Efforts continue to equip a new medical response unit on the Benha University campus, with a workshop organized this week to train health service providers to deal with women subjected to violence.

UNFPA, in cooperation with the National Council for Women’s (NCW) Coordination Unit for Violence against Women Unit, brought together 30 physicians and nurses from the various departments of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Benha.

The health service providers will manage and operate the medical response unit that will beinaugurated at the university under the protocol between the university and the National Council for Women.

Topics tackled at the workshop include the definition of violence against women and domestic violence as well as the social norms that reinforce violence, while presenting the most vulnerable groups at risk.

Participants were also trained on providing psychological support to victims of violence, communications skills, and initial forensic medical examination in cases of sexual assault, risk assessment, safety measures and the referral pathway among relevant entities.

Dr. Mustafa El-Qady, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, launched the workshop, along with Professor Dr. Hussam Amin, Vice Dean for Community Services and Environmental Affairs, in the attendance of Dr. Jihan Abdel-Wahab, NCW’s Rapporteur in the governorate, and Faten Kharboush, Head of the Anti-Violence Unit in the University.

Attendees expressed their full support of the medical response unit at the university hospital, offering psychological support and healthcare to women who were subjected to violence.

Dr. El-Qady called for expediting all processes to start operation at the unit and activate an internal referral system after training the service providers. On the other hand, Dr. Abdel-Wahab relayed NCW’s continuous efforts to combat violence against women since its inception through various means, ranging from strategies to the complaints office.

Dr. Amal Philip, Adviser to the Anti-Violence Unit at the National Council for Women in partnership with UNFPA, highlighted the role NCW plays on the health and social levels, through the National Strategy for Combating Violence against Women and the protection axis in the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030.

She also pointed to the role of NCWs’ Anti-Violence against Women Unit and the important role of the medical response unit to help women subjected to violence to obtain their rights according to the referral system between the relevant entities.

The Benha medical response unit is the fifth of its kind to be launched this year. Other units were launched at Ain Shams, Assiut, Kasr al-Eini and Mansoura.