US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5232

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