MANAMA: Women activists in Bahrain are calling for a special training program to help judges deal with cases of domestic abuse.
Members of the Bahrain Women’s Union recently met top officials at the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs to discuss the proposal. “If the judiciary is trained and well equipped to handle such cases it would make a big difference. Most victims of domestic violence continue to suffer in silence,” said Mariam Rowaie, head of the Women’s Union.
This year, the global theme on the International Day for Women, which is today, is “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls.” As a result, women activists and nongovernmental groups have raised the issue of domestic violence to introduce tougher legislation to tackle the problem.
Rowaie said there were no proper statistics detailing the severity of the problem.
She added that if the training program were launched it would help fast track cases of violence and reduce the backlog of divorce and custody cases in courts.
In 2005, a group of women activists submitted a proposal to draft a new law to criminalize domestic violence. The proposal is aimed at eliminating discrimination against women, ensuring gender equality and providing social security to women. The proposal also called for ensuring women’s political participation. Lawmakers, however, maintain that only religious leaders had the power to approve and make changes to pass the bill.
Bahraini authorities have taken key steps to tackle domestic violence with the opening of the Aysha Yateem Center for Family Guidance. The center has been established to fight violence against women as well as offering shelter, moral support, and legal and medical help to victims of abuse.
Meanwhile, the police control room in January assigned eight women officers to answer calls from women suffering abuse.
