Minister of the Family, Women, Children and the Elderly, Amel Belhaj Moussa, has announced that her ministry is currently working on a new national strategy for the family for 2030, as alarming figures have been recorded for the institution of marriage, requiring reflection to identify the causes and ways to protect the family from disintegration.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a study day held on Thursday on the theme of “The institution of marriage in Tunisia: ways to strengthen and protect it”, the minister went on to say that her ministry had drawn up a national strategy for the promotion of the family in 2019. “However, the changes in Tunisian society have affected the institution of marriage and made it necessary to modernise this strategy in order to address the issues involved,” she stressed.
In this regard, she highlighted the increasing number of divorce cases in Tunisia, with 14,706 rulings in the 2021-2022 judicial year, compared to 12,598 in 2020-2021, quoting official data announce
d by the representative of the Ministry of Justice during this study day.
The event was attended by representatives of the Presidency of the Republic, the Prime Ministry, the National Office for the Family and Population, as well as social researchers.
The Minister also announced that from January to October 2023, the child protection services had received 20,000 reports of children at risk and more than 12,000 reports of violence against women through the toll-free number 1899.
The ministry is committed to protecting the family through a social approach through the Family Economic Empowerment Programme, which covers 18 governorates and targets 68 Tunisian families, she added, noting that the aim of this programme is to raise awareness of the need to reject violence and prevent all forms of extremism and violence.
Moussa also stressed the importance of social communication in raising awareness of family cohesion, pointing out that a communication strategy has been implemented using awareness-raising media
and public service announcements to change mentalities and protect the family from disintegration.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse