Family Guidance and Awareness Center

THE FAMILY GUIDANCE AND AWARENESS CENTER (FGAC) was established in 1996 in Zarqa/ Jordan, for the purpose of enabling women in the social and economic domains, integrating them in the development process, building the national economy and promoting the welfare of Jordanian families in general. FGAC conducts programmes targeting women and girls, children and youth. Addressing domestic violence and gender-based violence constitutes a major focus of FGAC planning and activities, applying awareness, training, economic strengthening, counseling, and legal support approaches to enable women and girls to stand up for their rights, and face obstacles that prevent their full and equal participation, not only within their families and immediate community, but also in public life with specific emphasis on the political and decision making processes in the country. Specifically, there is the Justice Center for Legal Support programme that provides legal counseling and legal representation in courts. Other programmes include the promotion of women’s political participation; a special programme was conducted to encourage women to run for Parliament, providing them with needed knowledge and skills. Starting in 2008 FGAC has been working in line with a 3-phase Strategic Plan that is supposed to end in 2012 as follows, with preparations for a new 5-year plan for 2012-2017 currently under preparation: The first phase was implemented with support from PSP and in cooperation with ZENID, and consisted of conducting a “Training for Trainers” programme (TOT), through which a group representing 7 agencies working in the field of family protection were trained on the concepts and means of dealing with perpetrators of domestic violence. A “Training Manual on dealing with Offenders and Perpetrators” for workers in the field of protecting women against violence was produced in this phase. The development of this core group of trainers is very important in providing organizations working in the field of domestic violence with the necessary knowledge and skills they need in their work. The second phase consisted of empowering women who are subject to violence through providing them with awareness of human rights in general, their legal rights and means to deal with violence inflicted on them, including providing legal representation in courts. It also introduced another critical aspect, which is dealing with perpetrators; through providing awareness and rehabilitation. It addressed 150 cases through providing specialized programs in self control and anger management techniques, behavior modification and alternatives to violence strategies. It also included activities that aimed to improve dialogue and sound parenting skills, and raising community awareness on the negative impacts of violence on the individual, the family and the society . Building on the experiences gained from the first two phases, the third phase consisted of advocating for and establishing a model family justice center that is now ready to provide integrated good quality services accessible in one location, within the boundaries of the Family Guidance and Awareness Center in Zarqa, for victims of violence as well as for dealing with perpetrators in addition to others seeking advice. This has been implemented with support from the Vital Voices Global Partnership seeking to achieve important goals in the field of gender equality by catering for the needs of the most vulnerable category of the community; the disadvantaged women and girls. The training component targeted members of the Judiciary, the Police and other concerned agencies in order to ensure equal treatment for women before the law, in line with internationally observed human rights.The Family Guidance and Awareness Center (FGAC) was established in 1996 for the purpose of enabling women in the social and economic domains, integrating them in the development process and building the national economy and promoting the welfare of Jordanian families in general. In line with the above, FGAC aims at improving the status of women in the community through equipping them with the knowledge and skills that enable them to understand their rights, stand up for them and, at the same time, be capable to contribute effectively to the development of their community at the local and the national levels. For this to be achieved, FGAC believes that efforts on the levels of advocacy, raising awareness and training need to target the whole community in order to achieve the desired change. Throughout this integrated process of change, the welfare and wellbeing of the family need to be kept sound and intact. A healthy status of women in the social network is a major factor that stabilizes and improves the family welfare and wellbeing, and that entails working towards improving social perceptions of women’s worth, roles and capacities. FGAC conducts programmes targeting women and girls, children and youth. Addressing domestic violence and gender-based violence constitutes a major focus of FGAC planning and activities, applying awareness, training, economic strengthening, counseling, and legal support approaches to enable women and girls to stand up for their rights, and face obstacles that prevent their full and equal participation, not only within their families and immediate community, but also in public life with specific emphasis on the political and decision making processes in the country. Specifically, FGAC hosts the Justice Center for Legal Support programme that provides legal counseling and legal representation in courts. Other programmes include the promotion of women’s political participation and socio-economic empowerment.