Tomorrow’s Youth Organization
Nablus’s Old City is rich in history but faces urgent modern challenges, including domestic violence—a problem often hidden from public view.
With support from Healing Across the Divides (HATD), Tomorrow’s Youth Organization (TYO) created an intentional space in Nablus’s Old City for 27 young men to openly discuss domestic violence. Through peer-led conversations and films made by local leaders, participants gained a deeper understanding of how stress, social pressures, and harmful norms contribute to violence at home, and began exploring their own role in building safer families.
Instead of lecturing, TYO sparked conversation—inviting young men to rethink their roles and recognize domestic violence as a shared community issue, not just a women’s issue.
The Power of Peer-Led Dialogue
Peer-led dialogue was central to the initiative’s success. Five trained male community leaders facilitated honest conversations, allowing young men to reflect on violence in the home and consider new, positive roles within their families.
They fostered an open environment where young men could thoughtfully examine household violence and their own roles in breaking harmful cycles.
The dialogue explored stress, family cycles of violence, and the role of men in challenging and changing harmful behaviors.
- Stress and Pressure: How external factors weigh heavily on family dynamics.
- Cyclical Violence: Understanding how violence is learned and repeated within families.
- Role of Men: Challenging harmful behaviors and redefining norms.
Three short films—created and performed by local male leaders—anchored the discussion, offering relatable scenarios that encouraged honest conversation and self-reflection.
The films offered authentic family scenarios from Nablus, allowing participants to see their own experiences reflected and sparking honest, relatable discussion.
The films made it easier for participants to discuss sensitive issues, using the characters’ stories as a safe starting point for honest, personal reflection.
Contextualizing Violence: The Impact of Occupation
Addressing domestic violence in Nablus means recognizing the influence of ongoing conflict, economic hardship, and daily restrictions on family life. Facilitators encouraged open discussion about how these pressures can intensify stress at home and contribute to cycles of violence.
Facilitators highlighted how ongoing conflict, economic hardship, and restricted movement all raise stress levels at home, making family tensions even harder to manage.
- The Israeli Occupation: The daily reality of political instability and conflict.
- Economic Hardship: High unemployment rates and financial insecurity.
- Restricted Movement: The psychological toll of confinement.
These broader challenges often fuel tension at home, but participants learned that while they can’t change the external pressures, they can break the cycle by choosing healthier ways to handle stress with their families.
Voices of Change:
The discussions led to a real shift in perspective—participants began to recognize domestic violence as more than just physical harm, understanding its wider impact on families and community well-being.
Ahmad, 19, pointed out that children also suffer from violence at home—not just women—highlighting how abuse can harm entire families across generations.
“We see children also suffer from violence in the home, not just women.”
Khaled, 21, noted that abuse isn’t only physical, but also includes emotional harm like putting down women in front of others.
“Violence is not only physical. It can be about putting down women in front of her children or her family.”
Measuring Impact and Looking Ahead
TYO tracks its impact by surveying participants before and after each session to assess changes in attitudes about domestic violence.
This event is part of a broader HATD-supported effort, with TYO aiming to engage over 100 men and 100 women annually in community dialogues that promote healthier relationships and challenge harmful norms.
The program focuses on reaching underserved areas, such as the Old City of Nablus and local refugee camps, where access to safe spaces and prevention support is especially limited.
- The Old City of Nablus
- Nablus refugee camps
By involving both men and women, the program aims to build safer, more supportive families and transform community norms for the better.
Supported by Healing Across the Divides, programs like TYO’s are improving health and human rights for Palestinians and Israelis.
