MoSD Adopts Unified Guidelines to Develop an Integrated Protection System for Women and Children
Ramallah – The Ministry of Social Development has adopted unified guidelines governing work related to the protection of women and children. The guidelines aim to improve mechanisms for responding to reports, standardize professional and administrative procedures, and enhance the quality and continuity of protection services, ensuring that women and children can access the necessary services more promptly and systematically.
The guidelines were developed under the direction of the Minister of Social Development and Acting Minister of State for Relief, Dr. Samah Hamad, through the Women and Gender Unit, in cooperation and partnership with the General Directorate of Childhood. They were subsequently reviewed by the relevant departments within the Ministry, and their legal framework and applicable regulatory references were duly established.
Dr. Hamad affirmed that adopting these guidelines forms part of a broader reform process undertaken by the Ministry to strengthen the protection system for women and children and enhance its technical and professional capacity to respond to and follow up on cases. This will improve the quality of services provided to beneficiaries while safeguarding their rights, dignity, and privacy.
She explained that the guidelines will help standardize practices across the Ministry’s district directorates, define roles and responsibilities throughout the various stages of case management, and regulate coordination among child protection counsellors, women’s protection counsellors, directors of district directorates, protection centres, and partners. This will reduce overlapping responsibilities and individual discretion while ensuring complementarity among all relevant stakeholders.
The guidelines regulate mechanisms for receiving and responding to reports of violence, referral pathways and transfers to protection centres, the preparation of social reports, periodic follow-up, and field visits. They also govern coordination, the exchange of case updates, and participation in case conferences, thereby ensuring continuity of follow-up beyond the referral of a case to a protection centre.
Under the guidelines, reports of violence must be addressed within 24 hours, and the protection centre must receive a detailed social report within 24 hours of the case’s admission. The assigned counsellor must continue following up on the case and coordinating with the relevant entities to ensure access to the necessary interventions and services.
The guidelines also include clear safeguards for the confidentiality and privacy of beneficiaries’ data. They regulate the exchange of information and coding of case files and prohibit the use of beneficiaries’ full names in correspondence. They also establish procedures for addressing conflicts of interest and field-related challenges, thereby safeguarding the integrity of procedures and the rights of women and children receiving protection services.
The guidelines were developed in response to the need to address inconsistencies in certain procedures across the district directorates, clarify lines of authority and referral and follow-up pathways, and strengthen coordination among protection personnel, protection centres, and partners. This will help prevent delays or interruptions in follow-up when cases are transferred between different entities.
This step forms part of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to develop the transfer and referral system among relevant entities, strengthen case management and professional follow-up, and review and update the procedures governing protection-related work. It also seeks to enhance the role of protection centres and regulate their relationship with district directorates and partners, contributing to a more integrated, effective, and responsive protection system that meets the needs of women and children.