This training material has been written for the many individuals who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. We hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence in other settings. A number of manuals and guidelines address different and important aspects of GBV, including its prevention, the education of men and boys, and GBV in emergency settings. An overview of the most important contributions to this field can be found on page 2 (GBV in a wider context). The goal of this manual is to fill a gap by providing more information on the effects of GBV on mental health, and how to use this knowledge when engaging with survivors of GBV. Our hope is that the training will guide and assist helpers in the important work they do. In particular, we hope it will help trainers to identify and understand reactions to trauma, and deal with the different immediate and long term responses that women display after they experience traumatic events. Arabic, English
In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arrests and imprisonment of Palestinian men in their early adulthood are common practice. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) collected thousands of testimonies of Palestinian men allegedly tortured or ill-treated by Israeli authorities. There are many types of torture, sexual torture being one of them. This study is based on the PCATI database during 2005-2012, which contains 60 cases – 4% of all files in this period – with testimonies of alleged sexual torture or ill-treatment.
This latest report in our Stop the War on Children series looks in detail at one of the grave violations: children at risk of recruitment and use by armed forces or armed groups. There has been a rise in the number of verified incidents of children recruited and used by armed forces and groups, and the number of groups recruiting children has also increased. In three countries – Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen – the vast majority of children in conflict zones are deemed at risk of recruitment. This report and its key findings illustrate the war on children.
Works toward its vision by supporting capacity building within psychosocial care initiatives of local organisations through training and supervision, access to information and resources, and strengthening and linking of the local organisations. The WTF works together with local and international staff and professionals of humanitarian aid organisations, service and educational institutions, and other community members, such as teachers and parents. The aim is to promote wellbeing, peace and stability through building and networking the psychosocial care capacity at local, country, regional and international levels. In this way, psychosocial expertise is embedded in the local community, and integrated into lasting, local structures, ensuring sustainability, cultural relevance and effectiveness.
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual is an Israeli human rights organization with tha main aim of assisting Palestinians of the Occupied Territories whose rights are violated due to Israel’s policies.
To understand psychiatric home visits in Palestine necessitates forgoing Western assumptions about patient confidentiality, privacy, and timeliness. Though individual patients often refer themselves to treatment centers after a release from prison, the difficulty of traveling to and from major cities requires therapists to make home visits. Families then participate in the session as a group, thereby coming to better understand their family members situation and relieving some of their own symptoms as well.
In humanitarian emergencies and conflict situations psychological damage has traditionally not been addressed, its extent and impact have not been well studied. It is only through a greater focus of mental health problems as a result of war and conflict, can coherent and effective strategies for dealing with such problems be developed.
A Palestinian organization strengthening the link between health and human rights, prevention of torture and human rights abuse through research, advocacy, community assistance and the capacity building of health professionals.
This report aims at giving an insight into the treatment of children in armed conflict, with a primary focus on children in detention. It also provides an overview on psychosocial responses, as developed by Save the Children and the EJ-YMCA, whereas the last part discusses the role of community in the re-integration process of children and presents a list of recommendations when dealing with this subject.
A Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution which focuses on human rights issues. Established in 1992 by a group of activists interested in human rights, the center`s activities focus on offering support for Palestinian prisoners, advocating the rights of political prisoners, and working to end torture through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns.
two studies were conducted in order to examine the psychological, social, somatic and educational effects of chronic traumatic experience on Palestinian children over the six years of the Al-Aqsa Intifada 2000-2006.
The Gaza Mental Health Foundation (GMHF) is a Palestinian, non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 1990 to provide comprehensive community mental health services to the population of the Gaza Strip including therapy, training and research. It is one of the leading mental health organizations in Palestine.
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC), is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organisation, that was established to provide psychosocial services to survivors of politically-motivated torture and violence, to their families and to their communities. TRC, the only Center of its kind in the West Bank, was founded by a Palestinian psychiatrist (currently TRCs Director) in 1997, under the umbrella of the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners.