Mission report: the International Observatory on Violence against Women in Palestinian Territories

From 06 to 14 May, the delegation led by Dominique Dellac, Vice-President of the Department, and made up of teams from the International Observatory on Violence against Women and the Seine Saint Denis Europe International Directorate, travelled to the Palestinian Territories.

This second mission was an opportunity to promote the FICOL project ” Territories protecting women victims of violence ” in Ramallah as part of the 5th Conference on Franco-Palestinian decentralised cooperation organised by the Decentralised Cooperation Network for Palestine (RCDP), in partnership with Cités Unies France (CUF), the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), the French Consulate in Jerusalem and the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities. As well as carrying out the assistance and training mission planned for Jenin as part of the FICOL project.

For more information on the first mission to the Palestinian territories: Carnet de mission en Palestine 2022 & Carnet de mission en Palestine

Participation in the 5^th Conference on Franco-Palestinian decentralised cooperation , from 7 to 9 May 2023

The Conference on Franco-Palestinian decentralised cooperation provides a forum for information, exchange and networking between those involved in Franco-Palestinian decentralised cooperation. This year, the main cooperation themes presented were water, heritage and culture, youth and the fight against violence towards women.

The Department, represented by Vice-President Dominique Dellac, took part in a round-table discussion with the town of Jenin in plenary session to present the International Observatory on Violence against Women project and, more generally, the Department’s proactive policy in this area. The Vice-President emphasised how the work of Jenin Observatory is a learning experience not only for the Department but for all the international partners involved in the FICOL project.

Maysoon Dawoud, head of the Jenin Observatory, described the progress made in the project over more than a year, with the territorial diagnosis carried out on violence against women. She also demonstrated the political importance for every Palestinian municipality to commit to eradicating domestic and sexual violence on their territory as a priority for peace.

Luna Erikat, a Palestinian lawyer specialized in women’s rights, also spoke at the round table. She highlighted the extent of violence suffered by Palestinian women and the limitations of legislative framework in the West Bank.

Working time on the “Territories protecting women victims of violence” project with the partners of the programme in Jenin, from 10 to 13 May

Following the conference, the delegation from  Seine-Saint-Denis continued its trip to Jenin to meet the project’s partners. In 2022, the team of Observatory  in Jenin carried out an initial shared diagnosis of the extent of violence against women and the existing resources, leading to an action plan to be implemented in 2023.

The remarkable commitment of the partners since the beginning of the programme has enabled the action plan to be implemented without any major difficulties, despite the fact that 2022 and early 2023 were one of the deadliest years in Jenin.

The delegation met the mayor of Jenin, who reaffirmed his interest and commitment to the project. During the mission, the municipality and  Jenin Observatory signed partnership agreements with partners who are also members of the Steering Committee: the Freedom Theatre, Tamer association, the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Arab American University, Cinema Reef association and Shashat Foundation.

Throughout the 3-day discussions, the delegation was accompanied by Maysoon Dawood, Head of Jenin Youth Cultural Centre and coordinator of the project in Jenin, and Lina Zuher, Project Manager at the Observatory for Violence against Women in Jenin.

Two workshops on the extent and forms of violence against women were planned for professionals (health services, social services, justice) who work with women victims of violence in the Jenin region. Working in tandem with Maysoon Dawood, Amélie Videau and Maïra Topall, from the Observatory on Violence against Women of Seine-Saint-Denis, presented the main tools for identifying the different forms of violence against women and the cycle of violence. The participants presented the violence against women that they face in their daily lives and the needs in Jenin . One point regularly mentioned by the professionals was ignorance of the law regarding women’s rights in the event of divorce and violence. Women who are victims of violence are not necessarily aware of their rights or those of their children. The fragmentation of legal texts between Egyptian and Jordanian laws and their different applications according to zones A, B and C (the Oslo agreements divide the Palestinian territories into 3 zones) makes the legal framework incomprehensible. There is a real need for unification, as well as a wider debate in society on Palestinian personal status.

In the second workshop, aimed at professionals who wish to train other professionals on violence against women, the main international texts and the extent of international violence were presented. This gave participants a better understanding of the importance of networking and of the International Observatory on Violence against Women. The professionals were particularly interested in the activities carried out with other territories, especially those in conflict situations.