on

violence( more speciicall% domestic violence is

also supported in the literature. -?a%ne( )armod%(

?litcha F VandecarGurdin 200J hen courses are

oered at the universit% it increases the amount and

level o inormation and ma*es on the job trainin!

less imperative.

7iven the above mentioned inormation on

trainin!, it is posited that (+ Domestic Violence

CSOs will only provide in!house training while

ministries, NGOs by decree and NGOs will provide

training to support groups outside the agency This

will be due to number o sta and the undin!

available or such services.

L the three issues discussed within the

9uestionnaire, services and trainin! have been

covered. The last area to be discussed in relation to

the literature is the undin! o civl societ%

or!ani"ations.

)nding

This area is limited b% the ver% basic nature o

the undin! 9uestions used in the interviews whichwere developed based on the ver% limited undin!

inormation or civil societ% in +ordan and complete

lac* o data on inancial support or domestic

violence services. These 9uestions include the iscal

relationship between the !overnment and civil

societ% as well as the diversit% o undin! sources

and copin! mechanisms utili"ed in times o iscal

constraint.

n !eneral, historicall%, a relationship has

developed between the !overnment and civil societ%

in man% countries. There are man% dierent reasons

as to wh% this relationship has developed but its

e3istence is undisputed. This relationship is based

on mutual need. The !overnment loo*s or a partner

to deliver services to societ% and civil societ% loo*s

or a stable undin! source. -Salamon 156J. lso

see Salamon 155> ccordin!l%, the relationship is

reciprocal. The !overnment on the one hand,

provides stable inancial resources, reduces

paternalism throu!h the use o a representative

democratic s%stem, and treats access to services as a

ri!ht and not a privile!e. )ivil Societ%, on the other

hand, can behave in an enterprisin! manner to

compensate or !overnmental deiciencies in areas

such as oerin! innovative pro!rams, personali"in!

services, providin! more le3ibilit% in addressin!

speciic needs o the clients, and encoura!in! a

!reater de!ree o competition amon! a!encies.

-bid. dditionall% B!overnments have wished to

wor* with N7Ls -non!overnmental or!ani"ations

or their cost eectiveness, an asset derived rom

their relative reedom o action in providin!

services and their low administrative overhead costs

due lar!el% to the important role that volunteers

pla%, both in the deliver% o services and

!overnance.C-Lwen 2000, p. 1=2

However, while !overnment is not the onl%

source o inancial support available, in man% cases

it is the lar!est resource. Then what ollows is can

civil societ% maintain its autonom% and

accountabilit% to its clientele@ t is imperative that

or!ani"ations *eep their operational autonom%. This

means Bor!ani"ations reedom to ormulate and

pursue a selAdetermined a!enda without undue

e3ternal pressures, wherever the pressures come

rom.C -an!, Shao!uan!. 200M, p. 4 t is the

stren!th o this autonom% Bthat enables it to

counterchec* abusive and corruptive state, diuse

social and economic power, plurali"e the political

arena, and promote accountable and participator%!overnance, thus contributin! toward the creation

and maintenance o democrac%.C -bid. lso see

ilmot F )ali!uire 155M t is this sustainin! o

democrac% that will cause tension and conlict

within civil societ% in +ordan.

)nding in Middle East co)nt!"*s

estern undin! sources, in particular the :nited

States and the $uropean :nion have been used in

recent %ears to promote democrac% especiall%

within the sphere o )ivil Societ%. This is relevant

to this paper because +ordan has received lar!e

amounts o undin! rom the west which or the

most part have been used b% N7Ls and 9uasi N7Ls

or democrac% promotion. -Ehala( Qutterbec*(

Hourani F alATaher . 2005 lso see Gint lTalal

2004 Thereore, as a potential undin! source it is

o a concern as to how this undin! is perceived in

relation to the strin!s attached. BSuch assistance has

A 250 A


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at times been complemented with public criticism o

perceived nonAdemocratic behaviour and political

conditionalities, i.e. ma*in! democratic reorm a

precondition or !rantin! avours such as trade deals

and development assistance.C -bid. p. >

There is a debate as to whether +ordanian N7Ls

should accept orei!n undin!. This debate has been

between liberal political elites and the moreconservative members o the political slamist and

nationalist !roups. The acceptance o orei!n

undin! Bmeans ta*in! the positions o donors. The

!overnments o the #iddle $ast are prime e3amples

o this phenomenon o dependenc%( it is the same

with N7Ls.C -bid. p. 15.

ithin the debate there were those who support

the use o orei!n undin! statin!

Bthat in the absence o local undin!, and

as lon! as the% were not coerced b% donors

to ollow an% speciic Bhidden a!endaC,

orei!n undin! was the onl% means enablin!

civil societ% or!ani"ations to pursue their

activities. Ln the other hand, there were

those who perceived orei!n undin! to be

tantamount to R!rand treasonI, in direct

violation o the constitution and e3istin!

le!islation. This position contended that

orei!n undin! was an invasion o +ordanIs

soverei!nt% and a orm o 9uestionable neoA

colonialism( accusin! recipients o e3ternal

unds o bein! lo%al to their sponsors, rather than to the countr%.C -Gint lATalal 1550, p.

