Hand in Hand to Combat Domestic Violence

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hamra was abuzz today with more than 200 people attending KAFA’s launch of “Women and Men Hand in Hand to End Violence: Strategies and approaches of working with men and boys to end violence against women” training manual. The attendees were a diverse crowd of mostly women – young, old, Muslim, Christian, Lebanese, immigrant – but there were many men as well.

Minster of Social Affairs Salim Al-Sayegh was the keynote speaker at the event, and he was cheered as he announced his support for laws against domestic violence in Lebanon. Ms. Ghida Anani, Programme Coordinator for KAFA, made welcoming remarks before Ms. Zoya Rouhana, KAFA’s Director, spoke about KAFA’s work. Ms. Magda El Sanousi from Oxfam, a sponsor of the project, and Ms. Rania Tarazi from UNIFEM’s Amman office, spoke about their organizations and partnerships before Minister Al-Sayegh spoke. Attendees were then given a presentation on the manual.

The event marked the start of a new approach towards combating domestic violence in Lebanon, as it recognizes the need for men to be involved equally with women in the fight to overcome these crimes against women. In the Middle East, many still believe it is ok for a man to beat his wife. KAFA is one organization that is working hard to erase this mentality of acceptance. Dinosaurs are extinct; it’s time for domestic violence to become extinct, too.

KAFA will be online soon at http://www.kafa.org.lb/.