Parliamentarians stonewall with the "domestic violence protection bill" whilst women continue to pay the prices and NGOs seek to engage men || Newspapers (Arabic)

The Parliament continues to stonewall in endorsing the proposed "domestic violence protection bill" despite the fact that women are paying the price of this delay, sometimes with their life. Al Akhbar newspaper published a report on a domestic violence victim called Mona from Saida, who committed suicide through intake of a combination of medical drugs simply to get away from the excessive violence and brutality of her husband. However, the judiciary for its part acquitted the husband who had admitted to the police that he abused his wife regularly.  Following the acquittal and in attempt to justify his decision, Judge Bilal Halaoui said that that Mona's suicide cannot be directly attributed to her constant abuse by her husband, but was rather a voluntary act. The husband was released from custody based on clause 564 of the penal code which stipulates no cause for keeping him in custody.
On a related vein, An Nahar newspaper pointed out to a more positive view of masculinity where recent approaches seem to favor engaging men in combating violence against women.  In its report, An Nahar highlighted the work of three organisations that have adopted this approach namely Kafa, Abaad, and the Say No to Violence Coalition.

Source: Al-Akhbar and Annahar of 25 October 2012)