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Dear friends,
Dear friends,
We want to thank you for continuing to support Kayan - Feminist Organization and to update you about the work we have been doing to support ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel.
Kayan’s holistic support hotline: We are continuing to support women victims of SGBV through our support hotline. Each women receives emotional support, and consultation on steps to take to change her situation, such as doctor’s visits, filing police reports, taking legal steps and more. We offer to accompany them to appointments and make sure to follow up with them.
In addition, we are passed the half-way point in our volunteer training course for future hotline volunteers. In this course, we train participants how to take calls and how they can support the caller, taking into account the boundaries of our work and each participant’s personal background in light of the difficult stories they will be hearing. One of the highlights in January was hearing the testimony of a strong and independent woman who called our hotline some years ago. She who broke the barriers of fear and overcame many long and difficult years, and created an independent and dignified life for herself and her children, becoming a leader in women’s support.
Investing in the future: In January and February, we have planned activities for the year together with our youth groups. Knowing the potential that today’s youth has in preventing SGBV in the future, they are a key partner in the feminist struggle, and we at Kayan strive to create a safe space for youth that allows them to discuss the issues that concern them.
Working with grassroots women: In the beginning of February, we invited the Jusur Forum to Kayan to reflect on the activities of 2022 and plan the new year. The Jusur Forum consists of women leaders representing the local grassroots women’s groups from 17 Arab localities. We are excited to continue our work with the Jusur Forum in 2023 and carry out workshops, campaigns, and events in order to raise awareness about the prevalence of violence against women and ways to combat it. Our planning meetings at the beginning of the year fill us with hope, and we concluded the meeting with high determination and a clearer vision for the upcoming year.
Fighting gun violence: Currently, the Knesset is discussing an amendment that would make it easier for civilians to own licensed weapons, under the pretext of the recently deteriorating security situation.We at Kayan realize that the decision to facilitate carrying weapons will increase the risk of murder for women, Palestinian women especially. We call upon the government and society to assume their responsibility in reducing gun violence against women. A radical solution that includes serious opposition to violence starts with concern for the issues and investing effort, instead of focusing on reducing the opposition and facilitating the acquisition of weapons.
We thank you for your support and partnership in ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel, and we are very grateful for the ongoing friendship. With your support, grassroots change is possible.
Gratefully,
The Kayan team
Dear Friends,
All of us at Kayan wish you a happy and inspiring new year! We would like to thank you wholeheartedly for the support you have given us in 2022 to help us take meaningful steps towards ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel. We hope you will join us in 2023 as well in our efforts to create a safer world.
2022 was marked by the 5th national elections within 4 years. Right wing parties were elected to be part of the new Israeli government, which has already announced its intention to pass laws changing the judicial system in Israel and deconstructing the balance of powers, and allowing racist parties, excluded from being elected to the Knesset until now, to run for election.
At the same time, municipal elections in Arab localities will take place in the coming year. With the shift towards nationalism and racism within Israeli society, we have seen an increase in organized crime and violence, and worsening conditions for women interested in participating in local politics, who face systematic political violence and exclusion from political spaces.
Although the political and societal climate is becoming more hostile to our work, we persevered and celebrated many successes in 2022, which you can read about below.
Kayan’s emergency and support hotline: Throughout the year, Kayan provides support and counselling to women in danger. We provide the women with emotional support and information about possible actions to take to get to safety, and if possible, take action against their aggressor or the perpetrator. Women in all kinds of situations reach out to us, for example victims of domestic violence, economic violence, sexual harassment, other mistreatment by their partners or families, and more. In 2022, Kayan received 1,612 calls, and dealt with 332 cases. Of these cases, 32,5% were cases of violence, and 18,3% cases of sexual harassment or assault. Most of the time, a woman requires our assistance with a particular case for a period of several months and across a number of calls. On average, one case spanned 5 calls. In 43% of the cases, the woman took a subsequent action, such as going to the doctor, filing a police report or opening a court case.
Raising awareness among youth: In 2022, we wanted to put a strong focus on investing in the next generation, and making sure that Palestinian youth are aware of how regularly violence against Palestinian women takes place, and how they can help combat the phenomenon in the present and the future. Some of Kayan’s youth work is organized and carried out by Kayan’s local women’s groups, which builds bridges between generations, and allows the youth to hear our message directly from members of their own community.
