Domestic violence on the rise in conservative Gaza

Gaza: The struggles of the Gazan people are widely known — life under siege, poor access to basic commodities, fuel and electricity shortages. However, some hardships are less discussed. Domestic violence is on the rise since the blockade began.

Experts believe this is due to the general stressful situation which puts a lot of pressure on families to provide. Since the issue gained recognition internally, the first shelter of its kind has been established for victims of domestic abuse to seek refuge.

The Gaza Safe House is the first in this conservative society to care about women who suffer sexual and physical abuse. The shelter was opened by the Ministry of Social Affairs in June 2011, said Heyyam Al Jerjawy, the head of the shelter.

"Before that, we used to deal with these cases but we used to have a problem of having a special place for them," she added.

The women are brought in by the police, family members or in some cases they come by themselves, escaping threats of violence that include murder, Al Jerjawy explained.

"I came here after my dad forced me to marry three times so he can take my dowries for his own," said a 16-year-old girl, who did not want to give her name.

"After I was divorced for the third time, my drug-addicted dad sent me to the street for begging," she told Gulf News.

Nisreen Abu Sultan, the shelter's sociologist on hand, told Gulf News that she approaches the problem from two sides — the woman and her environment.

"We have two cases of married women suffering from spousal abuse. One woman was raped by her husband. The other woman was not allowed to see her own children. We also have two minors who were sent to the street by their family to practice begging. Another minor was tortured by her drug-addicted father and step mother."

She describes the atmosphere as "family-like". The young girls go to school and no one knows that they having different circumstances. The two-storey building has a sports room, a sewing room, computer lab and a library. The women have a daily schedule to include all of these activities from 7am to 10pm.

The writers is a journalist based in Gaza.