50.

Thereore, the issue o diversit% o undin! is

important due to !overnment mone% and even the

possibilit% o impropriet% o orei!n undin! which

can raise the 9uestion o who is civil societ%

accountable to & undin! sources or or!ani"ational

sta*eholders.

The issue o orei!n undin! is less o an issue in

+ordan !iven the statutes that re!ulate civil societ%

in +ordan. ll orei!n undin!, e3cept or N7Ls

established b% decree, must be approved b% the

)ouncil o #inisters. Societ% Qaw >1 or 2006 with

amendments or 2005 states in rticle 1J ) 1 B the

societ% wished to receive an% donation or undin!

rom a non +ordanian part%, it shall noti% the

)ouncil o #inisters o its intent. The notiication

shall include the source o such donation or undin!,

its amount, the wa% it would be received, its

purpose and an% other special conditions. the

)ouncil o #inisters does not issue a decision

rejectin! the proposed donations and unds within

thirt% da%s rom the date it received the notiication,

the donation and undin! shall be deemed as bein!

approved.C the undin! is rejected there is an

appeals process that can be invo*ed.

There is a speciic cate!or% o or!ani"ationwhich is e3empt rom this provision which are

N7Ls established b% decree. ccordin! to rticle =

G 1 states that BThe ollowin! shall be e3empted

rom the provisions o this law n% le!al person

established accordin! to the provisions o a special

law.C These or!ani"ations are able to appl%, accept

and utili"e orei!n undin! without !overnmental

approval. Lther or!ani"ations must irst !et

permission rom the )ouncil o #inisters beore

acceptin! orei!n unds. These other or!ani"ations

are thereore limited in the t%pes o resources

available or operatin! unds or a civil societ%

or!ani"ation and could possibl% be more dependent

on !overnmental undin! than or!ani"ations

established b% decree.

/ue to the above mentioned inormation the

ollowin! is posited (- Domestic Violence CSOs

and NGOs will receive less foreign funding than

NGOs by decree This will be due to both the

capabilities o the a!encies to search or unds and

also current laws that !overn civil societ% undin!.

Now that the three cate!ories o 9uestions have

been covered in the literature, the paper will nowdiscuss the ollowin! the methodolo!%, the !eneral

perceptions obtained durin! the interviewin!

process, and the speciic inormation !arnered

durin! the interviews, ollowed b% anal%sis and

conclusion.

Metodolog"

The method or collectin! inormation related to

domestic violence in +ordan concernin! service

provision, trainin! and undin! was a 9uestionnaire.

The 9uestionnaires were completed durin! u!ustA

Lctober o 2011 with personal interviews at each o

the a!encies and ministries. The 9uestionnaire was

administered to entities providin! services, either

directl% or indirectl%, to domestic violence victims

in +ordan. There are currentl% 26 *nown entities

dealin! with domestic violence o which 1M were

interviewed or this article. The list o these

or!ani"ations was obtained b% compilin!

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buel!hanam

inormation rom articles, rom the internet and lists

obtained rom entities that were interviewed. These

entities include +ordanian !overnmental ministries(

9uasinon!overnmental or!ani"ations -N7Ls

created b% decree, N7Ls, and smaller civil societ%

or!ani"ations -)SLs. L the 26 *now entities, there

were 6 ministries or speciali"ed subunits within a

ministr%, M N7Ls created b% decree, 6 N7Ls and M

civil societ% or!ani"ations. hile almost all are

within the capital cit% o mman, 2 were located

outside the capital, which does not include branches

o entities e3istin! or mman a!encies.

.ene!al Comments a$o)t

Domestic Violence Inte!%ie/s

t should be stated rom the outset that the

a!encies interviewed and their emplo%ees were

*nowled!eable about the subject as well as the

histor% surroundin! civil societ% in !eneral and

domestic violence in particular. The interviewees

were dedicated and committed to the eorts bein!

made to improve the environment surroundin! this

issue.

L the 26 entities that were *nown to provide

domestic violence services & !overnment ministries,

N7LIs b% decree, N7LIs and civil societ%

or!ani"ations, 1M were interviewed. These 26

a!encies ma% not be the entire population o entities

& or the lists obtained rom the internet and other a!encies, were outdated, inaccurate and none were

all inclusive.

The interviews were structured around three

areas services, trainin! and undin! related to

domestic violence. n !eneral the services as well as

the histor% o the or!ani"ations were e3pounded on

while trainin! and undin! were mostl% discussed

rom a !eneral perspective. s ar as the actual

monetar% totals spent on /omestic Violence, onl%

one or!ani"ation was willin! to put an amount on

what is bein! spent. s a caveat, it should be said

that the interviewers did not meet with those who

mana!e the inances o the or!ani"ations, instead

those interviewed were service providers, trainers as

well as top mana!ement within the associations.

L the a!encies interviewed, onl% two o them

e3clusivel% oer domestic violence services. #ost

or!ani"ations be!an providin! services with an

emphasis on either human, women or amilies

ri!hts. or those entities wor*in! with women the%

ocused on womenIs ri!hts and education, and or

the ones dealin! with amil% issues child abuse, and

later domestic violence was added -child abuse is a

ar less controversial issue than domestic violence.

This thereore complicated obtainin! inormation

related to domestic violence, especiall% or inancial

support and all documentation speciicall% related to

domestic violence.

hile the numbers o a!encies that provide

direct services to victims o domestic violence are

limited, there are ar more that oer indirect

services & speciicall% in the areas o prevention and

awareness about the issue. nd %et, within this

small population o entities, there are two a!encies

which are v%in! or a leadership role. hile some

have stron! relationships with both o the entities,

most are ali!ned with one or the other, not both.

Goth a!encies are creatin! data bases or collection

o inormation about victims and the a!encies that

provide services. ndividuall% each a!enc% is

developin! standards or collection o statistics,

ethical practices or dealin! with victims, as well as

establishin! and maintainin! a repositor% or all

written inormation about the subject o domestic

violence. or an issue li*e domestic violence, where

there are a relativel% small number o a!encies

providin! services, there are duplication o services

and leadership, a lac* o evidence that there is

coordination between the or!ani"ations, -althou!h

ever% a!enc% insisted that the% coordinate withother similar a!encies that provide services as well

as there are no !eo!raphical boundaries or

purposes o service provision and all with one

e3ception are in the 7reater mman area.

Te indings of te Domestic Violence

Inte!%ie/s in &o!dan

#ost o the or!ani"ations that provide services

to victims o domestic violence are entities ocused

on womenIs issues in !eneral and their involvement

with domestic violence is just one area o service

provision. There is a wide ran!e between the

establishment o the oldest and %oun!est entities

with the oldest or!ani"ation ounded in 154> and

the newest in 200J and the vast majorit% established

since 1565.> Lnl% two associations were established

with the e3press purpose o wor*in! with victims o

domestic violence.

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The si"es o the or!ani"ations are in !eneral

lar!e with the e3ception o two )ivil Societ%

Lr!ani"ations -)SL. The smallest a!enc% has one

emplo%ee and the lar!est has more than 100. The

avera!e number o sta is =0. The utili"ation o

volunteers alls at the e3treme ends o the spectrum

with the lowest number bein! 2 and the lar!est at

1000. However, it should be stated that the majorit%o or!ani"ations do not have an% volunteers at all.

hile these associations were interviewed about

the issue o domestic violence, the missions o these

entities belie their main ocus. The missions all into

one o three cate!ories which include womenIs

ri!hts, amil% ri!hts, and women'amil% ri!hts. Lnl%

our mention violence in their mission statement

and o those onl% three speciicall% address violence

a!ainst women.

The number o pro!rams provided b% each

or!ani"ation also belies the act that there is

numerous pro!rams unrelated to domestic violence.

The number o pro!rams alls at the e3tremes with

the smallest a!enc% -)SL providin! one pro!ram

and the lar!est number at 12 with an avera!e o ive

pro!rams. These pro!rams remain stable with new

services bein! added over time.

Agenc" Anal"sis

Some o the oldest or!ani"ations within )ivil

Societ% in +ordan are womenIs or!ani"ations. Lne

association, the oldest a!enc% interviewed or thisstud%, was established in 154>. However, the issue

o domestic violence was added much later.

The dierences seen in number o sta,

volunteers and pro!rams are related to the nature o

the t%pes o or!ani"ations interviewed. N7Ls are

*nown to be lar!er entities with more sta,

volunteers as well as undin!. )SLIs on the other

hand are much smaller in all areas mentioned.

Se!%ices '!o%ided $"

Domestic Violence

O!gani#ations in &o!danThe issue o services has been addressed in at

least two articles previousl% but not to the e3tent or

de!ree attempted b% this interview process. L the

1M a!encies interviewed 1= provide direct services

and = provide indirect services. The ollowin! table

represents the number o a!encies that provide the

speciic services related to domestic violence.

t irst !lance it is important to note that while

the vast majorit% o a!encies that oer services or

victims o domestic violence have several areas o

ocus, there is not one service listed above that is

not provided b% a number o associations. The

service that is least provided, which is the shelter, is

in mman. This shelter is provided b% the oldest

e3istin! womenIs or!ani"ation in +ordan. To the

authorIs *nowled!e there is onl% one other shelter in

+ordan and it is provided b% the #inistr% o Social

/evelopment also located in mman. The ne3t

service with the lowest number o a!encies is

inancial support and assistance with indin! jobs

and while there are onl% si3 associations that

provide this service currentl% it was included in the

uture services o several other entities. Support!roups were the ne3t lowest cate!or% and o all the

services provided, even in the est, this is not

provided b% a majorit% o associations. t was

somewhat surprisin! to ind that onl% nine !roups

A 25= A

Ran0 Se!%ice Time B)dget 2Victims !ecei%ing se!%ices

Shelter 1

Hotline 10

)ounselin!

#ental health counselin! 11

Support counselin! 5

Support !roups J

#edical support 5

inancial support'jobs M

amil% mediation 10

Qe!al'court advocac% 11


12/21


buel!hanam

provide medical support, which is a core service or

most domestic violence entities.

There are several caveats or a couple o other

services. or the areas o plannin! and public polic%

as well as amendin! and passin! le!islation it is a

credit to the a!encies, civil societ% and the

+ordanian !overnment that so man% !roups are

included in this process. t shows that the issue o

domestic violence is !iven a priorit% in societ% and

b% the !overnment as well. The other caveat is the

one related to amil% mediation & which is

considered as a core service in +L


13/21


so there is a problem o duplication o direct service

provision. dditionall%, there are no desi!nated

boundaries as to who provide services in which

section o mman and which entities mi!ht deal

with victims that do not live in the capital cit%.

ithout some *ind o boundaries it is conusin! to

victims as to where to !o when needin! assistance.

s discussed earlier in the paper, the attitudes insociet%, in !eneral, in relation to domestic violence

cause problems or a!encies providin! services as

well as or improvin! preventive measures and

education concernin! the issue. nd while both

prevention and education are !iven priorit% it is

diicult to assess the success rate o these measures.

This issue is relevant in all societies but appears to

be a more e3treme societal perception in +ordan.

7iven the above mentioned anal%sis o domestic

violence services it is now possible to determine

whether h%pothesis one was correct. (1 Domestic

Violence CSOs will only provide core services

whereas ministries, NGOs by decree and NGOs will

provide a full range of services cross the board all

a!encies not onl% provided the core services or a

domestic violence a!enc% but the% also provided a

ran!e o important other services & which was not

inluenced b% the si"e o the or!ani"ation, the sta

or the undin!. Thereore, H1 was ound to be alse.

T!aining fo! Domestic Violence O!gani#ations in

Middle EastThe need or this issue has been discussed in

several articles written b% a!encies within the

sector. This is one o the main reasons or the

inclusion o this issue as well as a lac* o concrete

inormation.

ll the or!ani"ations interviewed have stated

that the% at least provide inAhouse trainin!, both at

the time o hirin! and on!oin! trainin!, or sta and

volunteers. or some or!ani"ations trainin! is

conducted b% sta members and or others trainers

are brou!ht in rom both inside and outside o

+ordan. or 4 or!ani"ations the trainin! is done onl%

b% or!ani"ational sta, or = it is provided b%

trainers rom outside the a!enc%, and or M

associations some trainin! is done b% their own sta

and some is done b% outside trainers -dependin! on

the trainin! issue. n some cases the sta members

are trainers and in other cases the% are re!ular sta

members. here the sta members are actuall%

trainers it demonstrates that the a!enc% has made

trainin! a priorit% b% emplo%in! a ullAtime paid

sta member. This does not mean that re!ular sta

cannot provide trainin! but that there is a stron!er

ocus in the other a!encies with trainers.

Not onl% do domestic violence associations

provide trainin! or sta and volunteers but a air

amount o time is spent trainin! other proessionals

that come in contact with victims. These proessionals include, police oicers, attorne%s,

court sta, medical doctors and support sta. n one

case a trainin! center has been created within an

a!enc% under the auspices o one o the

!overnmental ministries where all sta have been

trained, mostl% outside the countr%, and provide

trainin! inside +ordan, as well as or other countries

in the #iddle $ast.

The credentials o the trainers are as varied as

the t%pe o trainin! bein! provided. n !eneral the%

include specialists and universit% proessors. #ore

speciicall%, the% include ps%cholo!ists,

sociolo!ists, law%ers, and counselors. n one case

the main trainer is a member o the +ordanian

TrainerIs )ommittee.

The t%pes o trainin! provided depends, in

!eneral, on what an individual pro!ram re9uires.

The decisions are made b% trainers, sta, and in

some cases boards o directors. dditionall%, in

some cases trainin! is determined b% the chan!es

and amendment o !overnmental le!islation.

hen it comes to the number o trainin!

pro!rams that are provided in one calendar %ear, thespeciics were limited. The number o trainin!

varied !reatl% rom as little as ive to as man% as

100 and 1=2 or two other a!encies. Lne entit%

could not sa% how man% trainin! but responded that

some 6000 sta people received trainin!. or the

majorit% o the other associations the% stated that

the number chan!es rom %ear to %ear.

2 of T!ainings 3e! ea! 2 of O!gani#ations

1A>0 2

>1A100 1

101A200 1

Lver 1000 1

:nspeciied' depend on

pro!rams

>

hen as*ed about the speciics o the len!th o

time a!ain the responses were !eneral. Some o the

responses included da%s, wee*s, months( accordin!

to the subject around two wee*s, there is on!oin!

trainin! each wee* and also depends on the donors(

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buel!hanam

an%where rom a wee* to 10 da%s( and at least a

month or each.

hen as*ed about the speciics related to the

material included a!ain the responses were !eneral.

