Alaa Hameda is a Palestinian prosecutor specialised in Family Protection and Juvenile cases. Originally from Hebron, Alaa currently works in Bethlehem. She has a PhD in International Law attained through a scholarship in Morocco, where she moved when already married and mother of two children, now 10 and 8 years old.

Alaa is a member of the Palestinian Female Prosecution Network and has in the past participated in EUPOL COPPS activities. When discussing the challenges Alaa faces in her daily work at her office in Bethlehem, the dilemma between having to be professional while emotionally involved in cases concerning the most vulnerable in sociery, comes up.

Alaa discloses how, as a woman and a mother, at times she could not sleep for weeks, when dealing with some situations.

The protection of women and girls is as every year marked in the framework of the annual, international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign, kicking off today, which also marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The campaign runs until 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

When speaking to Alaa Hameda, GBV is also discussed, since in Palestine, as everywhere else, this gets worse during crisis and war.

“GBV is more intense during war. Here in Palestine, among the consequences of war is the worsening of the economic situation, with so many now unemployed. In any case there is no excuse, this should not be used as justification” states Alaa.

Indeed the 2024 theme for the campaign is: Every 11 Minutes, a woman is killed worldwide. #NoExcuse. UNiTE to End Violence against Women.

As every year, EUPOL COPPS joins the campaign with a focus on the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls, and the importance of prevention and protection from gender-based violence.