Over half of the women interviewed at awareness-raising and training workshops on the promotion of human and women's rights principles said they were unaware of the existence of Law No. 58 on the elimination of violence against women (64%), at a time when 84% of these women had been victims of various forms of gender-based violence, the NGO "Ensemble pour la citoyenneté et le changement" (Together for Citizenship and Change) said on Saturday in its final report on the "Femmes libres" (Free Women) project. Financed by the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders (EMHRF) and the Fondation France, this project targeted 40 women, including 10 from the governorate of Gafsa, 10 from the governorate of Siliana and 20 from the governorate of Ben Arous, from vulnerable groups such as women victims of violence and socially marginalised women, in addition to single mothers subject to social stigmatisation. Since July 2022, the NGO has organised 3 awareness-raising and information workshops on issues of social violence and the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against women, in addition to 6 training workshops on citizenship and participation in public, political and associative life, with a view to increasing the role of women in political decision-making positions. In a statement to the media, head of the NGO Mohamed Ouled Rahila indicated that the results of the project's activities had confirmed that cases of violence against women are on the rise despite the existence of an arsenal of laws, the most important of which is law no. 58 of 2017, adding that the increase in femicides is a dangerous indicator when it comes to human rights.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse