End Violence against Palestinian Women in Israel

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:

• 2019 – 70 cases
• 2020 – 75 cases
• 2021 – 208 cases
• 2022 (so-far this year) – 68 cases

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:

• Kayan's Annual Report 2021
• Kayan's Website