The responses, limited in number, included depends

on the nature o the pro!ram, include theoretical and

practical materials, the% use the latest techni9ues,

and whatever s*ills that are needed at the time b%

the or!ani"ation.

Qastl%, when as*ed what areas o trainin! are

still needed, a!ain the answers were !eneral but

somewhat more illuminatin!. The% also varied in

this cate!or% and included mental health trainin!, on

new laws, on bod% lan!ua!e to interpret the state o

the victim, a need to have a certain major at

universit% especiall% or nurses which could save

time and eort instead o teachin! them later, wor*

more with abusers, more trainin! or proessionals

that have contact with the victim, as well as the

importance to loo*in! or, trainin! and providin!

new technolo!ies, techni9ues and services.M

T!aining Anal"sis

The lac* o accurate statistics in this cate!or% as

well as in others belies the deinite need or data

collection and the publication o inormation once it

is collected. This is important or several reasons.

irst, it is apparent to the writer that while trainin!

has been made a priorit% it is disor!ani"ed,uncoordinated, and lac*s standards. t is

disor!ani"ed due to the act that there is no core

trainin! levels or all that wor* within the sector and

thereore, trainin! is provided based on current

needs with no orethou!ht as to the uture. t is

uncoordinated, althou!h those interviewed tried to

claim otherwise, within the a!encies as well as or

other proessionals. ll provide trainin! at the time

o hirin! and on!oin! trainin! but the on!oin!

trainin! lac*s speciicit%, o when, where and what

is provided. dditionall%, man% a!encies sa% the%

train other proessionals but there appears to be no

coordination between or!ani"ations as to who oers

trainin! and there are neither speciic standards nor

a!reement on what is provided. The lac* o

standards is most troublin! or without criterion

there will be discontinuit% between who, what and

how oten the trainin! is made available.

Secondl%, because o the lac* o coordination

between the or!ani"ations it must be assumed that

there is duplication o trainin! bein! !iven, some

t%pes o trainin! bein! provided without

oundational trainin!, as well as holes in the

trainin! or core and new t%pes o services and

technolo!ies. Qastl%, there is a lac* o prere9uisites

as to who is providin! the trainin!. t appears that

those who are providin! the trainin! are academicsand proessionals. This would in !eneral mean that

the% are absorbin! the vast amount o trainin!

mone% available. There does not appear that an%

consideration is !iven to practical trainin! and

those who have wor*ed or a lon! period o time

and have vast amounts o e3perience. Some o this

is driven b% the undin! sources tr%in! to insure

proessionalism and accountabilit% within the

sector.

7iven the above mentioned inormation it is then

possible to discuss h%pothesis two. (+ Domestic

Violence CSOs will only provide in!house training

while ministries, NGOs by decree and NGOs will

provide training to support groups outside the

agency This h%pothesis is also alse. ll the

a!encies that responded to these set o 9uestions

answered that the% provided trainin! to support

!roups outside the a!enc%. The caveats to this

h%pothesis are irst not man% a!encies responded to

trainin! 9uestions e3cept in !eneral terms( and

second, due to lac* o a!enc% documentation these

statements were hard to veri%.

)nding fo! Domestic Violence O!gani#ations in

&o!dan

The issue o undin!, whether in +ordan or

an%where else, is one o !reat importance.

or the purposes o this stud% it is important or

several reasons. irst, no article written about

+ordan, has discussed the amounts, or *inds o

undin!. Secondl%, !iven the 9uestionabilit% o

orei!n undin! and the issue o accountabilit% it is

important to see how much orei!n undin! is

utili"ed. Thirdl%, !iven the new societies law in

+ordan, which ma*es it more diicult to obtain

outside undin!, has this stipulation in the law

caused problems in obtainin! undin! or domestic

violence pro!rams.

The or!ani"ations interviewed were e3tremel%

reticent to discuss the issue o undin!. t should be

stated that those interviewed were not, in !eneral,

able to !ive man% speciics concernin! this topic

A 25M A


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nor however, were an% o them the actual people

who dealt with the inancial aspects or the

individual or!ani"ations.

There were si3 cate!ories related to cate!ories o

undin! sources. The% included +ordanian

!overnmental inancial support -M, other +ordanian

inancial support -=, +ordanian inA*ind support -0,

orei!n !overnmental inancial support -=, orei!n private inancial support -5 and orei!n inA*ind

support -0. Those interviewed were as*ed about

these t%pes o support or the percenta!es o bud!et

spent on domestic violence and the actual amount

o undin! spent or domestic violence. There are

no responses in either o these cate!ories. There

was one e3ception and this or!ani"ation !ave an

estimate about the amount o undin! or the entire

or!ani"ation & which was 2>0,000 +/ or the whole

entit%. This or!ani"ation onl% provides indirect

services or domestic violence and also indirect

services or several other issues not related to

domestic violence.

