Law on VAW had positive impact on women since one year ago

Since the passing on March 27th 2014 of the Law on the protection of women and family against domestic violence, the Judiciary has pronounced some 48 decisions out of 54 cases in favor of women who filed legal cases against their spouse for domestic violence, according to Leila Awada, the Head of the Legal Unit in the women right organization, KAFA. To this effect, attorney Nizar Sagiyyeh presented his interpretation of the recent judiciary record is dealing with implementation of the said law. He pointed out that some judges have adopted an open interpretation of the definition and criminalization of violent acts against women, whereby they did not restrict themselves only to cases directly stipulated by the Law. As such, recent cases included non-physical acts against the rights of women which are normally condoned by tradition and practice, like for example, preventing a woman from leaving the house or confiscating her identification documents or private property and using children as a mean for blackmailing. Sagiyyeh praised the attitude of judges who have created breakthroughs in protection measures. In fact these judges in their legal practices are no longer limiting the protection of minor children of the battered mother to the provisions of joint custody; instead they are now arguing that the child of a battered mother and a witness to his father’s brutal treatment of his wife, is also exposed to danger and therefore should be protected even if the request for protection did not include him. Sagiyyeh noted the significance and impact of civil society action and general public discourse in raising awareness among the Judiciary and consequently paving the way for developing laws, notwithstanding the political will. The development of laws, as he put it, is the result of an interactive relation between civil society, human rights groups and judges. In this respect, Awada noted that some judges tend now to expand protection measures pending a final legal decision on the fate of the matrimony relationships. For example, she explained, a Shia woman who normally will not get a divorce without the approval of her spouse was issued an indefinite protection decision made by Judge Hassan Hamdan in the case of a battered woman. With the enactment of the new law, the need to create protection shelters has become less urgent. Because of the new law women can now continue to live in their homes while forcing the violent husband to vacate it and to pay his wife an allowance. The issuing of the VAW law also encouraged battered women to seek help. Kafa data indicated that some 542 women have turned to the association for support since March of last year. (As Safir, 1 April 2015)