The United Nations Population Fund in Jordan, in cooperation with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan Anders Pedersen, organized yesterday evening a discussion session within the United Nations dialogue series entitled “The Gender Impact of the Coronavirus during the Crisis and Beyond in Jordan.”

The discussion session comes, under the framework of the social and economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the occasion of the visit of the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund Ib Peterson to Jordan, as part of his regional tour in the region.

The speakers at the session highlighted the social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls, and also addressed recovery plans to reduce gender-based violence against women and girls, and preserve their well-being to achieve the fifth goal of the sustainable development goals related to achieving gender equality, and the goal The third is related to good health and well-being.

The panel discussion was attended by Anders Pedersen, Ibb Peterson, Director of the United Nations Population Fund Office in Jordan Inshirah Ahmed, Secretary General of the Higher Population Council, Dr. Abla Amawi, Secretary General of the Jordanian National Committee for Women’s Affairs, Dr. Salma Al-Nims, and Director General of the Institute for Family Health Care in Noor Al Hussein Foundation, Dr. Ibrahim Akl.

Pedersen said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the main risk factors for gender-based violence. Globally, there has been an alarming increase in multiple forms of violence against women and girls, fueled by the economic and food insecurity of families, and constrained living conditions due to Lockdown and social isolation measures.

He explained, that since the emergence of Covid-19, and by working closely with partners, the Jordanian government has taken important measures to counter the negative impact of the epidemic, stressing that the United Nations system will remain fully committed to supporting national efforts not only during the response to the epidemic, but also after the crisis towards Better move forward.

Furthermore, Pedersen added, the United Nations has worked and continues to work closely with the Jordanian government to not only ensure the provision of services, but also coordinate the response, and set priorities informed by the voices of women and girls.

In turn, I.P. Peterson spoke about his meetings with Jordanian officials and his impressions of the programs provided by the United Nations Population Fund in Jordan through its implementing partners, both at the development level and at the humanitarian relief level.

Peterson said that the response of the Jordanian government to the repercussions of the pandemic at this level was good, but there are still many challenges that must be worked on, especially with regard to the social and economic effects of the pandemic and its impact on women, girls and youth, which can be addressed through interventions that focus on Women and Youth, noting the need for reliable data to ensure government assistance in addressing these challenges, and developing and implementing evidence-based, people-centred policies in this area.

Inshirah Ahmed discussed the role of the United Nations Population Fund in responding to gender-based violence and preventing violence against women and girls, and spoke about the Fund’s role in confronting this and supporting survivors.

She said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the fund has worked closely with various key stakeholders from the Jordanian government such as the Ministry of Health, the Jordanian National Committee for Women’s Affairs, the National Council for Family Affairs, the Department of Family Protection, the Ministry of Social Development, the Higher Population Council and others, in addition to agencies Sister United Nations and NGO partners; To ensure that survivors of violence are not left behind, and that their needs are met.

The second part of the discussion session was devoted to national institutions, and how they are responding to the repercussions of the pandemic related to gender-based violence.

During the session, Dr. Amawi referred to the results of the rapid assessment prepared by the United Nations Population Fund to measure the impact of the Corona pandemic on gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights among adolescent girls in Jordan, which showed impeding access to sexual and reproductive health services, as women reported Girls reported that they had at least 10 percent less information about how to access sexual and reproductive health services during the ban period than they did previously, at least 10 percent among the different age groups included in the assessment.

Amawi pointed to the weak economic participation of women, which does not exceed 14.7 percent, in addition to the high unemployment rates among females compared to males.

She emphasized that enhancing the role of girls in the development process requires adopting a holistic approach that places a link between capacities, change strategies and contexts to support the development and empowerment of adolescent girls in the future.

Dr. Salma Al-Nims reviewed the role played by the committee with partners, especially the Family Protection Department of the Public Security Directorate, to ensure that women and girls have access to basic services for protection from gender-based violence in light of the challenges imposed by the closures caused by the pandemic, indicating that between The main strategic objectives on which the National Strategy for Women 2020-2025 focuses, is to ensure that women and girls live lives free from violence.

In turn, Dr. Ibrahim Akl spoke about the response of the Family Health Care Institute, as a non-governmental institution, to the repercussions of the pandemic, as he indicated that the institute, with the start of the closures, started a number of remote procedures in order to continue providing its services related to sexual and reproductive health, and rehabilitation to people with disabilities disability, the increasing number of violent incidents during the pandemic, and the mechanism that the Foundation has implemented to ensure the continuation of providing high-quality services to survivors of violence.

Akl indicated that the response included the establishment of hotlines that work around the clock; In order to provide support and advice to cases of gender-based violence, and to facilitate the referral process to the Department of Family Protection, as well as the involvement of 300 volunteers, they delivered materials related to the services provided by the Institute in various locations.

(Petra)