T"3e of S)33o!t 2 Recei%ing

S)33o!t

+ordanian 7overnment inancial Support M

Lther +ordanian inancial Support =

+ordanian inA*ind support 0

orei!n undin!

orei!n 7overnmental inancial Support =

orei!n ?rivate inancial Support 5

orei!n inA*ind Support 0

There was one other response that did not it into

an% other cate!or%. Lne or!ani"ation provides other

services or a ee and the mone% collected is used to

und domestic violence services. This is a 9uite

common practice in man% other countries and %et

not here in +ordan. This ma% be or one o two

reasons. irst, while this strate!% is most oten used

b% smaller a!encies most or!ani"ations interviewed

were the lar!er si"ed N7Ls. Secondl%,

unortunatel% this was not a 9uestion as*ed b% the

interviewers so there ma% have been more responses

had the 9uestion been as*ed. However, it does be!

the 9uestion whether entrepreneurialship is used as

a mechanism to increase revenues in +ordan.

hen as*ed about the chan!es in resources over

time there were onl% several responses. The irst one

is the most obvious & that the undin! chan!ed with

the pro!rams covered b% the a!enc%. Secondl%, that

the undin! chan!ed almost ever% %ear because

!rants were onl% obtained, in !eneral or one %ear,

so each %ear the sources o undin! and the amounts

chan!ed. Thirdl%, that the +ordanian !overnmental

mone% was not stable, rather it chan!ed on a %earl%

basis and could not be counted on to cover

pro!rams with its instabilit%.

)opin! mechanisms in place or adjustin!

services when undin! sources are no lon!er

available ell into one o two cate!ories. irst, in

!eneral, that there was no problem with obtainin!

resources and i there was the bud!et would be cut

in all cate!ories and services were still covered b%

the a!enc%. Secondl%, when the undin! was not

available the services were temporaril% dropped

until other sources could be obtained and i new

resources could not be obtained the service was

completel% dropped.

The strate!ies emplo%ed durin! times o

instabilit% also ell into two cate!ories. irst, when

the undin! was not available services were stopped

and emplo%ees were sent home. The second

response, ar more relevant to earlier material

presented was that the strate!ies emplo%ed was to

chan!e the plan or the or!ani"ation to correspond

with the donors re9uests. There was onl% one such

response but it is illuminatin!.

The last 9uestion as*ed in this cate!or% was i

there were more mone% available what services

need more ocus and undin!. The responses were

varied and man%. irst and oremost that there is no

service currentl% provided that could not use moreundin! and that there are other services that are not

provided due to lac* o resources. The other

responses included & prevention, economic

empowerment, and services or those that abused

the victims.

)nding Anal"sis

There are several obvious points that were not

surprisin! and several others that were une3pected.

The obvious points are irst, that there are not

enou!h inancial resources available to provide

services or victims o domestic violence and that

the sources available do not provide stabilit% or the

services or the a!encies. n some cases, this

instabilit% occurs on a %earl% basis, so that services

are in jeopard% and !iven the ull ran!e o services

provided b% most a!encies, ma%be ewer services

should be provided to ensure core services irst.

lso, the instabilit% causes more turnovers o sta,

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buel!hanam

which will cause the need or more undin! or

trainin! when new undin! is obtained. Secondl%,

since instabilit% seems to occur on almost a %earl%

basis, there are no mechanisms in place to assist

when undin! is cut other than to cut pro!rams,

services and ire emplo%ees. possible 9uestion or

uture interviewers would be about inancial assets

and cushions that mi!ht be emplo%ed to help tide

the a!enc% over in times o inancial stress.

possible strate!% or uture reerence would be to

diversi% undin! & never rel%in! on one speciic

source.

7iven the above mentioned inormation it is

possible to discuss h%pothesis three. (- Domestic

Violence CSOs and NGOs will receive less foreign

funding than NGOs by decree Lnce a!ain this

h%pothesis was ound to be alse. ll three !roups o

a!encies received orei!n undin!. This is

interestin! in li!ht o the new Societ% Qaw because

most criticism revolved around the act that most

a!encies would not be able to obtain nonA+ordanian

undin! & but this is not the case. This will be

discussed urther in the conclusion.

There were several surprises in the responses.

irst, as alread% mentioned, e9ual amounts o

undin! was provided b% outside undin! sources

and +ordanian sources and that the +ordanian

!overnmental sources were less than e3pected.JHowever, !iven the si"e o most o the a!encies

unded there are more emplo%ees to write !rantsthan in )SLs and that these particular or!ani"ations

are not 9uite so reliant on !overnmental undin!.

Secondl%, althou!h there were concerns with the

new societ% law about obtainin! outside sources o

undin! this does not seem to be the case. Third,

that two possible copin! methods or obtainin!

resources were not emplo%ed & that o inA*ind

contributions whether rom internal or e3ternal

donors and that more pro!rams or small business

ventures were not emplo%ed to increase undin!.

lso that there was little or no discussion o income

based ee scales to help supplement other undin!

sources.

