Preventing Woman Abuse in a Muslim Community through Building Partnerships

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Preventing Woman Abuse in a Muslim Community
through Building Partnerships
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By Mohammed Baobaid, PhDMuslim Family Safety
Project Coordinator
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Presentation Overview

• Introduction
• Investigating needs, barriers and gaps
• Key findings
• Religious teachings vs. cultural endowments
• Developing a cultural and religious appropriate
  response

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Building Connections

• Working with Newcomers including Muslim women as
  an integration counselor
• Understanding personal experiences of Abused
  Women
• Awareness of hidden needs
• Barriers and Gaps

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Investigating Needs, Barriers and Gaps

• Data Collection
• Literature review
• Focus Groups
• Interviews
• Questionnaires

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Key Findings

• Muslim women are unlikely to access traditional
  woman abuse services
• Misinformation about woman abuse services
• Negative attitudes by some Muslims regarding
  spousal roles
• Inconsistency between Muslim and mainstream
  Canadian view regarding woman abuse
• Trepidation that their concerns and needs will
  not be adequately understood by mainstream
  service providers

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. Islamic Perspective of Woman Abuse

• Womens right in Islam
• Marriage Contract Termination of Marriage
  Contract
• Maintain Name, Maintain and carryout Independent
  Business Dealings
• Women have a right to divorce
• Religious Teachings versus Cultural Endowments
• Socialization Process Sanctioned discrimination
• Perpetuation and Enforcement of Socialization
  process through legislation

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Developing Religious and Culturally Appropriate
Response

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Mission Statement

• Promote the development of religious and
  culturally appropriate services to better
  protect Muslim women
• and their families living in London.

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Guiding Principles

• An effective strategy to address woman abuse in
  the Muslim community requires
• 1.The integration of religious and cultural
  values and perspectives into service frameworks
• 2. The inclusion of men in project activities
• 3. A collaborative and participatory framework

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Objectives of the MFSP

• Establishing a dialogue and relationship between
  Islamic religious/ethnic groups and service
  provider agencies
• Raising awareness in the Muslim community about
  woman abuse issues
• Increasing cultural competency in service
  providers to work with Muslim women and families
  affected by woman abuse
• Creating religious and culturally appropriate
  prevention and intervention services

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What has been achieved

• Official launch in the Mosque on February 08,
  2004
• Forming an advisory committee for the project
  (members include representatives of the Muslim
  community and anti-violence agencies)
• Engaging in public education on family violence
  issues among Muslim men and women (public
  presentations, Friday sermons, workshops etc.)

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• Publishing articles about family violence in
  local Arabic newspapers and in the newsletters of
  the two local mosques
• Holding a day-long workshop with representatives
  of local anti-violence agencies and members of
  the Muslim community to regarding strategic
  planning for future MFSP activities

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Next Steps

• Training workshops for service providers
• Family Support Service at the London Mosque and
  Islamic Centers
• Capacity building in the Muslim community

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Training Workshops

• Increasing cultural competency in service
  providers
• Building knowledge about Islam and the context of
  Muslim women's experiences
• Building skills and competencies that enable
  service providers to develop meaningful service
  relationships with Muslim women that integrate
  religious and cultural values and perspectives

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Family Support Service

• Providing family support services in cooperation
  with the London Mosque and local agencies
• Proposed Services
• Outreaching to Muslim families and providing a
  link to existing resources
• Counseling ( Individual, family and
  intergenerational)
• Mens Support groups
• Womens support groups

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Capacity Building in the Muslim Community

• Creating a training package for leaders of the
  Muslim community to build knowledge in the area
  of woman abuse
• Mentoring and training Muslim volunteers to build
  community support systems
• Empowering Muslim women individually and
  collectively
• Involving the Muslim youth in anti-violence
  initiatives

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Learning experiences

• Challenges
• developing a project that does not heighten
  feelings of vulnerability in the Muslim community
  and build on negative stereotypes
• building community dialogue and participation
• facilitating a collaborative process on woman
  abuse between two communities that have differing
  values and orientations
• examining key concepts and practice in
  anti-violence work to reflect the dynamics of
  woman abuse in specific cultural and
  psychological contexts
• meeting expectations of the Muslim community with
  respect to resources, supports and services

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Learning Experiences

• Reasons for Optimism
• the support and participation of key people and
  organizations in the Muslim and service provider
  community
• the support of a diversity of groups (cultural
  groups, women, men and youth) in the Muslim
  community and their commitment to working on the
  issue of woman abuse
• the initiation of cross-cultural dialogue on the
  issue of woman abuse and the participation of
  partners in project events
• the positive forward momentum of the project
• the approach of the project

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MFSP Partners

• Across languages
• Ali-Bilad (Arabic Newspaper)
• Bessan (Arabic Newspaper)
• Bosnian Islamic Centre
• Canadian Palestinian Association
• Changing Ways
• Childrens Aid Society
• Islamic Centre of SW Ontario
• London Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse
• Islamic Call Organization
• Merrymount Children's Centre
• Muslim Students Association - UWO

• London Council of Arab Women
• London Family Court Clinic
• London Middlesex Health Unit
• London Muslim Association
• London Muslim Mosque
• London Police Services
• Madame Vanier Childrens Services
• Middle Eastern Womens Association
• Sexual Assault Centre London
• Somali Association of London
• Yemeni Canadian Association
• Cross Cultural Learner Centre
• Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and
  Children

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THANK YOU