‘Seven murdered in gender-based violence in 2017’

AMMAN — A man in his 30s on Tuesday allegedly stabbed his wife to death, who was in her 20s, in Madaba, bringing the number of victims of gender-based violence in 2017 to seven women and four children, a Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI) statement said on Tuesday. 

In light of these killings, SIGI stressed the importance of accelerating the endorsement of two draft laws concerning protection from domestic violence and the penal code, to ensure practical ways to protect victims of violence and rehabilitate perpetrators. 

Stiffer penalties for those who commit crimes against women and children is not enough on its own, without taking preventive measures to stop the crimes altogether, starting from the families themselves, the statement said. 

Such preventive measures include improving the way complaints are reported  and dealt with, providing consultations and social, health and legal aid programmes, with a particular focus on mental health, which is not taken seriously enough despite it being a key factor in such violence, SIGI said, calling for the provision of free mental health consultations and treatment throughout the Kingdom. 

The economic underpinnings of gender-based violence also require expanding consultation services to include financial and vocational support, through presenting suggestions and solutions to services beneficiaries, the statement continued. 

SIGI on Monday issued a statement condemning six alleged murders of women and four children, including three female children, as well as two alleged attempted murders of a woman and her child, which all took place between the start of 2017 and the beginning of April. 

SIGI said the crimes show that gender-based violence is still extremely prevalent and that urgent action is necessary by all the concerned authorities to combat the issue.