Ramallah – Two hearing sessions were recently held in Ramallah entitled: “Follow up on the applicability of the Takamul system in the health and social affairs sectors” as part of the “Supporting the Protection of Women” program carried out by MIFTAH in cooperation and coordination with UNFPA. Officials from these two sectors were present at the meetings in which the latest developments were presented pertaining to the applicability of Takamul. The participants listened to the most significant gaps and challenges obstructing the use of the system in these sectors before concluding with a group of recommendations.
Social affairs hearing
Participants in the social affairs session concluded with a number of recommendations that called for appointing contracted counselors who would be trained in offering services outside of official working hours. They also recommended that periodic meetings are held between directors and decision-makers and those working in the field so they could be part of the decision-making process; to circulate the latest developments in the protection system; to directly disseminate all information to all directorates and branches; to raise the level of coordination between the health, political and social sectors to provide methods of protection for women; to set a budget for activating and implementing the system within the ministry’s general budget to make the integration process easier; to review the memos of understanding signed by the social affairs ministry and the police on the one hand, and the ministry of social affairs and civil society organizations on the other, and to develop them in ways that coincide with new developments in the national system; to develop the database at the ministry whereby forms and surveys pertaining to documented cases are punched in; to support a meeting of the higher national committee to combat violence against women so as to integrate protection priorities into the agenda of the committee; to work towards passing the law of family protection from violence.
The UN representative at the session then presented on criminal justice and the role of the UN in the protection system. She spoke about working with service providers, the need to work with forensic medicine as one important and relevant party, and the importance of clarifying terms and distinguishing between violence against women and gender-based violence.
Basema Subuh from the Ministry of Social Affairs, stressed on the importance of involving field workers with the directors, citing the work of the ministry in protecting victims of gender-based violence. She said the ministry has a protection program for women, children and girls which it has been operating for many years. The social affairs ministry is the party directly responsible for building protection centers and for overseeing their internal procedures and regulations. She said the ministry has social workers and experts in the field of protection in all directorates.
Problems and challenges
This was followed by a presentation of the gaps and problems facing the social affairs ministry such as: no available guidance counselors to offer services to battered women; the huge gap between decision-makers in the various sectors and the people on the ground (service providers); the problem of disseminating agreed on information between the relevant parties; the lack of sufficient financial resources that would contribute to activating and institutionalizing the system; a lack of counselors that could provide services outside official working hours; the need to complete training for all service-providers on how to offer services to battered women; the lack of implementation of the database for monitoring and documenting cases of gender-based violence; a weakness in coordination between the social affairs ministry and the health and police sectors; the problem of coordination between the police and social affairs, especially when transferring battered women to protection centers; the lack of procedures that protect service providers for battered women; a lack of clarity in understanding the responsibilities and tasks between the police and social affairs sectors; a lack of resources for transferring battered women such as transfer vehicles; providing a budget for phones; the problem of sheltering women seeking services from the police sector; the pressure counselors face from police while trying to transfer cases to safe houses after the permissible period of time they are allowed to say in police stations has expired; the lack of understanding from these sectors of the social affairs ministry’s role in terms of the cases under its care. This has prompted the ministry to coordinate with the governor and some departments so that women could be sheltered for a specific period of time until another place is provided, thereby putting tremendous pressure on service-providers. It is also a repetition of the work provided by civil society organizations working towards enacting the national transfer system.
Health sector session
The participants in the hearing for the health ministry also concluded with several recommendations, including: demanding that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs should be responsible for training so as to prevent training repetition and duplicity; a call to all partners in the system to commit to attending the follow-up meetings; disseminating the Takamul system to all sectors; signing bilateral and trilateral memos of understanding between the various sectors; adopting the forms attached with the referral system and unifying all the forms; exempting battered women from medical report fees, which cost NIS150; considering the health ministry to be at the top of the hierarchy among the three sectors; to call on MIFTAH to continue follow up and coordination between the various parties.
The hearing also included the major gaps and challenges that hinder the use of the system in the health ministry, in addition to the media and its role; there was a call to build a media strategy for spreading awareness on the importance implementing the national system; making attempts to influence decision makers to integrate the system within strategies of social protection through media campaigns that shed light on the situation of battered women; they discussed mechanism for safe referral; organizing audio and visual media meetings and distributing posters and information pamphlets explaining the referral process for battered women; integrating the prosecution and the judicial system (forensic medicine) as active parties in the system for protection from violence; the need to actively coordinate between the ministry and the police family protection unit.
The obstacles facing the health ministry in implementing the system were also addressed, which included: the process of documenting cases is not conducted according to the national system but according to ministry procedures and forms; the absence of a system for following up cases that were referred from safe houses whereby the ministry’s services end with the completion of providing health services; the lack of special budgets in the health ministry for implementing the referral system; the opposition of some battered women to be referred to the family protection unit in the police.
