URUGUAY-SYRIANS Uruguay investigates allegations of domestic violence in Syrian refugee community

Record ID: 276641

  • Title: URUGUAY-SYRIANS Uruguay investigates allegations of domestic violence in Syrian refugee community
  • Date: 9th February 2015
  • Summary: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY (FEBRUARY 9, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COURT WITH JOURNALISTS OUTSIDE URUGUAYAN FLAG URUGUAYAN COAT OF ARMS JOURNALISTS WAITING FOR PRESIDENTIAL DEPUTY SECRETARY DIEGO CANEPA EXTERIOR OF COURT CANEPA ARRIVING AT COURT EXTERIOR OF COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIEGO CANEPA, PRESIDENTIAL DEPUTY SECRETARY, SAYING: "It's simply that there's a prosecutor who
  • Embargoed: 24th February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Uruguay
  • Country: Uruguay
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9Y9I3AM33MFFL21O9O0S4C2C6
  • Story Text: Uruguay's presidential deputy secretary, Diego Canepa, arrived at a federal courthouse in Montevideo on Monday (February 9) to give a statement related to an investigation into alleged domestic abuse within Syrian refugee families.
    The first group of Syrian refugees - comprised of five families and 42 people in total - arrived in Uruguay last October as part of an initiative on behalf of President Jose Mujica's administration.
    While many Uruguayans lauded the measure as an important response to war-related humanitarian crises, controversy has arisen over claims of alleged domestic violence against Syrian women and children. No charges have been made but an investigation is underway.
    Before entering the courthouse, Canepa spoke to journalists and explained that an Uruguayan prosecutor is investigating the possibility of a domestic violence complaint as outlined in a recent local newspaper article.
    "It's simply that there's a prosecutor who wanted to investigate the contents of the article in the Observador newspaper since there was the presumption of a complaint, if there had been a complaint or case of domestic violence in the Syrian families that are being settled in our country, and I was ordered to appear simply because I appear in the note because I was the one who, as spokesperson for the council of ministers, transcribed a preliminary report that was presented by the foreign ministry," he said.
    Local newspapers El Pais and El Observador have reported that residents have witnessed domestic violence and at least one child was hospitalized in a case of suspected abuse.
    Canepa said that while allegations about violence against women and children in the Syrian refugee families were in the spotlight, thousands of other domestic abuse cases per year in the country don't receive as much media attention.
    "Of course the topic of domestic violence is an enormously sensitive topic for all of us, for the government and for all Uruguayans. It's a big problem for Uruguay about which we should be talking. Look at the importance that we're giving to one Syrian family; it doesn't appear on the front page of the newspapers every day, even knowing that it's an important topic, the gravity that this holds in Uruguay requires us to take this on as one of our most serious topics which is domestic violence which, in more than 90 percent of cases is gender violence, it's violence against women in 90 percent of cases. I understand the weight we're giving this because it is on the front pages of the newspapers because they say it involves the Syrians that we brought because of a very special situation, but this isn't the only context, not this case, unfortunately, there are thousands of annual cases that don't have as much impact," said Canepa.
    The government agreed to admit 120 Syrian refugees in total as part of its resettlement program.
    More than 3 million people have fled Syria's bloody civil war.
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