61% of Syrian refugee families in the country have at least on member with a disability. In the governorates of Ammann, Karak and Irbid, we have guaranteed specialized services and responded to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence
Between November 2019 and November 2020, thanks to AICS (Italian Agency for Cooperation Development), a project for the protection of people exposed to the risks or survivors of gender-based violence and for the child protection has been implemented in Jordan. The objective is to reduce risks and negative consequences of violence, exploitation and abuse faced by vulnerable people both Jordan people and refugees in Amman, Karak and Irbid governorates. Since 2021, in Jordan INTERSOS offers individual counselling, psycho-social support and, where necessary, economic assistance to women, man and children, both refugees or from host community which are survivors or at risk of gender-based violence, with specialised paths to help members of the LGBTQI+ community and persons with disabilities. We have implemented activities of social inclusion and awareness campaigns on the topics of gender and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
In collaboration with a local partner, FOCCEC (Forearm of Change Centre to Enable Communities), we have worked on reducing and countering underage work, early and/or forced marriages, abuse, neglect of minors, intervening on prevention and access to specialised services for victims.
The urgency of ensuring access to specialised services for people with disabilities
The choice of committing ourselves to guarantee access to specialised services for persons with disabilities began as a response to the need of fostering the social inclusion of people heavily stigmatised in Jordan, which registers the absence of specialised centres that favour aggregation and inclusion.
It is estimated that 22% of the Syrian population has at least one type of disability, and that 61% of Syrian refugee families have at least one family member with a disability*. Moreover, 25,5% of refugees are in need of specialised services, but do not have access to the necessary treatments due to high costs. Working with communities to promote a culture of inclusivity, both social and occupational, is necessary to reduce the high risks for persons with disabilities to become victims of violence, exploitation and abuse. The multisectoral approach adopted by our social workers aims not only at solving the problems of the people we assist, but also considers risk factors that prevent them from healthy integration into society, offering a well-rounded support.
Community awareness sessions, carried out together with the precious contribution of Communal Protection Committees and Persons with Disabilities Associations, played a key role in promoting greater knowledge and sensibility in the population on the issue of disability. These activities were centred around various topics: the concept of disability and its possible manifestations; persons with disabilities’ rights; a discussion on the barriers – both physical and psychological – that these people face on a daily basis; promoting the role that persons with disabilities can play in society and in the job market.
Ahmad’s story
Ahmad’s story is a concrete example of the results reached by this project. Ahmed is 12 and lives in Karak with his mother, father and his 28-year-old brother Jamil. Ahmed has showed difficulty and delay in speech development since he was little, eventually being diagnosed with autism. While participating in one of INTERSOS awareness campaigns, Jamil realised that there were activities ongoing able to help his brother. The family had interrupted the monthly visits with a doctor two years before, and Ahmas was taking psychotropic drugs, which left him sedated most of the time. The child instead needed to start a path of integration through therapy to improve his language and interaction with other children.
We have ensured emergency cash assistance to the family to cover the costs of therapy specialised in speech impediments for Ahmad. We have guaranteed individual psychological support for the mother, to help her accept her son’s condition. We then included the whole household in psychological group sessions, focused on disabled minors’ cure, in order to strenghten positive skills in the whole family. Lastly, we have referred the father to other organisations that focus on job placement: he received financial assistance to start a small home business, which provides for the whole family and guarantees Ahmed’s participation to the therapy sessions he needs.
*Washington Group Questions, iMAPP and HI, 2018