Vital Voices Global Partnership (Vital Voices), in cooperation with the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and a number of local partners have launched a ground-breaking project to promote public-private partnerships for social and economic progress in Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The focus of our work is to promote partnerships that are sustainable, profitable and produce a positive impact on communities, especially for women.
In September 2007, the Bahrain Forum for Public-Private Partnerships was launched with members from the private sector and civil society organizations. The forum is designed to meet the needs of the Bahraini community and is based on meetings and information gathered during Vital Voices advance visits to Bahrain and on MEPI’s previous work there. The Forum, in cooperation with local partners Business Care/Smart Coaching will meet these needs by providing:
- An opportunity for regular dialogue, program collaboration and networking between women’s NGOs and the private sector in Bahrain.
- Sector-specific training and capacity building to enhance and create more sustainable partnerships on critical social issues.
- Access to a regional and international network of trainers and experts in the field of public-private partnerships.
Representatives from the Bahrain Forum attended the conference on Leveraging Corporate-Community Partnerships to Support Women’s Progress, held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah in Amman, Jordan November 3-4, 2007. In addition, members of women’s societies attending an in depth training on partnering with the private sector in December 2007.
In February, 2008 Vital Voices and the National Family Justice Center Alliance conducted a research trip to Bahrain to better understand the needs of women’s NGOs and to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
As a result of these meetings, the VV-FJC team is planning a 2-day workshop for May/June 2008, focused on specific areas of training and planning for the future. In addition, representatives from Bahrain will be invited to be part of an April 2008 study tour, which will include participation in the Family Justice Center International Conference in San Diego, CA.
The study tour will showcase best practices in the field and visits to model co-located services facilities.
Findings of U.S. Study Tour Reviewed
The Bahrain Forum for Public-Private Partnerships to support women's projects held a meeting to review the outcomes of the U.S. study tour. The representatives from various civil societies dealing with family violence attended the June 15 meeting that was held at the headquarters of the Women’s Union.
In addition to the delegates, the meeting was attended by representatives from the public and private sectors, women societies and the media. Representatives from the private sector included Nabil Al-Mahmood, Executive Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Suhair Al-Ajjawi, Manager of Corporate Communication, from Al-Salam Bank.
Sadiq Ja’afar the President of Business Care Bureau, Vital Voices’ local partner, opened the meeting with a brief presentation explaining the Bahrain Forum for partnership, Vital Voices’ central role and previous activities carried out in Bahrain and Jordan.
Ja’afar said that the tour aimed to expose the Bahraini delegates to U.S. best practices in the field of family violence. The tour also exposed the delegates to partnerships that cross sectors through the engagement of governmental and non-governmental organizations, in addition to private sector companies, in combating family violence. The tour also enabled the Bahraini delegates to interact with the Jordanian delegation and learn of the work being done in Jordan.
Ja’afar summarized preliminary results of the tour by saying that it succeeded in creating a partnership among five NGOs working in the field of family violence. It also added new dimensions and generated ideas for the development and continuation of the project.
After that, lawyer Samy Seyadi, who works as a pro-bono lawyer for AWAL Women’s Society in their Family Counseling Office, spoke about his participation in the tour. He said that the tour lasted for 11 days from April 14 to 25, and that it included tours to several organizations in Washington DC, New York and San Diego.
Seyadi said that the most important lesson learned from the tour was the nature of the cooperative relationships between the government officials, non-governmental organizations and the private sector in fighting family violence. He also admired the efforts of private sector companies such as Liz Claiborne, Inc. which support anti-domestic violence programs by partnering with various non-governmental organizations. He stressed that the rich experience gained during the tour should be materialized into tangible national programs.
Mariam Al-Ruwaie, President of the Women Union, praised the tour programme and its educational benefit. She emphasized the need for coordination with official bodies and the private sector at the highest levels, and the need to motivate the private sector to participate in projects combating domestic family violence through their corporate social responsibility departments by either organizing special programmes or support the existing ones.
She also stressed the importance of training lawyers and judges on family violence, and forming a front of lawyers to deal with such issues. She also expressed the hope that the government will adopt the domestic violence issue at the highest levels and allocate appropriate budgets for it. Al-Ruwaie mentioned a number of recommendations that the delegation hopes to implement, including the coordination of efforts by civil societies, seeking official support, and organizing a national campaign to combat violence.
Al-Rowaie said that Bahrain lacks legislature to tackle the issue which makes it hard for victims of violence to file complaints or receive help. She revealed that several ministries have been distributing awareness pamphlets about existing centers and how to receive services and also, that doctors are creating a statistical database to record the number of family violence cases which would then be available to other doctors.
Ebtisam Khamis praised the tour, pointing out that the American Bar Association (ABA) is one of the most important organisations dealing with violence and that the ABA has a domestic violence commission that provides information and support to lawyers working in the field.
