Church combats domestic violence in Arabian peninsula

The family ministry office serving expatriate Catholics in the Arabian peninsula held a workshop last week “: We Abhor Violence Everywhere” (WAVE) on  Nov. 14 under the patronage of Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia. The aim of the said workshop was to help end domestic violence by creating awareness and a change in attitudes.   It was the second workshop on domestic violence the vicariate has held, the first having been in May.

According to Fr. Cajetan Menezes, head of family ministry for the Vicariates Apostolic of both Northern and Southern Arabia, the WAVE campaign “aims to identify the root causes of violence, to increase awareness about every form of violence, and to build a culture of love, respect and appreciation between all men and women, all communities and religions.”

More than 250 parish leaders gathered at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Ras al-Khaimah, one of the seven constitutive emirates of the United Arab Emirates, located 150 miles northeast of Abu Dhabi.

Nearly all the faithful of the Arabian vicariates are expatriates or migrant workers, largely from Asia, with some from Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Indians and Filipinos are the largest groups.

“The current workshop targeted primarily the Indian subcontinent community, but also other nationalities participated,” said Fr. Menezes to CNA.

“The training program was also aimed at identifying the sources of violence and the whole patriarchal male supremacy mindset that concerns especially women and children, who tend to be easy victims of abuse in Asia.”

Fr. Menezes said that the  major challenges on the Arabian peninsula are economic and human violence, such as unjust wages and virtual indentured servitude; workplace harassment; human trafficking; and sexual abuse. Victims often fail to report because of a fear of deportation; being financially beholden to loan sharks; shame; and laxity in investigation by police. The WAVE workshop addressed these issues through case studies, role-playing, and group discussion.

Since 2006, Fr. Menezes' Catholic Family Ministry has assisted both the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia, which serves Catholics in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen; and the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Arabia, which serves those in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. (CNA)