58 Palestinian women murdered in domestic violence in last 2 years, PA still not ratifying law to protect them
Headline: “Violence leads to murder – 58 cases in two years
They treat the women’s lives as they please and spill their blood, and the victims are entire families under the powerlessness of the law”
“Despite all the efforts at all levels, and despite the ongoing work by institutions, figures, and media and social influencers, the women in our society are still being subjected to murder and violence. Every time a case of murder occurs whose victim is a woman in her youth, the criminal remains free without giving an accounting, and these cases indicate a chronic illness from which we are suffering, which is accompanied by violence and ignorance.
Recently, the [independent Palestinian] Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), one of the institutions dealing with monitoring issues and affairs of the Palestinian women, published a report that shed light on the phenomenon of women being murdered between the years 2019-2020…
According to the information presented by the WCLAC, 58 cases were documented of Palestinian women and young women being murdered during the last two years of 2019-2020 in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, which were divided into 21 cases in 2019 as opposed to 37 cases in 2020…
The severity of the phenomenon lies in the general trend of an increase in the rates of murder of women and young women in all areas, as at the time when an increase took place in the cases of murder of women and young women – 25 cases in the Gaza Strip and 33 in the West Bank – a significant increase also took place in the cases of murder in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2020 as opposed to 2019…
Member of the Civil Organizations Network’s Board of Directors and Secretary of the Women’s Activity Committees Association in Nablus Sana’a Shbeita emphasized that… ‘The laws play a central role in protecting the social sectors, the individual, his possessions, and his beliefs, and particularly the women. The laws also increase the consciousness in society regarding rights, and also constitute a deterrent and bring about security and stability. Therefore, ratifying the law to defend the family against violence will limit the violence against women and will thus protect them from the danger of murder.’ …
In the same context, [Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy] Miftah institution Director-General Tahrir Al-A’araj emphasized that ‘One of the main reasons for violence against women, which is violence that leads to murder in most of the cases, is the absence of a defense mechanism for the women that constitutes a continuation of the violence against women in the private space, which is connected to the mechanism of the patriarchal culture that gives men custody over the women and young women in this space. Therefore, in the absence of the law to defend the family against violence, the men of the family will continue to do as they please with the women.’ …
Miftah Director of Projects Najwa Sandouqa said that ‘The increase in the murder of women in Palestinian society under different circumstances and unjustified and illogical excuses indicates the exacerbation of fundamentalism and social seclusion… The law is the legal tool to deal with an attacker or abuser in a state that aspires to lay the foundations for the rule of law and proper governance, and ratifying laws, including the law to defend the family against violence, is what will strengthen the achievement of justice and security for the weak sectors of society, including women and young women.’”