Throughout the year, we regularly conduct youth workshops in schools throughout the region, for example in Haifa, Arabe, and Kabul. Other times, we hosted youth in our office. Besides the workshops, we involve youth in other activities, such as a youth planned Iftar (breaking the fast) during Ramadan, and youth joined our local women’s group in hosting a tour to Ein Hod and Teret el Carmel, two demolished villages. We also now have two youth members in our General Assembly. In addition, youth were directly involved in the planning of the 16 Days Campaign Against Violence Against Women (read below).
16 Days Campaign Against Violence Against Women: In December, we carried out our version of the Global 16 Days Campaign Against Violence Against Women. This year, we shed light on the sectarianism, sexism and organized crime that dominates local politics, driving women away from the decision-making table and excluding women’s issues, such as addressing violence against women, from the political agenda. The campaign included workshops for youth and for adults, rallies, theater and art events, discussion panels, and exhibitions. Across the board, over 2200 people participated in the events.
Reaching a wider audience through social media: In order to make waves beyond our direct reach, we launched a number of social media campaigns this year. Not only do we post updates about our activities and invitations to events, we regularly carry out social media campaigns, raising awareness about specific issues. Our first campaign this year, “Boycott the killer,” which we carried out together with the Fada coalition of Palestinian Women Against Violence, aimed to raise awareness and social responsibility toward combatting femicides across borders, reaching 304231 people. In the light of judicial systems indifferent to violence towards women in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, the campaign aimed at putting an end to impunity by boycotting the murderers while embracing the families of the victims. Another campaign centered around the 16 Days Campaign, making sure those unable to attend the events of the campaign are made aware of the importance of integrating women’s issues into local politics.
Combatting femicide: In 2022, 12 Palestinian women were killed, oftentimes by a partner or ex-partner. Kayan shares the story of each murdered woman on social media, including whether legal proceedings have been initiated, and follows up with court cases. In some court cases, for example in the case of Wafaa Abahra, who was murdered by her ex-husband in 2020, Kayan took an active role, including attending ongoing court hearings, supporting victim’s family members, submitting letters to influence the police and relevant attorneys, and follow-up on needed actions.
All of these activities wouldn’t have been possible without your support and your partnership in ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel. We sincerely appreciate your support, which makes long-term change possible.
Gratefully,
The Kayan team
Links:
Dear Friends,
We want to thank you for continuing to support Kayan - Feminist Organization and to update you about the work we have been doing to support ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel.
Kayan’s holistic support hotline: During the last four months, we assisted women in about 70 individual cases through our holistic support hotline. Often, a single case requires intensive emotional and legal support. About 41% of women who reached out had been sexually harassed or assaulted, while 39% of women were confronting violence of some sort – including domestic violence. So far, 45% of women who contacted Kayan for legal consultations have proceeded to take further action in claiming their legal rights - either by turning to the police, the court system or by requesting free legal services from the state. Each case has averaged about 9-10 calls. Each case receives holistic support and extensive follow-up to ensure the woman has the information and guidance they need to take action. It needs to be noted that most consultations are related to more than one overlapping issue and dimensions of violence. In addition, often a single case requires intensive emotional and legal support. Furthermore, we present the number of cases (and not the number of women) as some of the cases span over a longer period (more than one year).
Kayan continued to work with the volunteers, including lawyers, that were recruited during the last year, in order to meet the increase demand. In addition to offering practical assistance (i.e. informational, legal), Kayan's hotline continued making sure that women are fully heard and can obtain legal and emotional support.
Investment in our future: During the last months, we continued investing in youth, convinced that they could transform patriarchal society and deliver a better future for all of us. The local grassroots women’s groups’ decision to target youth is clearly reflected in their increased engagement. This is evident through is a strong connection that has been established between local women's groups and youth in their communities. They meet frequently, and currently are planning our upcoming 16 Days Campaign of Activism. In addition to our work with the youth groups in two localities, we have started collaborating with another new youth group. We are also pleased to share how youth are continuing their engagement in decision-making, representing 2 General Assembly members. As we look back on the months, youth activism and leadership have been successfully established and need to be strengthened for long-term success.
