JORDAN'S FAMILY PROTECTION DEPARTMENT A WORK IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 005232

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2015
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KCRM JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S FAMILY PROTECTION DEPARTMENT A WORK IN
PROGRESS, PATIENCE

Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).

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Summary
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1. (U) Jordan's Family Protection Department (FPD) is making
headway in providing quality care abuse victims. The FPD has
the backing of Queen Rania and the support of the Ministry of
Social Development (MSD). A major project for the FPD, a
shelter to house adult women abuse victims, is still not
open, and neither the FPD nor the MSD can offer a definite
timetable for its launch. Despite the challenges it faces
from traditional society, the FPD is working to increase
awareness of domestic abuse and to ease the burden of its
victims. End Summary.

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FPD AND ITS PROCEDURES
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2. (U) The FPD, a branch of the Jordanian Public Security
Directorate (PSD),officially opened in 1998. Receiving
support from the U.S., the United Kingdom, and UNICEF, among
other donors, the FPD handles cases of verbal, physical, and
sexual abuse against women and children. In cooperation with
the MSD, the FPD provides limited counseling and family
monitoring. With its own forensic doctor and examination
facilities, and an on-site jail, the FPD operates nearly
autonomously. Unfortunately, the FPD is not yet able to
provide full assistance to women victims of physical or
sexual abuse. This responsibility still falls on other PSD
units, due largely to the lack of an operating shelter for
victims of abuse.


3. (SBU) The FPD headquarters is in burgeoning western Amman;
aside from the security gate and the jail in the basement, it
is a warm and inviting place, with smiling pictures of the
Queen and children covering almost every wall. Despite the
decor, serious work takes place here, led by Colonel Fadil
Humoud. (Comment: Poloff found Humoud to be entirely
committed to his work and passionate about outreach/public
awareness to curb the social stigma associated with reporting
abuse. End Comment.) The FPD originally only operated in
Amman, but has opened offices in six other locations throught
the country.


4. (U) Cases are brought to the FPD through a variety of
means. Many cases of abused children occur in divorced homes,
and often the non-abusing parent will levy a complaint with
the FPD. Occasionally children (for purposes of the FPD, a
child is under 16) will come to the FPD on their own to make
a complaint. If a complaint of child abuse is brought to a
regular PSD unit, that unit is required to refer the case to
the FPD. When a case comes to the FPD, the victim is
interviewed and a forensic examination is conducted, if
necessary, on site in a secure and confidential space. The
FPD is cognizant of the pressure associated with giving
testimony, so it implemented video-interviewing in 2002. This
keeps the victim from having to retell the abuse several
times to different parties. In cases where a minor victim
would need to testify at trial, the courts would employ a
recently implemented CCTV system, precluding the need for a
child to testify in front of a full court audience.


5. (U) All female victims and most child victims are
interviewed by a female police officer, and the interviews
are taped by two cameras onto the same frame--one showing the
entire interview space, and one that can scan the room and
zoom in on the participants--to ensure the integrity of the
process. The interview is recorded on two tapes; one is kept
in a controlled-access environment at the FPD, and the other
is sent to the courts for secure storage. The offender's
legal counsel is allowed access to view the court's copy, but
cannot take possession of, or make changes to the tape. The
forensic examination is also conducted discreetly. The MSD
provides clothing in cases where the victim's clothing needs
to be taken as evidence or for further examination. When
possible, the forensic doctor will also examine the accused
offender. However, as Humoud explained, neither the FPD nor
the courts can compel the offender to acquiesce to an exam or
to submit a DNA sample. The examination rooms are outfitted
with modern equipment and sex-crime kits supplied by UNICEF.


6. (U) The FPD is staffed by 47 plain-clothes investigators
spread among the various regional offices, 18 in Amman alone.
There is also a support staff of 70, including technicians,
doctors, and social workers--part of the cooperation between
FPD and MSD. Ahmad Muhaissen heads the MSD presence in the
Amman FPD headquarters. The FPD is charged with determining
whether enough evidence exists to bring a criminal case to
court. In some instances, the offender or the entire family
undergoes counseling on how to avoid abuse. The MSD conducts
this counseling and meets regularly with the family to
monitor the situation. Repeat offenses and abuse of a severe
nature almost always result in court cases, according to
Humoud. Sexually based abuse also always results in a
criminal case.

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WOMEN'S SHELTER OPENING DELAYED REPEATEDLY
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7. (C) In April 2001, the MSD reported that the
"long-promised safe haven" for abused women would open within
the next three months. In September of 2002, the MSD said
that this "state-of-the-art project" would be completed
within six months. As of June 2005, the new estimate is
September, but no one is willing to go on record with a
specific date. The idea for the shelter, according to English
language daily The Jordan Times, was born in 1997, but
ministerial changes and funding problems caused the project
to be shelved repeatedly. Currently, the physical work on the
shelter is nearly complete, and it could, in theory, open and
accommodate up to 30 women. However the shelter is still not
operational. The impression that Humoud gave was that the
shelter is itself a victim. There is so much social baggage
surrounding the issue of abuse--that it is a private, family
matter; that sex and sexual assault are taboo subjects; that
victims of sexual abuse have dishonored the family--that the
idea of the shelter had a hard time getting off the ground,
and still faces many logistical challenges.


8. (C) Humoud and Muhaissen, who as the MSD liaison is
largely responsible for getting the shelter ready to open,
say that it is unclear how the shelter will operate. Still to
be determined are issues such as who will staff the shelter,
who will be allowed to use it, and under what circumstances
and for what duration will victims be allowed to stay. What
is certain is that the shelter will not accept women charged
with prostitution and/or adultery, even if they are
legitimate victims of abuse. Humoud acknowledges that women
still face discrimination in Jordan. He laments that there
are segments of society that remain outside the reach of his
assistance, but at the same time he holds Jordan's
traditional society in high regard. Humoud is also concerned
with what will happen to the shelter's inhabitants, as the
women who use it will inevitably be stigmatized for their
"participation" in the abuse, even as victims.


9. (SBU) With the abuse shelter still unopened, the cases of
adult female abuse victims are not fully handled by Humoud's
specially trained staff, nor do they have access to the MSD
social workers. After the initial complaints and interviews
are made to the FPD, these cases are referred to outside PSD
criminal units, which are neither prepared nor capable of
professionally handling the victims or proscuting the
offenders, in Humoud's view.


10. (U) The shelter is one of several endeavors of the Family
Protection Project (FPP) under the patronage of Queen Rania,
as part of a Jordanian-UK technical assistance agreement to
combat violence against women and children. Jordan recently
called for the continued support of international donors for
the FPP. Its current funding from the British Department for
International Development (DFID),ends this month. In a
meeting last week of the Family Protection Task Force, the
Queen presented a three-year strategic action plan for the
FPP. The Queen outlined the need to design a human-based
framework to develop the capabilities of the individuals
working in the field, according The Jordan Times. Built into
the three-year plan are six components: prevention,
protection, legislation and policies, research and studies,
networking and cooperation, and monitoring and evaluation.
Chief among these was a call for the development of a
National Framework for Family Protection to deal with
violence in the family by "advocating for cooperation and
coordination between the relevant service providers."

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COMMENT
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11. (U) Potential opportunities exist for USG assistance for
the FPD. Already several FPD officers, including Humoud have
had training in the U.S., though most of the FPD's training
has been provided by the DFID. Humoud is eager for more
training, specifically with regard to crime scene processing
techniques. Assistance from the U.S. could also take the form
of capacity-building within the FPP. End Comment.
HALE