Qatar University to help draft law criminalising family violence

Manama: A plan is underway at Qatar University (QU) to draft a law criminalising family violence, in line with the National Development Strategy aim to reduce the incidence of domestic violence in the country.

The draft law will be prepared through a legal clinic that will be established soon at the Law College of the Qatar University, under a project established to educate students against domestic violence.

The students will also present the drafted law to government policy and decision makers, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Tuesday.

The Domestic Violence Project has been introduced at the Qatar University, as the National Development Strategy (NDS) 2011-2016 revealed that a comprehensive system to prevent domestic violence will be put in place in Qatar.

The NDS shows Qatar has seen a significant increase in the number of reported domestic violence incidents against women and children since 2004.

According to official figures, 2,389 cases of domestic violence, including 1,204 against children and 1,185 against women, were referred to the Qatar Foundation for Child and Woman Protection.

‘The Domestic Violence Project', launched in the last semester, is an initiative by Muna Al Marzouqi, a student of the College of Law and 15 female students who met weekly throughout the semester learned with Marlana Valdez, head of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative about the legal, social, and relational aspects of family violence.

The Domestic Violence Project continues this semester with students developing a class that they will present to other QU students, the daily said.

The class will discuss the prevalence of family violence, legal remedies, and services available to victims.

The project will educate students on the topic, promote public discourse and help students to develop critical thinking and oral presentation skills.

No academic credit is granted for participating in the project; however, the students have approached their dean with the request that a three-credit Domestic Violence course be developed to expand the number of students and give them the opportunity to be engaged in the societal and legal issue and enhance development of their advocacy skills.