Paradigm shift – Boycott the killer: Another great achievement that illustrates the strength of our Fada Coalition’s is our 2021 June campaign. The campaign initiated a paradigm shift with its slogan Boycott the killer. The social media campaign aimed to raise awareness and social responsibility toward combatting femicides across borders, reaching 304231 people. In the light of an indifferent judicial systems in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, the campaign aimed at putting an end to impunity by boycotting the murderers while embracing the families of the victims. The numbers of grassroots women activists reaching audience via media and social media illustrate a high level of visibility to subvert traditional gender stereotypes, to change their community’s perceptions and attitudes towards women.
Kayan’s work on femicide: Kayan continues to track and publicize Palestinian women's murders and court hearings related to femicides in Israel. Moreover, Kayan has been assisting in several cases, such as attending ongoing court hearings, submitting letters to influence the police and relevant attorneys, and follow-up on needed actions. Furthermore, we have launched a project whereby our in-house lawyer attends trials and provides legal advice and emotional support to the families of femicide victims. We believe that only if we continue targeting femicide holistically, we will achieve a paradigm shift in society – as our Fada Coalition’s slogan already postulated during its 2022 June campaign: To boycott the killer, and to support the families of the victims.
We thank you for your support and partnership in ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel. With your support, grassroots change is possible.
Gratefully,
The Kayan's Team
Links:
Dear Friends,
We want to thank you for continuing to support Kayan - Feminist Organization and to update you about the work we have been doing to support ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel.
During that last half a year, we assisted 187 women (individual cases) through 1,241 phone calls. Often, a single case requires intensive emotional and legal support. Therefore, we present the number of cases (and not the number of women) as some of the cases span over a longer period (more than one year). Comparing these numbers to the number of women served in 2019 and 2020 we see a significant an increase from pre-pandemic numbers:
This increase reflects two important developments: The aftermath of the sharp increase of SGBV during the pandemic and the increased awareness of Kayan’s work among grassroots women through its local and regional work as part of Fada’s Coalition. Most calls that we received during the reporting period were related to SGBV: About 41% of women who reached out had been sexually harassed or assaulted and 39% of women were confronting violence of some sort – including domestic violence. Furthermore, most consultations are related to more than one overlapping issue and dimensions of violence. Each case receives holistic support and extensive follow-up to ensure the woman has the information and guidance they need to take action. After the consultation through the hotline in this period, 124 women have taken legal action, either by turning to the police, the court system, or by requesting free legal services from the state. Over 20% of the women who took legal action also received governmental social services. We continue to pursue all open cases for as long as needed.
During the first half of 2022, Kayan focused its efforts on youth empowerment. Kayan, in partnership with Araabi, hosted eight different workshops aimed at educating young people about gender-based violence, feminism and social change in schools. Additionally, Kayan hosted 53 young men and women in our office where we ran several workshops designed to destigmatize feminism and challenge the participants' own biases and assumptions. To celebrate International Women's Day, Kayan partnered with the Orthodox Arab College in Haifa to help raise awareness about local feminist efforts. Fatima, a Kayan volunteer, shared a speech urging her classmates to make changes in their own lives. On April 21st, the Kayan team met with a local youth group to break their fast. Building off of their “Start to Listen” feminist podcast series, these youth continued to brainstorm and organize other dialogues and community building events. Specifically, this group focused on the ways they can further engage young people in feminist acivism. With the support of Kayan, these young people have successfully launched their own efforts and positively influenced their peers. We have seen how crucial it is to invest in shaping the next generation in order to create long-term impact.
Following the publication of our annual report, Kayan continues to track and publicize Palestinian women's murders and court hearings related to femicides in Israel. After several meetings and workshops with the Fada Coalition (composed of 21 NGOS focused on human rights and violence against women to unite Palestinian civil society across borders), we have created a strategic plan and set objectives for the next three years of our femicide focused work.
We thank you for your support and partnership in ending violence against Palestinian women in Israel. With your support, grassroots change is possible.
Gratefully,
The Kayan’s Team
Links:
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