The Protection and Social Rehabilitation Center "Aman", one of the centers of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, participated in a virtual seminar on domestic violence organized by the US Embassy in Doha. During the seminar, the issue of domestic violence was discussed through 3 main axes. The first axis highlighted the international view of domestic violence and its situation at the level of the United States of America, and was presented by a spokeswoman from the US State Department. The second axis, presented by Ms. Afia Ali Al-Saadi, a social worker at the Department of Reception and Case Management at Aman Center, dealt with domestic violence from the Qatari perspective, while the third axis, discussed by Doha International Family Institute, shed light on the forms of domestic violence in the Arab regional framework.

For her part, the US State Department spokeswoman said that domestic violence is a form of violence that occurs within family relationships, such as violence between the two spouses, or child violence directed at one of the parents or both, or the violence between siblings in the same family. Economically disadvantaged social groups in the United States often face significant rates of domestic violence.

For her part, Ms. Afia Al-Saadi presented a working paper in which she focused on all forms of abuse, mistreatment or neglect of a family member, whether a child or an adult, which includes all acts of violence that occur within the family and committed by one of its members taking advantage of his/her dominance, guardianship over the victim or his/her relationship with the victim. Ms. Afia added that domestic violence is a systematic pattern of abusive behavior within a relationship characterized by close familiarity, dependence, and often trust, with the aim of gaining control, intimidation or exploitation.

She also emphasized that domestic violence is divided into two types; Psychological violence and physical violence and it has negative effects on the individual, family and society. On the individual level, violence may lead to homelessness, addiction or delinquency. On the family level, violence may lead to the disintegration, dispersal or rupture of the family. On the societal level, violence greatly contributes to the spread of crime at high rates, in addition to social backwardness. During the seminar, Ms. Al-Saadi focused on the causes of domestic violence, noting that it often occurs as a result of social and economic reasons that lead to family disputes. As for its psychological behavioral causes, it may result in behavioral deviations and disturbances at the personal level.

In this regard, Ms. Afia confirmed that the center presented, during the seminar, an approach to combating domestic violence that resulted in providing three basic factors aiming at eliminating domestic violence, such as awareness-raising, by designing specific programs or implementing activities that raise awareness among families in order to make the society aware of the dangers of domestic violence, providing protection by raising the skills of diagnosing cases, in addition to activating and increasing the number of counseling sessions that enable victims of violence to benefit from protection services in a high and effective manner, finally, rehabilitation, which is carried out through the person's management of his/her anger and his/her ability to control his/her emotions, the effects of which are negatively reflected on him/her after the trauma, and his/her reintegration into society.

In the same context, Ms. Amna Al-Mahmoud, Acting Director of the Protection Department at Aman Center confirmed that the family is the basis of society and the main factor that teaches the individual how to acquire his behavior and skills. Therefore, Aman Center considered its duty is to do its best to create a good society and strengthen the vulnerability that exists in some families. Al-Mahmoud pointed out that domestic violence is an aggressive behavior that destabilizes the family and destroys it, negatively affecting the community, such behavior may be conducted by one of the parents against their children, or from the husband, wife or brothers. She stressed that the motives for domestic violence are numerous, and they may be psychological motives, stemming from the person who practices violence or economic motives, such as that the person suffers from financial pressures or poor economic situation that result in poverty, which forces him/her to resort to such behavior, and these motives may also be social motives.

Al-Mahmoud pointed out that domestic violence appears in a variety of forms. It may be physical violence, such as beating, or it may be verbal, such as insulting and cursing. In order to get rid of the phenomenon of domestic violence, she clarified the role and services of the Aman Center in providing protection and rehabilitation to women and children who are victims of violence and family breakdown. In order to reduce all forms of violence, she also clarified the awareness programs that the Center is keen to organize on an annual basis.

It is worth mentioning that the Protection and Social Rehabilitation Center "Aman" is concerned with the protection and rehabilitation of women and children who are victims of violence and family breakdown and reintegrating them into society.