Relations between family situations, social work and schools to foster children’s resilience towards violence
Swiss partners
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IHEID: Alexander Dormeier Freire (main applicant), Hanan Salama
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HES-SO, Haute école de travail social, Geneva: Sylvia Garcia Delahaye, Anne-Françoise Wittgenstein Mani
Partners in the MENA region
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An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine: Samah Saleh (main applicant)
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Palestinian syndicate of social and psychological workers; UNWRA: Iyad Salim
Presentation of the project
The project builds on previous research missions in Tulkarem, which explored violence within schools and families and identified gaps in social work practices. Initially designed as a continuation of that work, the entire project had to be rethought due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions and the health situation in Palestine prevented implementation according to the original plan, requiring a shift to decentralized modalities and stronger involvement of local partners.
In agreement with the Leading House and Palestinian partners, the researchers strengthened the local team and trained two new researchers from Tulkarem. While Swiss researchers contributed remotely, local partners organized art-based workshops, liaised with communities, ensured transcriptions, and coordinated with artists. Despite challenges, significant results were achieved thanks to the adaptability of partners and the flexibility of the Leading House.
The findings confirm that social work remains poorly supported and recognized in Tulkarem. It lacks institutionalization and social acceptance, and training opportunities are limited. There is an urgent need to develop a recognized, contextualized, and accepted social response. Training needs are diverse and multi-level, requiring sector recognition and a broader training offer. Informal coordination mechanisms, such as WhatsApp groups created during COVID, exist but are unsustainable. Intervention models inspired by international standards, such as child protection rights, are weakly implemented. Cultural taboos, traditional norms, and legal gaps hinder effective violence reduction strategies, and emergency shelters for women and children do not exist.
Transcripts from workshops revealed widespread mistrust toward institutions and social actors. Children mainly rely on teachers, headmasters, and peers to report bullying, while women and adolescent girls expressed frustration at not being heard. Violence forms discussed included verbal, economic, physical, psychological, social, political, and online abuse. The App concept was validated: all stakeholders recognized the potential of an anonymous, interactive application to improve reporting and intervention. However, its features must be contextualized to local realities, as needs differ across regions. The App could provide privacy and trust, but its content must be adapted to local issues.
Main activities included two focus groups with local institutions and associations, redefinition of data collection modalities in the COVID context, recruitment and training of two research assistants from Tulkarem, coordination with artists, and three art-based workshops conducted in early 2022: puppets with 30 children aged 6–12, colour cloth with 8 women, and environment and art-expression with 15 adolescent girls aged 12–17.