Rights and laws related
to violence
Statistic about Violance

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) statistics in
2022, 6 women have been killed in the West Bank; 2 of them due to the
misuse of firearms, while 3 women were killed in the Gaza Strip: one in a family
dispute, the other by one of her family members and the third due to the misuse
of firearms.

Why Violance against women is an important issue ?

Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, and the
immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental consequences for
women and girls can be devastating, including death.

Violence negatively affects women's general well-being and prevents
women from fully participating in society.

Violence can negatively affect women's physical, mental, sexual, and
reproductive health. It is associated with increased risk of injuries,
depression, anxiety disorders, unplanned pregnancies, sexually
transmitted infections, HIV and many other health problems
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights ‫االعالن العالمي لحقوق االنسان‬
 Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. ‫الشرط االول‬
 Article 2. Everyone is entitled ‫يستحق‬
to all the rights and
freedoms set forth ‫ المنصوص عليها‬in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.
 Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty‫الحريه‬
of person.

and security
Article 4. No one shall be subjected to torture ‫ يعذب‬or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
‫اليجوز اخضاع احد للتعذيب او العقاب‬
Fourth World Conference on Women
(1995): Platform for action

The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development
and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United
Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, ‫ بكين‬China.

At this conference, governments from around the world agreed on a
comprehensive plan to achieve global legal equality ‫ المساواه‬, known as the
Beijing Platform for Action. ‫منصة بكين للعمل على تحقيق المساواه الشامله‬
‫القانونيه العالميه‬

First World Conference on Women, Mexico City, 1975

Main article: World Conference on Women, 1975‫ز‬

In conjunction with International Women's Year, the first world conference on women
was held in Mexico City in 1975. It resulted in the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality
‫المساواه والعداله‬of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace.

Second World Conference on Women, Copenhagen, 1980

Main article: World Conference on Women, 1980

The second world conference on women was held in Copenhagen in 1980. The
conference agreed that the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination ‫التخلص من كل اشكال التمييز ضد النساءوهو حجر اأساس‬against Women was
an important milestone. The Copenhagen conference also acknowledged the gap
between rights being secured for women and women's ability to exercise those rights. It
was also agreed that it was action on the three areas of: ‫تدريب النساء على كيفية الدفاع‬
‫وكيفية تحصيل هذه الحقوق‬

Equal access to education;

Employment opportunities;

and adequate health care services are essential to achieve the goals set out in Mexico.

Third World Conference on Women, Nairobi, 1985

Main article: World Conference on Women, 1985

The third world conference on women was held in Nairobi in 1985. The
Nairobi conference set out areas by which progress in women's equality could
be measured: constitutional and legal measures; equality in social
participation; equality in political participation; and decision-making. The
conference also acknowledged that women need to participate in all areas of
human activity, not just those areas that relate to gender.

Preceding the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing ‫بكين‬, 1995

Delegates had prepared the UNDP Beijing Express Declaration aimed at
achieving greater equality and opportunity for women.

Attendees .

The conference was attended by representatives of 189 governments, UN
agencies, intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union and
League of Arab States, as well as activists and organizations from across the
world.

There were 17,000 participants, with a further 30,000 activists attending a
parallel Forum ‫ المنتدى‬.

The Beijing Platform for Action:

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is widely known as the most
progressive blueprint for advancing women's rights.

The framework covers 12 areas of concern:
Fourth World Conference on Women
(1995): Platform for action
 112: Violence against women is an obstacle ‫عقبة‬to the achievement
of the objectives of equality, development and peace. ‫العنف ضد‬
‫المرأه يشكل عقبه في تحقيق المساواه والتطور واألمان للمراه‬
 Violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies
‫او يبطل‬the enjoyment by women of their human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
‫يمنع‬
 114: Other acts of violence against women include violation of the
human rights of women in situations of armed conflict, in
particular murder ‫ جريمة قتل‬, systematic rape, sexual slavery
‫عبودية‬and forced pregnancy
‫قانون العقوبات األردني رقم ‪ 16‬لسنة‪1996‬‬
‫االيذاء المقصود الناجم عنه تعطيل اكثر من (‪ )20‬يوم ‪‬‬
‫كل من أقدم قصداً على ضرب شخص أو جرحه أو إيذائه بأي فعل مؤثر‬
‫من وسائل العنف واالعتداء نجم عنه مرض أو تعطيل عن العمل مدة تزيد‬
‫على عشرين يوماً‪ ،‬عوقب بالحبس من ثالثة أشهر إلى ثالث سنوات‪.‬‬
‫مشروع قانون العقوبات الفلسطيني ‪2‬‬
‫المادة ‪ 249‬باب الضرب والجرح الجسيم والبسيط واإليذاء الخفيف ً ونجم‬
‫عن ذلك إصابة أو عجز عن األشغال الشخصية ً عمدا ”كل من ضرب أو‬
‫جرح شخصا ً يعاقب بالحبس مدة ال تزيد على السنة“‪.‬‬
‫‪‬‬
Legal issues
 According the American Health Lawyers Association (2000) the
health care professionals should satisfy several duties to their
patient, including:

Duty to evaluate, diagnose, and intervene appropriately to
ensure the patient’s safety .

Duty to implement and comply with policies and protocols for
the appropriate management of domestic violence .
 Duty to appropriately intervene in order to ensure the safety of
their patients.
Ethical considerations
 Violence against women violates human rights, ‫العنف ضد المرأه ينتهك‬
‫ حقوق االنسان‬has a major impact on health and causes great
suffering.
 Physical and sexual abuse is illegal; emotional abuse is unethical
and robs people of their basic rights to dignity and individuality.
Ethical principles that apply to VAW
Violence against women include:‫الميدأ األخالقي الذي ينطبق‬
‫على العنف ضد المرأه‬

• Patient well being

• Patient advocacy ‫المناصره للمريض‬

• Patient respect and dignity ‫احترام المريض وكرامته‬

• Patient safety

• Patient self-determination ‫تقرير المصير‬

• Fairness

• Non-malfeasance (non-infliction of harm) ‫عدم االساءة‬

• Beneficence ( production of benefit ) ‫االحسان‬

• Confidentiality and privacy
Privacy
 Privacy is “the right and power to control the information (about oneself)
that others possess” (WHO 2000b). Privacy also commonly refers to the
privacy of a person and the rights of individuals not to be physically exposed
against their will.
 • Visual privacy includes protection from unnecessary bodily exposure,
which may occur during a physical examination. No one who is unnecessary
to the procedure or examination should be allowed into the exam room
without the explicit permission of the client. The client must agree to any
compromise of her/his right to privacy. For example, to bring an observer in
the room, the provider must comply with the client’s wishes.
 • Auditory privacy means that, to the extent possible, individual
consultations should be conducted in private and nobody should hear what
patient is saying , including family members
Confidentiality ‫السرية‬
 Confidentiality is “the duty of those who receive private
information not to disclose it without the patient’s consent”
(WHO 2000b). Confidentiality is the mechanism through which
the client’s right to privacy is protected
Breaches in Privacy and Confidentiality
‫انتهاكات الخصوصية والسرية‬
 Examples of unintentional breaches:

A staff member enters a room thinking it is empty while a
partially dressed patient is being examined.

Non-medical staff inadvertently overhears a conversation
between medical staff
 consulting about a client’s condition.

A client is observed in the waiting room of a clinic that
provides sensitive health services (e.g. treatment of injury as a
result of violence, abortion, etc.).
Beneficence ‫اإلحسان‬
 Beneficence is action that is done for the benefit of others.
Beneficent actions can be taken to help prevent or remove
harms or to simply improve the situation of others. Health care
professionals do have an obligation to:
 1) prevent and remove harms, and
 2) weigh and balance possible benefits against possible risks of
an action.
 Non-malfeasance means to “do no harm.” Health care
professionals must refrain from providing ineffective
treatments or acting with meanness toward patients
Advocacy
‫المناصرة‬
 Advocacy is a process which involves information-gathering,
making the information accessible, discussing choices,
facilitating decision-making by the individual and monitoring
outcomes.
 The health care professionals have an important role in this
process since it involves diagnosis, prognosis, treatment
options, treatment decisions and treatment review.

Health care professionals have a responsibility to protect the
patient’s interests, even (where necessary) defending those
interests against a perceived threat from other members of the
team.
Respect
 Respect :
 includes both autonomy and the respect for self-determination
of those who are capable of deliberating about their personal
goals, and protection of persons with impaired or diminished
autonomy.
Patient Self-Determination
 Patient Self-Determination rights include:
 1. The right to make their own health care decisions
 2. The right to accept or refuse medical treatment