Comm)nit" S)33o!t

/ue to the nature o services provided b%

domestic violence a!encies and the societal

perception o the issue, this last section was

included to determine how the or!ani"ations, the

issue at hand as well as services provided are

perceived in the communit%.

t has ta*en time or the communit% to accept the

issue, services and to build trust with women in the

communit%. #an% o the older or!ani"ations and to

a lesser e3tent the %oun!er ones have aced

challen!es. t has ta*en time, education, as well as

trainin! in prevention to be!in to chan!e the societal

perception o the issues and the associations that

provide the services.

hen as*ed how their or!ani"ation was

perceived in the communit% the ollowin! responses

were !iven the male perspective has chan!ed over

time and women have a stron!er belie in the

mission o the or!ani"ation -4( the criticism about

the or!ani"ation and the issue has become less over

time, and women come to the or!ani"ation instead

o turnin! to amil% members. n relation to what

t%pes o support the a!enc% has received rom the

communit% the ew responses included some

received contributions o support, support rom the

amil%, not just the women( the number o cases

have risen and people in the communit% report

situations directl% to the or!ani"ation.

hen as*ed what ma*es their or!ani"ation

uni9ue the ollowin! responses were !iven le!al

services( health and awareness( a one stop shop or

all services under one roo, medical support and

testi%in! in court, connection to international

reports and laws, and the development o polic%development and strate!ies. nd lastl%, all a!encies

stated that the% connections with other a!encies

within )ivil societ%, who and how man% varied but

there were connections with others that provide

similar services.

CONC5USION

The research 9uestion or this paper has been

are domestic violence victims receiving the best

possible care in Jordan@ n order to ascertain the

answer to this 9uestion three h%potheses were

posited. There are

(1 /omestic Violence )SLs will onl% provide

core services whereas ministries, N7Ls b% decree

and N7Ls will provide a ull ran!e o services.

(+ /omestic Violence )SLs will onl% provide

inhouse trainin! while ministries, N7Ls b% decree

and N7Ls will provide trainin! to support !roups

outside the a!enc%.

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(- /omestic Violence )SLs and N7Ls will

receive less orei!n undin! than N7Ls b% decree.

7iven the evidence obtained rom domestic

violence a!encies in +ordan it was determined that

all three h%potheses are alse. /omestic violence

)SLs provide more than just core services and in

some cases the same services as the lar!er entities.

These same )SLs also provided trainin! outsidetheir or!ani"ations or support people such as

doctors, law%ers and jud!es. inall% these same

)SLs also received orei!n undin!. 7iven the

previous research none o these results were

e3pected. However, the issue o undin! ma% !o a

lon! wa% in e3plainin! the results. hile all

a!encies are in need o more unds, there seems to

be more unds available in order to provide more

services and trainin!. t should also be noted that

with the chan!e o the Societ% Qaw it was assumed

that it would be diicult to obtain orei!n undin!

e3cept or N7Ls established b% decree, which has

not been the case.

Thereore the answer to the research 9uestion,

are domestic violence victims receiving the best

possible care in Jordan@, is %es with several

potential problem areas witness throu!hout this

research. The issue o domestic violence has been

dealt with in +ordan or at least 2> %ears. There has

been support or domestic violence shown b% the

!overnment, civil societ%, and the communit% as

well as support rom outside !overnments and

international N7Ls.The associations that provide services are N7Ls,

N7Ls established b% decree, )SLs and

!overnmental ministries. The vast majorit% o

services are available in the 7reater mman area,

which raises the 9uestion as to what victims outside

this area ace in obtainin! services.

The services provided or victims o domestic

violence are man% and varied. Gecause most o the

a!encies are clustered around the capital cit% with

no boundaries as to where and to whom the services

are oered there is a major 9uestion o duplication

o services. There is a deinite need or a data base,

o which there are two a!encies wor*in! on two

separate databases, as well as some *ind o

monitorin!'oversi!ht to ensure that victimsI needs

are bein! met.Lne mechanism to ensure 9ualit% o services is to

provide trainin! or sta, volunteers and

proessionals who deal with domestic violence

victims. The caveat is that trainin! should be

standardi"ed to ensure that all involved receive the

same inormation. lso there should be

coordination to ensure that all areas o the sector

obtain 9ualit% trainin! as well as dierent

inormation is not provided to dierent !roups.

inancial resources are provided mostl% b% the

+ordanian !overnment and private orei!n sources.

?art o the problem is related to the lac* o

speciicit% about these resources. hile a!encies

write reports or the #inistr% o Social

/evelopment the% are not made available to the

public. nnual reports would aid in addressin! the

issues o le!itimac% and accountabilit% which have

been a problem in the past. dditionall%, i a!encies

provided services within speciic boundaries in

mman there would not be an% 9uestion as to who

the sta*eholders were and then holdin! the

or!ani"ation accountable would be done b% those

with an interest in the a!enc%.)ommunit% support has increased over the %ears

with prevention awareness and education o societ%.

This has been a diicult process to chan!e the

perceptions o the majorit% o societ% but increased

support or the a!encies and the increased rate o

see*in! assistance and' or reportin! has shown that

the issue o domestic violence is everA improvin! in

+ordan.

