• EGYPT
  • May 19, 2013
  • 3 minutes read

FJP’s Omaima Kamel: Recommendations Aim to Prevent Violence against Women and Family

FJP’s Omaima Kamel: Recommendations Aim to Prevent Violence against Women and Family

During a meeting of experts at Egypt’s Presidential Institution, Dr. Omaima Kamel, Advisor to the President, said: "Draft recommendations on the problem of violence against women include launching a nationwide project that harnesses the energy of youth, recaptures their enthusiasm and makes good use of their creativity to achieve the noble goals in the service of the homeland, finding clear mechanisms to detect cases of domestic violence, and establishing an independent body to deal with this problem.

“Moreover, we aim to change the methods and the doctrine of Ministry of Interior officials and train them to deal with such cases, prepare a law designed specifically to protect women from violence in general, including violence outside the home, prevent publication of the names of victims or perpetrators, and ensure that punishment follows a gradual approach, taking into account offenders’ age and circumstances."

Dr. Omaima Kamel further said, "The recommendations also include a nationwide study by a scientific center or authority with long experience and proven track record of neutrality and objectivity, and setting up a committee of university professors, experts and National Center for Research operatives, to evaluate resulting research and studies.

"Experts recommended that all state institutions, civil society and religious institutions should pull together to confront the phenomenon of violence against women, as well as confirmation of the importance of developing short-term plans and long-term strategies to deal with the issue."

Furthermore, recommendations included psychological research into cases of community violence (sexual harassment against women) to reveal the psychological map of such problems and thus deal with them through reform and treatment services, based on whether a harasser is an accidental or opportunist one or a repeat offender, taking into account that the latter needs help and treatment – something which does not absolve a harasser of responsibility.

From the security perspective, expert recommendations underlined the need for legislation to define and criminalize violence against women as an important part of the family, with the creation of specialized courts for this purpose, and to activate and facilitate the means of reporting cases of violence against women – such as (telephone) hotlines and various online (internet) interaction services and mechanisms.

Scholars and experts attending the Presidential meeting suggested the launch of a new project that addresses violent crimes against the family through a national authority comprising police officers and operatives of both sexes, social workers and specialists and qualified doctors, with branches and independent buildings looking different from police stations and other police and security buildings, in all (27) provinces across Egypt. These places will be distinctly built to protect privacy, where a case is reported and presented to specialist prosecutors in the same building.