In pictures: 'Enough is enough'
Since 2005, Oxfam's local partner Kafa, has been a haven and sanctuary for more than 500 female victims of violence in Lebanon.
![Kafa poster. [Photo credit: David Snyder]](images/poster.jpg "[Photo credit: David Snyder]")
Kafa, which means “Enough” in Arabic, offers something unique in Lebanon: the chance for abused women to find the help they need, whatever that help may be.
“It’s vital that any organisation working with female victims of domestic violence should provide all of the necessary services,” Kafa Programme Co-ordinator Ghida Anani explains. “You cannot separate the legal from the social from the counseling needs. It’s essential for a trust relationship.”
Photo: David Snyder
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![Kafa's Listening and Counselling Room for victims of domestic violence. [Photo credit: David Snyder]](images/counselling_room.jpg "[Photo credit: David Snyder]")
At the onsite Listening and Counselling Room, victims can access counselling and therapy.
“We can conduct psychological evaluations and therapy,” Anani said, “[But] we can also provide forensic reports to prove violence, lawyers for counsel and work in court, and through networking partners we can link them with welfare agencies, vocational training, shelters, and any other services they need.”
Photo: David Snyder
![Ghida Anani, with some of the materials produce by Kafa . [Photo credit: David Snyder]](images/three_anani.jpg "[Photo credit: David Snyder]")
Kafa recognises that advocacy and awareness are the only ways to address the root causes of violence against women. Since its founding, Kafa has carried out a ‘Silent Witness’ campaign using wooden silhouettes of women to represent violence victims, and a ‘Close Line’ exhibit using t-shirts that encouraged visitors to leave anti-violence messages, playing on a ‘dirty laundry’ theme aimed at shedding light on what has traditionally been a very closed subject, particularly in Arab cultures.
Photo: David Snyder
With support from Oxfam, Kafa is also working on a ‘training of trainers’ kit designed as a tool to approach men with an anti-violence message – a message Anani says is slowly getting through.
“Ten years ago we were not even able to talk about violence against women in public, or do any sort of advocacy,” Anani said. “But now it is far more common.”
Photo: David Snyder
![Ghida Anani holding some posters produced by Kafa. [Photo credit: David Snyder]](images/anani_posters.jpg "[Photo credit: David Snyder]")
Kafa include religious leaders at all of their events, work to change and enact anti-violence laws through the courts in Lebanon, and have even brought in 22 judges from Iraq to help train them in the nuances and sensitivities of hearing cases involving domestic violence.
“We work on a human rights basis, so nobody can contest this,” Anani said. “We are against violence, not men.”
Photo: David Snyder
![Ghida Anani with some of the materials Kafa produces. [Photo credit: David Snyder]](images/anani_storyboard.jpg "[Photo credit: David Snyder]")
Despite the challenges that exist – Anani says the centre has been threatened by abusive men who have tracked their wives there in the past - the work of Kafa continues to expand. As issues of domestic violence become more openly discussed in Lebanon, Anani says this does not mean that violence is increasing. Rather, she sees it as an indicator that the message is getting out.
“Awareness is growing,” Anani said. “And women are becoming more courageous to speak about it.”
More on Oxfam's work in Lebanon
Photo: David Snyder