Notes

-1 uthors Note The interviews and preparator%

wor* done or the purposes o this article could

never have been done without the assistance o

our ladies rom the :niversit% o +ordanIs

acult% o nternational Studies, merican

Studies ?ro!ram laIa

#ohammed hid,


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buel!hanam

the ist, bitin!, burnin! and an% other acts

harmul to individuals. $motional Violence

?erpetratin!, or rerainin! rom an% act that

ma% result in wea*enin! a personIs abilit% to

deal with his'her surroundin! social

environment( it includes rejection, insults,

ne!lect, scorn, intimidation and impossibledemands. ?s%cholo!ical Violence

?erpetratin! or rerainin! rom an% act that

ma% cause ph%sical or emotional suerin!( it

includes humiliation, callin! b% names, insults,

harassment and isolation rom amil% and

riends. Se3ual Violence n% se3ual act or

an% attempt to perpetrate a se3ual act a!ainst

the will o the other part%( it includes rape,

se3ual harassment and an% unaccepted se3ual

remar*s. t also includes se3ual abuse o

children, i.e. coercin! or seducin! a child into

participatin! in se3ual acts, re!ardless o

whether the child reali"es that or not. These

activities include an% ph%sical contact or the

purpose o se3ual harassment, and an% other

acts such as encoura!in! the child to watch, or

participate in the production o porno!raphic

material or persuade his'her to act in an

inappropriate se3ual manner. $conomicA

social Violence The orms o economicAsocial

violence include deprivin! women o education

or wor* under the prete3t o moral

considerations, or o their earnin!s rom their

wor* or their share o their inheritance as

stipulated b% the ShariIah. ts orms alsoinclude deprivin! children o their ri!ht to

education and amil% care, and pushin! them to

wor* outside the home.C t is thus clear that the

N) deinition covers all members o the

amil%, includin! women, and does not mention

an% relationship between violence and a!e

!roups.C National )ouncil or amil% airs,

2006, p. >.

-= #ost previous studies have said one in

our. See N) article( :nited Nations

/evelopment und or omen. 2004.

"he Status of Jordanian #omen $eport .

mman, +ordan( Haddad, Qinda 7( li

Shotar( +anet G. oun!er(Su*aina

l"%oud( )laudia #. Gouhaider. 2011.Screenin! or /omestic Violence in

+ordanValidation o an rabic Version

o a /omestic Violence !ainst omen

uestionnaire. %nternational Journal of

#omen&s 'ealth. = J5A6M.

-4 This point will be contradicted b%

or!ani"ations in +ordan, where most o

the a!encies that provide services or

domestic violence victims, where

domestic violence services are not the

onl% services provided.

-> This %ear is important within +ordan

because o the political, economic and

societal reorms implemented b% Ein!

Hussein. ter this date it has been

established that )ivil Societ% !rew at a

aster rate than prior to this time period.

or a comprehensive histor% o these

events see Gint lTalal, 2004.

-M The issue o trainin! will also be related

to undin!. hen undin! is cut, sta

will leave. The turnover o sta will

cause increased trainin! costs when new

undin! is obtained at a later date to hire

new sta.-J hen it comes to outside inancial

resources it should be added that there is

a deinite preerence or $uropean

undin! and ar less enthusiasm or

merican and )anadian undin! & due

to paperwor* but mostl% due to

perceptions o hidden a!endas.

REERENCES

bel, $.#. 2000. ?s%chosocial Treatments or Gattered

omen AJJ.

Gint lATalal. 2004. $ethin(ing an NGO*

Development, Donors and Civil Society in Jordan

Qondon'New or* .G. Tauris.

Glane%, $. 2010. ?olice Licers Views o Speciali"ed

ntimate ?artner Violence Trainin!. )olicing* +n

%nternational Journal of )olice Strategies

-anagement == 2, =>4A=J>.

)ampbell, +. )., )oben, +. H., #cQou!hlin, $.,

/earwater, S., Nah, 7., 7lass, N., et al. 2001. n

$valuation o a S%stemA)han!e Trainin! #odel to

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/elehant%Abuel!hanam, /ebbie. 155M. Survival

Strate!ies

How Social Service Nonproits Succeed and ail in

the ?ublic rena - )ase Stud% o Se3ual ssault

and /omestic Violence )enters. n unpublished

dissertation.

amil% 7uidance and wareness )enter & 8ar9a. 2011.

)ombatin! /omestic Violence in 8ar9a . )artners in )ublic Service*

GovernmentNonprofit $elations in the -odern

#elfare State Galtimore #ar%land The +ohn

Hop*ins :niversit%

?ress.

The :nited Nations Special

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:.N. /ivision or the dvancement o omen. 200>.

Violence +gainst #omen* + Statistical Overview,

Challenges and Gaps, in Data Collection and

-ethodology and +pproaches for Overcoming

"hem $3pert #eetin! in )ollaboration with

$conomic )ommission or $urope -$)$ and

orld Health Lr!ani"ation. 7eneva Swit"erland

:nited Nations /evelopment und or omen. 2004.

"he Status of Jordanian #omen $eport . mman,

+ordan. :nited Nations 7eneral ssembl%


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