Manama: Bahrain has taken a new giant leap in its fight against abuses after the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) launched Takatof, a database and statistics of domestic violence.
"Bahrain is a major contributor to the international efforts to combat violence against women thanks to the growth of relations between the Supreme Council for Women and the UN commission for women," SCW Secretary General Hala Al Ansari, said at the launch on Thursday attended by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, Ines Makkawi, head of families and children at the Arab League, lawmakers, officials and diplomats.
The database and statistics of domestic violence aim to monitor and follow up the various cases of domestic violence through a sophisticated electronic platform for a unified data log of violence and changes in the status of abused women, she added.
Al Ansari said that the adoption of standardised definitions and classifications of cases of violence would help access to studies and figures that contribute to consolidate the status of Bahrain in international reports.
It also enables the concerned parties to provide support in cases of violence and facilitate access to health, psychological and social services provided by state institutions.
Al Ansari said that statistics indicate that cases of violence against women in Bahrain are limited.
She attributed successes to the outstanding efforts exerted by the Supreme Council for Women as part of the National Strategy for the Advancement of Bahraini Women 2013-2020 and to the contributions of the interior ministry, official, civil society organisations and media partners in the fight against domestic violence.
The efforts have eventually led to the establishment of a common database linked to all concerned sides, she said.
Mlambo-Ngcuka welcomed Bahrain's cooperation with the UN on all issues related to women and lauded the efforts by Supreme Council for Women in launching the unified database coinciding with the international campaign against violence targeting women.
This year, UN Women and partners around the world are marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (November 25 – December 10) under the theme of "Orange the World: Raise Money to End Violence against Women and Girls".
