Saudi Arabia gets domestic violence training

The UK Government is funding Saudi Arabia’s first ever accredited domestic violence training programme, due to be rolled out this month.

Financial support for the landmark training package has come from the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia and from a Saudi state supported agency, the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP).

The new course – ‘Fundamental Skills of Management of Domestic Violence Cases’ – will teach professionals how best to recognise and respond to instances of abuse.

It will be delivered in Arabic to 15 social workers in capital city Riyadh during April, after which training will be held every three to four months in different provinces.

The training package has been developed in partnership with one of the UK’s largest refuges, The Haven Wolverhampton, which supports women and dependent children vulnerable to violence and abuse.

Part of the funding is being provided by the Bilateral Programme Budget of the British Embassy, based in Riyadh.

This budget is given to British embassies to implement small-scale projects aimed at promoting issues of strategic importance to the UK.

News of the domestic violence initiative came during the launch, in Westminster, of an annual report outlining the FCO’s human rights work worldwide.

The 2010 Human Rights and Democracy Report lists Saudi Arabia as one of 26 nations where the UK Government has ‘the most serious wide-ranging human rights concerns’.

‘The treatment of women in Saudi Arabia remained a very serious concern in 2010,’ states the paper, before highlighting the Saudi ‘guardianship system’ as the ‘root of the problem’.

Under this system, a man has authority over every woman in his family, while women need permission from their guardian in order to travel, work and study.

The UK Government has called for an end to this practice, according to the FCO report. This is in line with its effortsto champion human rights and eliminate discrimination and violence against females worldwide.

CEO of The Haven refuge Kath Rees, who attended the report’s launch, said: ‘We are proud to share our knowledge and experience with colleagues from Saudi Arabia.

‘… We hope that the training will raise awareness of domestic violence and help professionals to improve support and services for those that experience domestic violence in Saudi Arabia.’

Domestic abuse has never been criminalised in Saudi Arabia, despite calls from human rights activists in the Islamic nation.

Although statistical data is not widely available, the number of people subject to this abuse is said to be ‘high’, according to the country’s National Society of Human Rights.

In response to the problem, the NFSP was established by royal decree in 2005 to develop new services for victims of domestic abuse in Saudi Arabia.

Among other things, NFSP runs shelters, maintains a register of victims, operates special domestic abuse units in hospitals and raises awareness of this social problem.

NFSP is overseeing the delivery of the new course, which features nine units broadly mirroring the structure of The Haven’s domestic violence training programme accredited by the National Open College Network.

Deputy executive director Dr Majid A AlEissa said: ‘The course material and structure are modified from The Haven’s course, with cultural adjustments and local evidence-based knowledge.

‘The aim is to deliver the universal objectives in a local educational programme, reflecting the educational and practical experiences of The Haven and NFSP.’

The Haven first developed links with Saudi care professionals in March 2008, when INTRAC (The International NGO Training and Research Centre) asked the Wolverhampton refuge to help it strengthen the capacity of Saudi charities.

INTRAC contracted The Haven to share its expertise on domestic violence with senior representatives of Saudi charities, who had visited the UK to find out how to enhance the performance of their organisations.

Following this initial visit, NFSP representatives came to Wolverhampton in December 2008 and September 2009 to learn more about the refuge’s services and to receive in-depth training on domestic abuse case management.

Both visits – the first of their kind – were supported and sponsored by the British Embassy in Riyadh.

Since that time, NFSP has continued to maintain links with The Haven.