Set up in 2005 to overcome the obstacles related to restriction of movement due to the construction of the Israeli Separation Wall, the Capacity-Building Unit works to build the sustainability, efficiency, and professionalism of other grassroots and professional women’s organisations so that they can better serve Palestinian women living in all areas of the Occupied Territories who, due to logistics such as occupation-related movement restrictions, cannot access WCLAC’s programs or services.

The Capacity-Building Unit seeks to fulfil this aim through the following programs:

• Volunteers program: Building the capacity of local, voluntary grassroots leaders and volunteers of both sexes that can initiate local awareness raising programmes and activities on women’s rights and gender-based violence, and that promote effective management, leadership, and communication skills.

• Grassroots capacity-building program: Providing technical assistance to grassroots organisations by training their staff and Board members on developing and strengthening their organisational structures, so they can provide more effectively social and legal services to women in their communities.

• Professional capacity-building program: Supporting and training the staff of referral institutions dealing with women victims of violence, such as police officers, lawyers, social workers and health professionals, so that they are better equipped to handle such cases in a sensitive and appropriate manner; those trainings are aimed to incorporate topics such as women’s rights and violence against women into the training curricula of health workers and social services providers at both the governmental and non-governmental levels.

• Graduates program: Targeting and supporting future professionals such as social workers, school counsellors and lawyers, by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to recognise and deal with cases of abuse and violence against girls and women.

The Capacity-Building Unit was also instrumental, together with the former WCLAC’s Legal Aid and Social Work Units, in providing skills and expertise in setting up safe homes to ensure protection for Palestinian women victims of violence. When WCLAC participated in the establishment of a safe home in Bethlehem in 2004, called MEHWAR, the Capacity-Building Unit trained staff and volunteers, built effective and appropriate protocols, and worked with women’s families and governmental and non-governmental institutions to ensure their safety. Once the safe home was up and running, management responsibilities were handed over to the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) according to plan.