The ABA ROLI-led Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) consortium funded by the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Women's Issues is pleased to announce its new initiative “Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Jordan." ABA ROLI will work with two main local partners, Solidarity Is Global Institute Jordan (SIGI) and Family Guidance and Awareness Center (FGAC) as well as with small community-based organizations (CBOs) to support vulnerable women and girls and to ensure GBV survivors can access holistic services to address their needs. Both SIGI and FGAC have over 20 years of experience working in their local communities and responding to a myriad of social, legal, and economic issues facing women and girls in Jordan.
Research shows that a large number of Jordanian women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence, harassment, and child marriage. The pandemic and associated movement restrictions have been linked to increased rates of GBV, additional and more significant barriers for survivors to report violence and receive services, as well as to access food, essential goods, and healthcare. The pandemic has also exposed the inadequacy of traditional service models that operate out of a central location, which were often inaccessible during a lockdown.
Although Jordan has taken progressive steps toward legal reform, such as the Penal Code revisions and passage of the 2017 Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, systemic obstacles, including male guardianship norms and the use of administrative detention with GBV survivors, challenge real progress. Women also face a variety of stigmas that impede their access to sufficient GBV-related support. Jordan has one of the lowest female employment rates, leaving many women with limited financial assets and economic independence. Women who are financially dependent on abusive partners may not seek the support they need and remain trapped in a cycle of violence.
Despite these barriers, local partners such as SIGI and FGAC work to address GBV survivors’ needs. ABA ROLI, with its two main partners, will support the GBV prevention and response work of CBOs across Jordan to reach populations in the north, south, and central Jordan. The program will connect partner organizations with other service providers so that they can extend support beyond addressing the immediate needs of women and girls reaching out for assistance. This program presents a critical opportunity for WAGE to effectively and uniquely respond to and prevent GBV in Jordan.
The project will apply a holistic approach to provide individualized and trauma-informed care that addresses the needs of survivors. To counter systemic barriers in Jordanian society, ABA ROLI will also work with partner organizations to roll out outreach and public awareness campaigns. By taking a community-based approach to this initiative, ABA ROLI aims to achieve sustainable results, where needs are identified by GBV survivors and thereby met by local organizations.