At a later stage, based on the outcomes of the two sessions, MIFTAH will continue its efforts to activate and institutionalize the Takamul system in relevant ministries through presenting the policy papers from the hearing sessions to decision makers in these ministries.
جلستا استماع تناقشان المعيقات التي تواجه إنفاذ نظام تكامل في قطاعي الصحة والشؤون الاجتماعية
تاريخ النشر: 28/12/2015
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله - عقدت في مدينة رام الله مؤخرا جلستا استماع ونقاش تحت عنوان" متابعة مدى تطبيق نظام تكامل في قطاعي الصحة والشؤون الاجتماعية، من خلال مشروع "دعم حماية المرأة" والذي تنفذه المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" بالتعاون والتنسيق مع صندوق الأمم المتحدة للسكان UNFPA ، بحضور عدد من المسؤولين في هذين القطاعين، وتم فيهما مناقشة آخر التطورات المتعلقة بمدى تطبيق نظام تكامل في القطاع الصحي والشؤون الاجتماعية، وتخللها الاستماع إلى أبرز الفجوات والتحديات التي تعيق استخدام النظام ضمن هذين القطاعين، حيث خرج المشاركون في الجلستين بمجموعة من التوصيات تساند إنفاذ النظام بشكل ملموس.
جلسة الاستماع الخاصة بالشؤون الاجتماعية
وقد خلص المشاركون في الجلسة الخاصة بوزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية إلى مجموعة من التوصيات طالبت بتعيين مرشدات على عقود يتم تدريبهن لتقديم الخدمات في ساعات خارج نطاق ساعات الدوام الرسمي، وعقد اجتماعات دورية بين المدراء وصانعي القرار مع العاملين في الميدان والمحافظات ليتم اشراكهن في صنع القرار وتداول اخر المستجدات في منظومة الحماية، وتعميم جميع المعلومات على جميع المديريات والفروع بشكل مباشر ليتم العمل بموجبها. ورفع مستوى التنسيق بين القطاعات الصحية والشرطية والاجتماعية لتوفير سبل الحماية للنساء، وادراج ميزانية تفعيل وتطبيق النظام ضمن الموازنة العامة للوزارة لتسهيل عملية الادماج، وإعادة مراجعة وتطوير مذكرات التفاهم الموقعة من قبل وزارة الشؤون وبين القطاع الشرطية من جهة وبين وزارة الشؤون ومؤسسات المجتمع المدني وتطويرها بما يتلاءم والمستجدات الحاصلة على النظام الوطني، وتطوير قاعدة البيانات المتوفرة في الشؤون الاجتماعية بحيث يتم ادخال الاستمارات والنماذج المتعلقة بتوثيق الحالات، وعقد اجتماعات دورية بين مرشدات وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية وبين مرشدات تواصل في المحافظات المختلفة، والعمل على دعم عقد جلسة للجنة الوطنية العليا لمناهضة العنف ضد المرأة لإدماج أولويات الحماية على أجندة اللجنة الوطنية، والعمل على اقرار قانون حماية الاسرة من العنف.
وكانت ممثلة مكتب الامم المتحدة في الجلسة قدمت عرضا حول العدالة الجنائية ودور مكتب الأمم المتحدة في منظومة الحماية، وطبيعة العمل مع مقدمي الخدمات، وضرورة العمل مع الطب العدلي كأحد الأطراف المهمة وذات العلاقة، وأهمية توضيح المصطلحات والتمييز بين العنف الموجه ضد النساء، وبين العنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي.
فيما أكدت باسمة صبح من وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية على أهمية إشراك العاملين/ات الميدانيين مع المدراء، مشيرة إلى ما قامت به وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية في مجال حماية ضحايا العنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي، حيث تقود الوزارة برنامج الحماية "نساء، أطفال، فتيات"، وتتعامل مع جميع الحالات منذ فترة زمنية طويلة، علما بأن الشؤون الاجتماعية هي الجهة المسؤولة مباشرة عن بناء مراكز الحماية، وهي التي تشرف على إجراءاته الداخلية وأنظمة العمل فيه، حيث يتوفر لدى الوزارة وفي جميع المديريات مرشدات اجتماعيات متخصصات في موضوع الحماية.
