A female caregiver working for International Relief and Development (IRD)/Blumont has helped bring an end to domestic abuse in a displaced family.
The family was displaced after war broke out across Iraq following the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The family now lives in one of the camps run by IRD/Blumont inside Iraq.
The head of the family, a man in his thirties, used to hit his wife because he believed she did not take care of him.
The violence took a toll on the woman. She became reclusive and was afraid of her husband even when he was in a good mood.
One day, an IRD/Blumont team on duty in the camp heard the woman screaming as her husband hit her. The team reported the case to an IRD/Blumont caregiver in charge of giving psychological support to vulnerable women, among other responsibilities.
After four follow up visits to the family, the caregiver convinced the man to participate in a weekly one-hour session put on by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) designed to help domestic abusers interact with their wives without resorting to violence.
Within a month the man’s wife said that his behavior towards her began to change. He is now calmer and treats her with respect. In fact, he allowed her to go to a center dedicated to women’s activities at the camp where she learned sewing skills.
“I want to financially help him [my husband],” the woman said.
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The caregiver is part of IRD/Blumont’s Camp Coordination and Camp Management/Conflict Resolution and Resilience Building (CCCM/C2RB) programs. CCCM provides camp management in four camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq, including accommodation and community mobilization activities. C2RB improves the lives of individuals in Iraq by identifying and implementing solutions to mitigate violence and conflict among IDPs and host communities. They are both funded by UNHCR.
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