November 27, 2024- Ramallah, Palestine
The HAYA Joint Programme is launching a new media campaign that aims to raise awareness of the essential services package available to support women and girls affected by gender-based violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Through the new campaign “Your Voices” The HAYA Joint Programme is joining efforts towards the global movement to address all forms of violence against women and girls during the annual campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”
While the political and humanitarian impact of the war on Gaza has been cataclysmic and is worsening daily; women are facing significant challenges in accessing health, social protection, and legal services. Reports from various UN agencies confirm the widespread nature of violence with its devastating impact on society in general and on women in particular. Reports indicate that 2023 and 2024 are among the bloodiest years in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, exacerbating the suffering of women and complicating their access to available services. With an aim to spark women’s awareness, the campaign, which will continue till the end of the year, will shed the light on the available services they can access including healthcare, legal support, and social protection.
“Your Voices” media campaign is implemented by the HAYA Joint Programme, through the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and it includes several productions including the broadcast of radio spots on Ajyal Radio Network, which covers 11 radio frequencies reaching across the West Bank and Gaza. The campaign will also include the production of short videos/reels for social media platforms in addition to billboards placed in different locations in the West Bank, with a focus on remote and underprivileged areas, to provide them with necessary information on how to access these services easily and confidentially.
Hazam Tahbub, Programme Manager for the HAYA Joint Programme, says: “We are working closely with our partners across all regions during these challenging and complex times, focusing our efforts on providing essential services for women and girls who have experienced gender-
based violence. Our work goes beyond that; we are diligently working to ensure that every woman has the knowledge needed to seek assistance, allowing her to access these services in the simplest, safest, and most secure ways possible.”
Despite the significant challenges and the destruction of Hayat Center for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Families in Gaza, HAYA Joint Programme and its partners in Gaza continue were able to secure an alternative safe house and provide services to women and girls who have survived violence; including psychological and health support through Women’s Affairs Center, and legal assistance through the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
In the West Bank, the Ministry of Health offers health counseling services through specialized GBV rooms or what is referred to in Arabic as Family Counseling Rooms, in all governorates, while the Ministry of Social Development provides psychological and social support through women’s protection centers. The Palestinian police’s 106-line services are also being enhanced, allowing women to report violence, in addition to the development of a mobile police application that enables women to communicate from anywhere through text messages, ensuring privacy and confidentiality.
We call on the community, including government institutions and civil society organizations, to support this campaign and contribute to raising awareness about the importance of protecting women survivors of violence. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of many women and ensure they receive the support they need swiftly and safely.
Funded by the Government of Canada and jointly implemented by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the HAYA Joint Programme aims to eliminate violence against women and girls through various awareness and community outreach activities, increasing survivors' access to necessary services and strengthening the institutional capacity of government officials to develop and implement legal and policy frameworks that enhance and protect the rights of women and girls and ensure they live free from violence.
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