ŞİRİN SALIH

Sulaymaniyah- Violence against women keeps rising in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A women’s shelter is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence; however, the women’s shelters in the Kurdistan Region do not protect the survivors of violence against women. Activist Gashaw Abdulqadir told NuJINHA that the survivors of violence against women are sent back home by the officers of the women’s shelters.

‘Most of women sent back home are killed’

“The reason for sending women back home is the women’s shelter occupancy rates. Another reason is that the officers think that the problems faced by some women are not serious. They think survivors of violence against women will not be subjected to violence if they return to their families. However, most of the women sent back home are killed. Women escaping domestic violence must not be sent back home.”

‘Women are subjected to violence in women’s shelters’

Gashaw Abdulqadir noted that women staying in the shelters often receive threats from their family members. “Although they receive threats, they are sent back home. The number of women’s shelters in the Kurdistan Region is insufficient. In addition, women are subjected to violence in women’s shelters. Once, I went to a women’s shelter in the Kurdistan Region with a human rights organization. We saw how women were subjected to ill treatment by the shelter staff. Women were subjected to verbal violence. The women’s shelters in the Kurdistan Region are no longer safe places for women. Lawyers and social service workers have to visit these women every month.”

Gashaw Abdulqadir also said that women, who were sent back home, do not want to go to women’s shelters. “They are forced to accept violence against them because they have no place to go. NGOs and media play an important role in raising awareness against domestic violence.”