THERE has been a steady increase in the number of women seeking help from a family counselling centre, it has emerged.
Almost 90 per cent of the cases received at Aisha Yateem Family Counselling Centre in the past two years were from women, said counselling director Faeza Abdulameer.
According to the latest statistics, the centre recorded 253 cases from January 2018 until March this year, of which 226 (89.32pc) were from women.
The centre is under the Bahrain Young Ladies Association (BYLA), the country’s pioneer organisation for women set up in 1989 by a group of women under the late Aisha Yateem.
It was functioning at the BYLA office in Manama before moving to Hamad Town in 2007.
The centre offers free counselling to victims of domestic violence, and other family concerns.
It also provides social workers’ services, facilitates group and individual therapy and counselling and aids to Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis facing issues including psychological, physical, legal, economic and sexual abuses.
Ms Abdulameer told the GDN the centre had received more than 1,200 cases ever since it moved to Hamad Town.
“We have a hotline and a regular number on which we receive a number of calls and most of them are social issues within families and from women who are facing physical and emotional abuses,” she said.
“There have also been cases of financial and health issues and we also have men and families reaching out to us.
“However, the number of men reaching out to us is less compared to the women.”
In 2018, the centre received 110 new cases, while it went up to 120 last year, whereas in the first quarter this year there were 23 cases.
Of the total cases in 2018, 97 were from women (88pc) while the rest involved men (12pc).
There were 58 cases (53pc) from the Northern governorate, followed by 20 (18pc) in Southern, 16 (15pc) in Capital and 13 (11pc) in Muharraq.
The location of three other cases remained unknown.
Of these cases 90 (82pc) were married, eight each (7pc) were divorced and single and four (4pc) were widowed. This included 53 housewives (48pc), 35 (31pc) employed, 10 (9pc) unemployed, five retired, four business holders and three students.
Last year, 109 women and 11 men reached out to the centre for assistance with 73 cases (61pc) recorded from the Northern Governorate.
From the Southern governorate, 19 cases (16pc) were recorded followed by 18 (15pc) in Capital, eight (6pc) in Muharraq and the remaining two from unknown locations.
Cases from married people counted to 99 (83pc), followed by 15 (12pc) divorced and six (5pc) single. This included 73 (61pc) housewives, 27 (22pc) employed, 12 (10pc) retired, four students, three unemployed and one business holder.
From January to March this year, 20 women and three men sought assistance of which 16 were from the Northern governorate followed by four in Southern, two in Muharraq and one in Capital.
Counselling
These cases included 10 employed, seven housewives, three business holders, two unemployed and one student.
The centre is open to both expats and citizens and is run by five staff members under the guidance of the nine-member board, which is selected every four years.
“When we get a call, we hear them, provide them suggestions and get them over for cousnelling or other support as needed,” said Ms Abdulameer.
“But with Covid-19 we are offering all our services online, which include counselling assistance, training and other necessary support.”
raji@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))