Dr. Shaikha Al-Zayani considered the tour a thorough educational experience. She admired the manner in which various U.S. organizations are empowering volunteers to become leaders by offering intensive training programs. She stated, “this kind of volunteerism [is something…] we should benefit from and try to implement in Bahrain.”
She also pointed out the need to introduce topics about domestic violence law into the curricula at the University of Bahrain. Dr. Shaikha suggested creating an arena for dialogue between the various civil societies that work in the area of family violence, and to develop a joint plan to revitalize the existing shelters.
Dr.Al-Zayani also praised the experience of the Jordanian delegation in coordinating with the private sector, pointing to the significant role of official support, especially by Queen Rania, who personally adopted the domestic violence campaign.
Members of women's organizations who attended the meeting expressed their appreciation of the trip and hailed its importance in combating domestic violence. They also suggested to the Women’s Union a number of proposals that include: holding meetings with local centers dealing with violence to discuss the available services and how a victim can access them, fully documenting the outcome of the study tour, developing and organizing a national action plan, and creating a training course for judges and lawyers, in addition to educating the scholars who deliver the Jum’a (Friday) prayer sermon, in light of their influence on the public.
Study Trip To Washington
On April 14, 2008, delegates from Jordan and Bahrain arrived in Washington, D.C. to take part in an 11-day study tour focusing on U.S. best practices in the field of domestic violence. This tour built upon the on-the-ground work of Vital Voices in the region through a MEPI-supported program on building cross-sector partnerships to support women’s progress.
The thirteen participants, all experts in their fields, included doctors, lawyers, non-governmental organization directors, ministry employees and several leaders from women’s organizations and all are working in their countries to implement coordinated services to aid victims of domestic abuse.
Vital Voices organized a comprehensive program that allowed the international delegates to visit, meet and exchange ideas with representatives from both non-governmental and governmental agencies who work on issues related to domestic violence.
In addition, all of the delegates had a chance to represent their countries and present their work. Some highlights of the trip included a visit with key staff of Senator Joseph Biden, who was instrumental in writing and supporting the Violence Against Women Act.
Through this meeting, the delegates were exposed to the concept of programs financially supported and enforced by law. The delegates also met with representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and the National Network to End Domestic Violence in addition to visiting the offices of Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. The delegates also had the opportunity to sit down with two judges at the D.C. Superior Court, one of whom tries criminal cases and the other, civil cases of domestic violence.
In New York, the group had the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Family Justice Center and Sanctuary for Families, a local service organization. Additionally, they meet with a number of private sector representatives from companies such as Liz Claiborne, Inc., Verizon Wireless, Lifetime TV, and Goldman Sachs. These companies firmly believe that it makes business sense to invest in programs which support women both within their companies and around the world.
The group learned about workplace programs to combat domestic violence, using public service announcements and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to impact the bottom line.
Through these visits, the delegates were able to see first-hand how to engage the private sector to support programs and to facilitate corporate social responsibility.
The tour culminated in the attendance of the 8th Annual International Family Justice Center Conference in San Diego. The conference exposed the delegates to wide networking opportunities in addition to further exposing them to best practices across the country. The delegates also attended proceedings in a DV court room, and many surprisingly remarked at the respect the abusers were shown by the judge. Additionally, the female delegates were given the opportunity to tour a women’s shelter.
Among the many successes and lessons learned during the study tour - a few in particular stand out. The participants returned home with a renewed sense of commitment to their work, with regional and U.S. experts to support them and with innovative ideas to explore within their organizations. They built connections within their country groups and learned about the work of their colleagues in the region. Most importantly, the group learned that the efforts to support families and women facing violence are global and that working across sectors is an important way to move forward.
Activists participate in a conference on domestic violence in Washington
Activists working to eliminate domestic violence are leaving to Washington, DC, New York and San Diego to participate in the annual conference of Family Justice Center . The participation is part of a programme that will include visits to some centers offering welfare to violence victims in America.
The visit comes to exchange experience about mechanisms to combat domestic violence and learn more about a partnership programme between Family Justice Center and another center.
For the visit, the Smart Center and Business Support Center held a meeting on 13 March 2008 with the activists and representatives from women societies at the Women Union to discuss the best mechanisms to benefit from the visit.
Executive President of Smart Center Fatima Ahmed said that the activists were selected after the visit of American activists in the field of domestic violence last February in Bahrain.
Dr Shaikha Al Zayani from Country Girl Society, Lawyer Sami Siyadi from Awal Society's Family Guidance Office, Dr Bana Bozabon Director of Batelco Anti-Domestic Violence Center, Nada Yateem from Aisha Yateem Domestic Violence Center and President of Women Union Mariam Al Ruwai will be included in the visit.
The participants of the meeting called upon the delegation to learn new approaches in dealing with domestic violence cases.
-- Women's Gateway
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