PESHAWAR, May 12: A two-year rehabilitation project for the victims of social violence in Peshawar and Dir districts is being launched next month.

The provincial government would start the project in collaboration with an NGO, the Just Peace International, while a Greek-based charity, European Union Perspective, would provide psychological services to help victims of all types of violence -- including domestic violence and sexual abuses -- to overcome their trauma.

In this regard a two-week training workshop started on Monday for 20 master trainers, drawn from the provincial social welfare and other line departments and social workers, doctors and psychologists in Donga Galli, Abbottabad.

A helpline would be set up soon where doctors, psychologists and social workers would give guidance to the persons affected by violence. A second training programme would be held in June.

A second training programme will be held in June, Ali Gohar coordinator of the Just Peace International said. He added that the master trainers would transfer their expertise to others and in this way more people would know as how to tackle the problems of the violence victims.

According to the plan, he said, the programme would subsequently be replicated in other districts with relatively higher prevalence of incidents of violence. To reduce the psychological impacts of violence, people would be imparted tips on how to deal with the affected persons.

He said victims of violence had been known to quickly lose temper due to absence of tolerance that often snowballed into more dangerous crisis. So, the psychological and mental and physical health services would be put in place to bring them to the pre-violence positions.

Mr Gohar said that it would be the first such project to assist the affected population of violence by inculcating in them the element of tolerance and reducing the impact of violence on them with a view to put brakes on more problems.

An estimated five to 1,000 persons suffered unlawful force every day in the province, which gave birth to conflict and even armed clashes in the society. Besides the deterioration of law and order situation, precious lives were being lost as a result of the violence, he said.

The project, he said, was aiming to measure the quantum of clashes emanating from violent conduct and persistent outage of the victims and establish peace in society. Under the plan data on the prevalence of the incidents of violence would be ascertained and in the light of which recommendation to reduce violent acts would be sent to the government.

Violence posed threats to criminalisation of the society and rehabilitation of the victims could prove helpful. Alongside, the rehabilitation of the affected people, seminars, workshops and walks would also be organised throughout the province to raise the level of public awareness regarding violence.

Violence was associated with a wide range of health and social problems for victims and their families, he said. The students who lived in violent environment had a devastating effect on their emotional health and academic achievements, he added.