SIGI calls on gov’t to act on domestic violence issues

AMMAN — A local organisation on Sunday called on the government to take swift and strict measures to protect victims of domestic violence.

In a statement that was released to the press, Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI) called on the government to “ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence get the appropriate punishment”.

“Domestic violence increases when there is an emergency and the victims are mostly women, children, the elderly and people with special needs,” the SIGI statement said.

The women’s group referred to two recent “disturbing incidents that occurred last week in Jordan concerning two married women in Amman and Maan”.

On April 10, a married woman was shot and killed in Maan and a second married woman was shot and injured in Amman following an argument with her husband. The Maan incident is being investigated, while the victim's husband in Amman was charged with attempted premeditated murder.

“Given the emergency situation that Jordan is going through and the lockdown that was imposed on people in light of COVID-19, the number of gender-based violence is expected to rise with many refraining from reporting it out of fear of the perpetrators or of being infected with the virus,” the SIGI statement said.

SIGI suggested several solutions to support gender-based victims including strengthening the basic response services for victims of violence, strengthening the response and training of health systems to violent situations, expanding social safety nets in quantity and quality and providing more temporary shelters.

The organisation also called on the government to issue statements through its official channels “to stress that domestic violence will not be tolerated and that perpetrators of such crimes will not escape punishment”.

“SIGI also hopes that the government will facilitate more means for victims of domestic violence or individuals who have knowledge to report the abuse incidents,” the statement said.

Since the government imposed a curfew on March 21 in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, the women’s movement warned that domestic violence incidents could witness an increase.

The women’s groups used social media and other means to announce their services and hotlines for individuals in need of help or guidance.