Tunis: “Tunisia has adopted a comprehensive strategic approach to strengthen the role of the family, ensure its cohesion and enhance the status of women in society,” said the Minister of the Family, Women, Children and the Elderly, Amel Belhaj Moussa.
This was stated in a recorded speech delivered on Wednesday during a conference entitled ‘Family Society Conference FSC 2024’ at the University of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates.
The minister stressed the need to consolidate joint Arab action to combat phenomena that could undermine family cohesion, pointing out that her ministry is implementing a number of programmes to protect families, preserve their balance and stability and enable them to meet the needs of all their members.
She explained that Tunisia is relying on a strong and consistent reform process and a legal and institutional framework to protect families and prevent phenomena such as marginalisation, delinquency and extremism.
Moussa stressed that Tunisia has adopted a policy of prevention an
d protection of children against violence and discrimination through appropriate legal frameworks and quality services, in addition to implementing a communication strategy to combat domestic violence and promote a culture of non-violence.
In this context, the Minister mentioned economic and social empowerment programmes for families, information and counselling programmes, as well as the programme for the inclusion of autistic children in schools and reporting mechanisms with psychological support for women victims of violence.
She underlined the Ministry’s commitment to improving local services for women and children victims of violence in order to protect them and avoid the difficulties of displacement by increasing the number of centres for women victims of violence.
“The number of these centres went up from 1 in 2021 to 13 in 2023, with a capacity of up to 206 beds,” she noted.
Ajman University is organising the first edition of the Family Society Conference with the participation of eminent experts
in sociology to discuss issues related to changes in family structure due to technological development and the widespread use of digital platforms.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse