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Tunisian youth work to end violence against women
an article by Meriem Marufi, Common Ground News Service
The case of a young Tunisian woman who was
allegedly raped by police officers, and who along
with her fiancé was charged with “indecent
behaviour” when she filed a complaint, made
international headlines towards the end of
September. The case infuriated women’s rights
advocates and highlighted an important issue in
post-revolution Tunisia: addressing violence
against women.
click on photo to enlarge
The young woman, who has chosen to remain
anonymous, is suing her alleged rapists. But how
many women might choose to remain silent to avoid
being stigmatized? Women make up half of society,
and their role in post-revolution Tunisia is
critical. The most important issue for the country
today is to protect women from violence so that
they can feel safe and empowered to contribute to
building a democratic state.
The latest study performed by Tunisia’s National
Bureau for Family and Population (a public
institution affiliated with the Ministry of
Health), which polled 5,000 women from across
Tunisian society, found that 47 per cent of
Tunisian women have been exposed to violence
(physical, emotional or psychological) at least
once in their lives.
To tackle this problem, civil society as well as
the state needs to promote greater awareness among
women about their rights. Along these lines, the
National Bureau for Family and Population
initiated a 36-month long programme to protect
women from violence. The programme goals include
developing equal opportunities in work, education
and society in general for men and women; raising
awareness of violence through campaigns that
highlight individuals that women facing violence
could turn to for help, such as judges and social
workers; and developing medical and psychological
intervention plans for women exposed to violence
so that they can receive proper treatment and
care.
This programme also works to protect women through
awareness and education campaigns, and offers
counseling for women who are victims of violence.
Part of this programme has been conducted in
clinics in rural areas. Usually in these clinics,
one day per week is reserved for women only. The
programme conducted an awareness campaign for the
women visiting the clinic, focusing on the
definition of violence, the different forms it can
take and the ways women can protect themselves,
such as going to a judge or a social worker who
can intervene in the situation.
Efforts to reduce violence include research, medical
consultations for women who are victims of violence,
and education about women’s rights for both boys and
girls in schools so that all students understand and
can help address the problem.
Importantly, youth are also playing a key role in
raising awareness about the issue and they should
be encouraged to be more involved in all
programmes to end violence against women. Many of
them will participate in the International Day for
Eliminating Violence against Women, on 25
November. Civil society groups have planned
awareness and education campaigns across the
country, especially in rural regions, that target
several age groups.
(This article is continued in the discussionboard)
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Last year, I took part in one such campaign with a
group of 16 youth from The Tunisian Association
for Reproductive Health. We reached out to young
girls in a local school, talking with them about
what violence is and the forms it can take so that
they understood how to identify the problem. We
also highlighted where they can turn for help if
needed and gave them a hotline they could call
anonymously.
Media outlets also need to play a major role in
education to combat violence. Civil society groups
working to end violence against women should reach
out to media to cover their events and spread
their messages so that they can reach more people
than only those directly affected by their work.
Social awareness is a significant component of any
programme to promote social change, especially
among women. In this way, women can become more
aware of their rights and learn how to defend
themselves against violence. Women need to
continue to make their voices heard, showing that
they refuse to compromise their rights or remain
silent about violations of these rights. . ...more.
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