Gulf Times - 6/5/2006

THE Qatar Foundation for Child and Woman Protection (QFCWP) is to establish a “one stop centre” that will tackle cases of abuse against women and children in Qatar.

This decision was taken at a meeting organised by QFCWP to boost co-operation among various ministries for the welfare of women and children. QFCWP felt the need to co-operate with different governmental institutions for greater implementation of its activities and solve problems it encountered while working on its own.

Besides QFCWP chairperson Dr Norah al-Subei, those who attended the meeting included Abdullah bin Naser al-Khalifa, secretary general of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA); Brig Mobarak Dhawy, director of Doha Security Department; and representatives of the National Human Rights Committee, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Civil Service Affairs, Hamad Medical Corporation, the General Prosecution Department, Juvenile Department, Department of Psychiatry, the Forensic Medicine Department and the SCFA.

Al-Khalifa reviewed the problems the foundation faced and called upon the participants to set up an efficient mechanism for co-ordination. “We are not seeking punishment, we want to cure,” he said.

Dr el-Subei said: “We need an agreement signed by all the concerned bodies that ensures co-operation, which will enable us to work in a more effective and practical way. We have noticed an increase in cases of abuse. In 2004, we received only 28 cases. In 2005 there were 205 abuses reported to us. So we need an integrated team, which will have members from all ministries, so that we can handle such cases successfully.”

On the sidelines of the meeting, Fareeda el-Obaidly gave a summary about the foundation’s objectives and activities.

The foundation was established on the initiative of HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad in 2004 to protect women and children against all kinds of violence and abuse. HH Sheikha Mozah monitors the performance of the foundation through reports submitted regularly by the foundation officials.

QFCWP provides its services to all women and children, regardless of nationality and religion. It provides consultations, deals with physical, psychological, and sexual abuses and violence, defends rights of women and children, and works towards eliminating their maltreatment, legally.

During the meeting, the experiences of Jordan, the UAE and Malaysia in the same field were reviewed.

The meeting’s recommendations included confirming the co-operation of the Education Ministry, through reporting any case of child abuse that could be noticed by teachers to the foundation, finding a solution that enables HMC employees to report on victims of physical abuses they receive, and a quick diagnosis of each victim to utilise time factor in a bid to spare the victim any possible psychological consequences.

The proposed centre will receive complaints from all victims of abuse. The cases will be reported to legal experts and diagnosed by forensic specialists and psychiatrists. Depending on their merit, cases will be referred to the prosecution representative at the centre. If necessary, the victim will be lodged temporarily in a “security house”, which is to be established by the foundation soon.