إشكاليات وتحديات
بعد ذلك تم عرض الفجوات والإشكاليات التي تعاني منها الشؤون الاجتماعية، ومن أبرزها : عدم وجود مرشدات متفرغات لتقديم الخدمة للنساء المعنفات، والفجوة الكبيرة بين صانعي القرارات في القطاعات المختلفة والقاعدة الميدانية (مقدمي الخدمات)، وكذلك أزمة نشر وتعميم المعلومات المتفق عليها بين صفوف الاطراف ذات العلاقة"، وضعف الموارد المالية التي تساهم في تفعيل النظام ومأسسته، وعدم وجود مرشدات يقدمن الخدمات في ساعات ما بعد الدوام الرسمي، والحاجة إلى استكمال التدريب لجميع مقدمي الخدمات على كيفية تقديم الخدمات للنساء المعنفات، وعدم تفعيل وتطبيق قاعدة البيانات المتخصصة برصد وتوثيق حالات العنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي، وضعف التنسيق التكاملي ما بين وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية والقطاع الصحي والشرطي، اشكالية في التنسيق بين الشرطة والشؤون الاجتماعية، وتحديدا اثناء تحويل النساء المعنفات إلى مراكز الحماية، وعدم وجود اجراءات تحمي مقدمي الخدمات للنساء المعنفات، وعدم الوضوح في فهم المسؤوليات والمهمات بين القطاعات الشرطية والاجتماعية، ونقص الموارد المتعلقة بنقل النساء المعنفات، كسيارات النقل ، وتوفير ميزانية للهواتف، وإشكالية ايواء النساء المتوجهات لطلب الخدمة من القطاع الشرطي، والضغط الذي تواجهه المرشدات من قبل جهاز الشرطة أثناء محاولة تحويل الحالات الى بيوت الأمان بعد مرور المدة الزمنية المسموح بها للبقاء في مركز الشرطة، إضافة إلى عدم تفهم القطاعات لدور وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية، فيما يتعلق بمعايير الحالات التي تندرج تحت رعاية الوزارة، ما يدفع الوزارة لاتخاذ خطوات تنسيق مع المحافظ وبعض الأديرة ليتم إيواء النساء لفترة محددة لحين توفر مكان اخر مما يشكل عبئا كبيرا على مقدمي الخدمات. وتكرار العمل المقدم من قبل مؤسسات المجتمع المدني العاملة على تفعيل نظام التحويل الوطني، مما يضيف أعباء كبيرة على بعض مقدمي الخدمات.
جلسة الاستماع الخاصة بالقطاع الصحي
في حين خلص المشاركون في جلسة الاستماع الخاصة بوزارة الصحة، إلى العديد من التوصيات، من أهمها: المطالبة بأن تكون وزارة شؤون المرأة هي العنوان للتدريبات منعا لتكرارها وللازدواجية القائمة حاليا في مجال التدريب، ودعوة جميع الشركاء في النظام إلى الالتزام بحضور اللقاءات التي تعقد لغرض متابعة إنفاذه، وتعميم نظام تكامل على جميع القطاعات، وتوقيع مذكرات تفاهم ثنائية وثلاثية بين مختلف القطاعات، واعتماد النماذج المرفقة بنظام التحويل ومواءمة جميع النماذج مع بعضها البعض، وإعفاء النساء المعنفات من رسوم التقرير الطبي البالغة قيمتها 150 شيكل، واعتبار وزارة الصحة رأس الهرم في القطاعات الثلاثة، ومطالبة "مفتاح"، وتعزيز المتابعة والتنسيق بين مختلف الأطراف.
وكان تخلل الجلسة الاستماع إلى أبرز الفجوات والتحديات التي تعيق استخدام النظام في القطاع الصحي، بالإضافة إلى الإعلام ودوره، والدعوة إلى بناء استراتيجية إعلامية تستهدف نشر الوعي بأهمية تطبيق النظام الوطني، ومحاولة التأثير على صناع القرار من أجل إدماج النظام ضمن استراتيجيات الحماية المجتمعية، من خلال حملات إعلامية تسلط الضوء على واقع النساء المعنفات، وآليات التحويل الأمن، وتنظيم لقاءات إعلامية مسموعة ومرئية ونشر بوشترات ونشرات تعريفية تشرح عملية التحويل للنساء المعنفات، وإدماج النيابة والقضاء (الطب الشرعي) كأطراف فاعلة في منظومة الحماية من العنف، وضرورة التنسيق الفاعل بين الوزارة وحماية الأسرة من العنف في الشرطة، .
في حين تم التطرق إلى المعيقات التي تواجه وزارة الصحة في تطبيق هذا النظام، ومن أهمها، أن عملية توثيق الحالات لا تتم وفق النظام الوطني، إنما وفق إجراءات ونماذج توثيق خاصة بالوزارة، وعدم وجود نظام لمتابعة الحالات التي يتم تحويلها من بيوت الأمان، حيث تنتهي خدمة الوزارة بانتهاء تقديم الخدمة الصحية، وعدم وجود موازنات خاصة بتطبيق نظام التحويل لدى وزارة الصحة، بالإضافة إلى رفض بعض النساء المعنفات عملية التحويل لحماية الأسرة في جهاز الشرطة.
ولاحقا لمخرجات الجلستين، تعتزم "مفتاح" استكمال جهود متابعة تفعيل نظام تكامل ومأسسته في الوزارات ذات العلاقة، من خلال وضع أوراق السياسات العامة التي تمخضت عن جلسات الاستماع أمام صانعي القرار في الوزارات المختصة.
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
