Regional Campaign
NETWORKING AND REGIONAL LOBBYING
National and regional campaigns worked in tandem to advocate around the same issue; criminalizing domestic violence and violence against women. The regional campaign was carried out by the SALMA network that was recently expanded to include ten women organizations from througout the region.
Regional networking activities were of two types; organizational meetings among SALMA network partners, and regional events that enhanced exchanging experience and best practices among NGOs, and feminists and human rights activists across the region.
These activities contributed to adopting a strategy for strengthening the SALMA network and sustaining it after the end of the project, and in creating national and regional alliances fighting for policy change regarding national laws to combat violence against women.
The SALMA network’s activities are as follows:
1) Conferences, workshops and publications:
The first conference was held in Jordan under the title “Law against Violence against Women: Philosophy, Strategies and Practical Steps”. Around 70 law experts and women activists discussed the main subjects suggested by the title. The conference initiated for the first time on regional level debate between law experts and women activists on the rational behind family protection law. The booklet documenting the proceedings of the conference (in Arabic) identifies future procedural steps to initiate national debates that may advance the adaptation of family protection laws in the Arab region.
In the beginning of 2009, the conference “Women Perspectives on Violence against Women” took place involving 80 representatives of women organizations, and feminists who discussed the Arab feminist movement discourse, especially in relation to violence against women. The discussions included international women’s experiences and the different theoretical and intellectual feminist approaches as well as the difficulties and obstacles encountered in global women’s struggle with the objective of identifying mechanisms to overcome them.
Until recently media professionals treated the issue of violence against women as a woman-only concern rather than pushing the debate into the mainstream media agenda. The workshop on the “Role Arab Regional Media in Combating Violence against Women” gathered 70 women organization activists with scriptwriters, directors, and program producers in prominent Arab satellite channels: OTV, Heya, Al An, mbc, Jordanian channel, and Abu Dhabi. The workshop discussed the role of Arab regional media in raising public awareness and uncovering secrecy surrounding domestic violence in the region.
The workshop documentation booklet (in Arabic) summarizes the discussions between media experts and women activists on how they can improve their role in combating violence against women. As a result of the workshop; the access of SALMA members to transnational media was increased.
2) Capacity Building:
Two regional training courses on "Advocacy Against Violence Against Women in the Arab Context" and about "Monitoring and Evaluation of Activities Against Violence Against Women" involved SALMA members and other women organizations. Two manuals were produced to explain examples and existing methods in combating violence against women. They illustrate step by step what should be done in order to design and implement comprehensive monitoring and evaluation and advocacy campaigns plans.