On Wednesday, 2nd of October 2019, Jordan participates in the International Day of Non-Violence launched by the United Nations in 2007. This day aims at spreading the message of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding through education and public awareness in this area.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence as the intentional use of physical force, whether by threat or real physical use against oneself or another person or against group or community as leading to (or likely leads to the occurrence of) injury, death, psychological injury, poor growth and development, or deprivation.
In a special press release, the Higher Population Council confirmed that 21% of women who have been married in Jordan have been exposed to physical violence, at least once since they were 15 years old, according to the results of the population and family health survey (2017-2018) carried out by the Department of Statistics. Moreover, 24% of previously married women who have experienced physical or sexual violence by their spouses reported physical injuries as a result of violence, while 9% of currently married women, who have only been married once, experienced violence by their spouses for the first time during the first two years of marriage. This indicates that 71% of the abused women were exposed to physical violence by their current spouse, 13% by the brother, 12% by the father and 5% of the women had previously been married have been exposed to sexual violence by the current or previous husband.
HPC pointed out that Jordan has taken steady steps in confronting violence in all its forms and by all means through the existence of a set of relevant national laws, strategies and plans, most notably the Jordanian Penal Code amendment No. 27 of 2017, the Protection from Domestic Violence Law No. 15 of 2017, the Jordanian Labor Law No. 8 of 1996 and its amendments, the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women (2014), Strategic Plan for the Empowerment of Women in Jordan (2013-2017), the Executive Plan of the Network to Combat Violence against Women (2019-2021) prepared by the National Commission for Women, and the national framework document on family protection against violence, which was adopted by the prime ministry in 2016. A number of departments have been established in this field, including Dar Al Wefaq Al Ussari of the Ministry of Social Development, the Family Protection Department of the Public Security Directorate, the Safe Family Unit at the Jordan River Foundation for the empowerment of battered women, and Dar Al Aman for abused children at Queen Rania Center for Women and Children.
The Higher Population Council emphasized the importance of ending all forms of the violence phenomenon in the Jordanian society as it has psychological, social, and economic impacts that affect the national interest, and weaken the role of violence victims in contributing to the achievement of progress in all areas of society. Furthermore, violence deprives its victims from practicing their normal and proper life that is considered one of their most prominent human rights. Moreover, HPC noted the importance of unifying all the national efforts in this area to achieve a productive society free of violence, as achieving the productivity of individuals is one of the conditions of population opportunity investment.
At the global level, HPC noted that the world witnesses the death of more than 1.4 million people each year as a result of violence along with the suffering and causalities resulting from the physical, psychological, and reproductive problems related to violence. Moreover, violence does not only affect individuals only, but it also forms a significant burden on the national economy as it annually costs countries billions of dollars that is spent on health care purposes, in addition to implementing laws and covering the costs of low (falling) productivity.
HPC further pointed that many international instruments and references emphasized the rejection of violence such as Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 that showed the importance of considering the freedom, peace, safety, and human rights within the development framework. In this regard, the purpose number 16 of the sustainable development purposes 2030" Peace, Justice, and strong institutions" is set to encourage the existence of peaceful and inclusive communities for all people to achieve sustainable development, offer the potential to access justice system to all people, and establish effective and accountable institutions at all levels. Moreover, the fifth purpose of the sustainable development that is related to" achieving equality between genders and empowering all women and girls" deals with a number of goals, most notably, eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls in both public and private sectors.
There are many forms and types of violence, mainly physical, psychological and sexual. Physical violence is the violence caused by the physical abuse towards individuals which leaves visible signs on the body like beating, strangling, pulling, causing fractures, wounds, burns, arresting, being deprived from (water, food, sleep, and shelter), and murder. On the other hand, psychological violence is the kind of violence that leaves a physiological impact on the victim by using threat, intimidation, verbal abuse, defamation, insult, humiliation, and verbal assault. Physical violence is the that resulting from sexual intercourse, rape, sexual harassment, forcing prostitution and watching sexual practices.
The international studies and statistics state that all segments of society are exposed to violence with its various types especially women, children, older persons, vulnerable groups such as orphans, and people with disabilities. Furthermore, women are mainly exposed to sexual, physical, and verbal violence. Violence against children is a form of the cruelty used to deal with this category by using many forms of practices like physical, sexual, verbal, and moral violence. On the other hand, violence against the elderly is that directed towards those who are over 65 which is the vulnerable group that is partially or completely dependent on others. This form of violence is carried out by neglecting the responsibility of caring for them and providing the assistance they need.
Refugees around the world are exposed to a range of violence forms that vary in intensity from one country to another, most notably physical violence and discrimination. The citizens of these countries believe that refuges share the resources they have and affect their claims to rights such as education, health, housing, which may lead to the rising of disagreements and the use of violence.
