Violence Against Women

Violence Against Women - Women Against Violence is a joint project developed by the Kurdistan Refugee Women’s Organisation (KRWO) and the Middle East Center for Women’s Rights (MECWR) and launched on 8th March 2002. The project works to help Middle Eastern women experiencing domestic violence in the UK.

Read on to see our project's aims, who set up this prject and to find out about our services.

Project Aims

Bring an end to domestic violence against women in Middle Eastern communities living in the UK.
Help women who are subjected to threats from family members of being killed under the pretext of honour killing.
Protect women from being forced into arranged marriages.
Help women to become aware of their rights and to become independent.

Who set up this project?

KRWO was set up in 1999 and has supported Kurdish women in the UK by providing advice, assistance, advocacy, case work and counselling on welfare rights, housing, domestic violence and immigration issues. MECWR was also set up in 1999 to raise awareness about the rights of women in the Middle East by arranging seminars, conferences, publications and campaign links.

Our services

Our work is for women who speak Arabic, Kurdish or Persian who are experiencing or have experienced violence. The services we provide are detailed below.

Outreach Work: We will visit you at home or go with you to find help from the Police, a solicitor, or local authorities (local council, DSS, GP).

Counselling: We provide confidential support and understanding for any personal problems.

Friendly and confidential advice: We advise on housing, benefits, protection of children, finding shelter and refuge, divorce and legal matters.

Interpretation and Translation: These services are available with the Outreach Work above.

Domestic violence is any violence which is committed in families, by fathers, brothers, husbands and sons against women. Such violence can be emotional, psychological or sexual, or consist of economic deprivation, the restriciton of personal freedoms, and the subordination of women to family values. The most extreme form is the killing of women, and this happens across communities.

Domestic Violence in Middle Eastern Communities

Violence against women is a global phenomenon. What is particular about women in the Middle East is that in addition to patriarchal societies using violence against women and dominating them, such actions are supported and legalized by religious laws. The situation is worsened by the fact that countries in the Middle East do not have wide-ranging civil rights organizations either for women or for society as a whole: these are undemocratic countries.

Womens' issues in the Middle East can not be a nonpolitical issue. If you speak about women's rights, you are speaking about politics. Why? Because laws identify women's situation in society, so whenever you speak about equality in law, you are speaking about politics. If you speak about the right of divorce you are speaking about politics, if you speak against killing women, or beheading prostitutes, you are speaking about politics, because these violations of women's rights are committed by the state, by politicians, by the government. So women's issues are political issues.

It has been seen historically that men have had the right to use violence against women, supported by ideas of culture, religion and the customary attitude about women in male-dominated families.

The result of domestic violence: it can lead to murder.