MoSD Highlights the Experience of the Beitunia Women’s Protection Center as the Second Phase of the Shaml Project Is Launched
Joint Visit Brings Together Partners, Donors, and Civil Society Organizations to Review the Center’s Services and Further Develop the Women’s Protection System
Ramallah – In conjunction with the launch of the second phase of the Shaml Project, a joint visit was conducted today, Wednesday, to the Women’s Protection Center in Beitunia, with the participation of the Ministry of Social Development and UN Women, alongside representatives of partners, donors, civil society organizations, and government partners. The visit aimed to review the Center’s experience and the services it provides and to discuss ways to further develop and sustain protection services for women and girls.
Representing the Ministry were Akram Al-Hafi, Assistant Undersecretary for Family Care and Protection; Hiba Jebat, Head of the Women and Gender Unit; and Dr. Khalil Tannous, Director of the Social Development Directorate in Ramallah. UN Women was represented by Hanan Qamar, Hadeel Abdo, and Bisan Abu Raqti. The visit also included Svein Olav Svolldal, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation at the Norwegian Representative Office to Palestine, as well as representatives of the European Union, Italian Cooperation, Sweden, and Canada, in addition to representatives of civil society organizations and government partners.
Al-Hafi emphasized the importance of the Women’s Protection Center in Beitunia within the social protection system that the Ministry is working to develop, noting that the Center has helped address a gap in protection services and reach groups of women requiring specialized interventions. He stressed the importance of sustaining the Center’s services and strengthening its response capacity, alongside the continued development of protection and care services and in partnership with UN agencies, donors, and civil society organizations, to ensure access for women and girls most in need of protection.
For her part, Jebat presented the Center’s experience and its importance in expanding the scope of protection services and reaching groups of women who had faced difficulties accessing existing protection centers. She explained that the Center provides an integrated approach combining protection, case management, psychosocial support, social counselling, legal services, and rehabilitation activities, leading to reintegration.
She explained that the Center, which opened in March 2024 with support from the first phase of the Shaml Project, has received 117 women since becoming operational, including seven women with disabilities who experienced violence, as well as 11 children who accompanied their mothers while receiving services. The Center has also provided 50 legal consultations, more than 400 psychosocial support sessions, and more than 500 social counselling sessions, alongside a range of educational, recreational, rehabilitation, and handicraft activities. Approximately 107 survivors have been reintegrated after completing the necessary interventions.
The Shaml Project forms part of efforts to strengthen the protection and reintegration of women and girls most affected by violence, particularly the most marginalized groups, including women with disabilities, older women, and women living in high-risk environments. Its first phase contributed to developing specialized procedures and guidelines for protection services, building staff capacities, and maintaining and equipping several Ministry centers, foremost among them the Women’s Protection Center in Beitunia. It also supported the development of operational plans and working guidelines, strengthening the Ministry’s capacity to provide more inclusive protection services that respond to the needs of women and girls.
Discussions addressed the main challenges and needs for the coming phase, particularly limited human resources and the Center’s current capacity, which allows it to accommodate 12 beneficiaries at the same time. Participants highlighted the need to expand its capacity and increase vocational rehabilitation and economic empowerment opportunities for survivors, thereby strengthening their economic independence and their ability to build safer and more stable lives.
At the conclusion of the visit, participants stressed the importance of continuing to develop the women’s protection system and strengthening partnership and coordination among government institutions, civil society organizations, UN Women, partners, and donors. They also emphasized the need to ensure the sustainability of the Center’s services and expand its response capacity, thereby strengthening access to protection services for women and girls most in need.