I An-Najah National University Faculty of Graduate Studies The Role of Social Media Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns in the Formulation of Public Policies in the West Bank Regarding Crimes of Violence Against Women By Fatina Ziad Abed Maali Supervisor Dr. Moeen Koa This Thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Contemporary Public Relations Faculty of Graduate Studies at An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine 2021 III Dedication I dedicate this work as a token of my deep heart, my great love and gratitude to: My Father: My first teacher and my role model in giving My Beloved Mother: who is closer to me than my dear soul My Dear Husband: My bond and soul mate in life My Lovely Baby Jamal: the hope of life and the extension of love and happiness My Brother and My Sisters: My heart beats My Second Family: My husband's family, my friends, and colleagues And everyone who stood with me and supported me Everyone who aspires, learns, writes, and spreads knowledge, I dedicate this work and the modest effort IV Acknowledgments First of all, I thank God Almighty for who gave me the strength and will to be a grateful, educated worshiper, aspiring to what is good for me, my family, and my country. Whoever was the reason for completing this modest work, to be a new step for a better future and a more beneficial work. To everyone who taught me letters from the beginning of my life until today. To my supervisor Dr. Moeen Koa. I thank him for the continuous guidance, support, and knowledge he provided to me throughout my scientific and practical life. May God reward him all the best and make it in the balance of his good deeds. I thank my beloved father who stood with me from the first step to where I have come today with all tender, generous, and loving kindness. I thank my dear mother, who is a wonderful educated person, with whom I see myself and I hope to be as beautiful as her heart and soul. To my husband, who is the source of my strength and pride Who has always been my moon that lights my life and my days. To my beloved brother who supported me and was my reference in all the difficult times and my partner of joy in every success. V To my beautiful, good sisters who were my closest friends and the most loved people to my heart. To my husband's family who were a bond and pride for me. To my friends and all my classmates, I thank everyone who came across me and had an impact on my life. Praise be to God in the beginning and at the end, and I ask God to make me one of those who make a difference wherever they are with their knowledge and work. VI اإلقرار أنا الموقع أدناه مقدم الرسالة التي تحمل عنوان: The Role of Social Media Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns in the Formulation of Public Policies in the West Bank Regarding Crimes of Violence Against Women ِذي الخاص تاسرثٌاء ها ذود اإلشارج أقز أى ها اشرولد عليَ ُذٍ الزسالح ُْ ًراج ج ، ّاى ُذٍ الزسالح كاهلح، أّ أي جزء هٌِا لن يقذم هي قثل لٌيل أي درجح إليَ حيثوا ّرد أّ لقة علوي أّ تحثي لذٓ أي هؤسسح ذعليويح أّ تحثيح أخزٓ. Declaration The work provided in this thesis unless otherwise referenced is the researcher‟s work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. :Student Nameاسم الطالب: :Signature التوقيع: :Dateالتاريخ: VII Table of Contents Subject Page Declaration II Dedication III Acknowledgments IV Table of Contents VII Abstract XI Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Problem Statement 5 1.3 Question of the Study 7 1.4 Objective of the Study 7 1.5 Significance of the Study 8 1.6 Structure of the Study 8 1.7 Operational Definition of Terms 9 1.7.1 Social Media 9 1.7.2 Lobbying 9 1.7.3 Advocacy Campaign 10 1.7.4 Public Policies 10 1.7.5 Crimes of Violence Against Women 10 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review 2.1 Theories of the Study, Contemporary Theories of Public Opinion 11 VIII 2.1.1 Agenda-setting Theory 11 2.1.2 The Priming Theory 13 2.2 An Overview of Violence Crimes Against Women 15 2.3 The Legal Framework Regulating Women's Rights in Palestinian Society 19 2.3.1 National References 20 2.3.2 International References 20 2.4 The Legal Framework Regulating Palestinian Women's Rights at the International Level 22 2.5 History of Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns 23 2.5.1 Advocacy Strategies 27 2.5.2 Advocacy Tactics 29 2.6 Definition of Pressure or Advocacy Groups 30 2.7 The Characteristics of Pressure Groups (Lobbyists) 33 2.8 Definition of Public Policies 35 2.9 The Role of Lobbyists in the Formulation of Public Policies 37 2.10 The Role of Social Media in Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns 39 2.11 Literature Review 45 2.12 Summary of Comments on Previous Studies 57 Chapter Three: Methodology 3.1 Methodological Overview 61 Method 61 The population and sample of the study 62 IX The research Tool 63 Research Procedures 64 Chapter Four: Data Analysis 4.1 The Issues Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns Concentrate on Regarding VCAW 66 4.2 The Extent of the Contribution of the Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns through the Social Media in Placing VCAW at the Officials' Table 68 4.3 The Effect of Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns on Enacted or Amended Laws Concerning VCAW and their Role in Mobilizing Audiences towards their Own Purposes 69 4.4 The Factors that Distinguish an Issue Concerning VCAW Over Others through Social Media Platforms and the Extent of their Impact on Decision Makers and on Public Policies 71 4.5 Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns are Seasonal Campaigns 72 Chapter Five: Research Discussions and Interpretation 74 Chapter Six: Conclusion and Recommendations 88 Limitations of the study 89 Suggestions for future research 90 References 91 ب الولخص X Table Index Number Subject Page 1 The sample of the study and the number of participants 36 XI The Role of Social Media Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns in the Formulation of Public Policies in the West Bank Regarding Crimes of Violence Against Women By Fatina Ziad Abed Maali Supervisor Dr. Moeen Koa Abstract According to the United Nations reports, more than 37% of women in the Arab world have experienced domestic violence. Latest statistics available on Palestine maintain that almost of 46% of the participants have experienced emotional violence and more than 21% have experienced a physical violence across their lifetime 1 . Various cultural, economic and social factors, including social shame and fear on family image, contribute to women‟s reluctance to denounce these acts and speak up. However, the official responses still lack behind. The specific objective of this study is to examine and unravel the role of social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns in the formulation of public policies in the West Bank, Palestine regarding crimes of violence against women. To achieve this purpose, the researcher employed in-depth structural interviews using the snow-balling technique. The final sample consisted of 9 women associations, 7 media professionals, 3 academics, 1 UN Women (2018). Understanding Masculinities: Results from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) – Palestine XII and 3 activists. The researcher developed two interviews. The first one consisted of 13 questions that were designated for women associations. The second one comprised 7 questions specially designed for media professionals, academics, and activists. The 20 questions of both interviews were then contracted under five themes. The five themes correspond to the main questions of the study: the issues lobbyist and advocacy campaigns concentrate on the most, the contributions of these campaigns, the effects these campaigns achieved, the factors that distinguish an issue over another, and the nature of these campaigns. The data then was collected and analyzed. The results show that social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns are concerned with violent crimes against women in all their forms. Lobbying and advocacy campaigns contributed to the amending of laws like the law of marriage in the West Bank. These campaigns had some effect on public policies and mobilizing the masses. The focus on an issue over another is governed by financial and human resources, timing and the instrument of a crime, and the means of exposure. Finally, lobbying and advocacy campaigns are considered seasonal. In light of the results of this study, the researcher recommended the following, lobbying and advocacy campaigns must be unified and well-planned among all women's associations to preserve women's rights to obtain protection from all forms of violence, there should be an outline for a well-planned program that governs the nature of these campaigns for example choosing the appropriate timing, means, content, and participants. XIII Keywords: lobbying and advocacy, violent crimes against women, contributions, public policies, mobilizing masses, West Bank 1 Chapter One Introduction Violence crimes against women (VCAW) are now well recognized as a public health problem and human rights violation of worldwide significance. It is an important risk factor for women's ill health, with far- reaching consequences for both their physical and mental health (Dennis, 2019, p. 28). In this context, Palestinian women continue to suffer from internal societal violence based on discrimination against women in all aspects of life. This discrimination finds its manifestations in the prevailing laws and regulations in force in Palestine until now. Despite some „theoretical‟ development and progress in some of them, rates of violence against women are still high, and the phenomenon of femicide continues to violate the most basic and most important human rights, which is the right to life. In addition, women suffer many difficulties in obtaining their full and equal rights to education, health, and family inheritance, as well as the right to work, equal pay 2 , property rights, and housing (Medaoui, 2018, p. 33). The Palestinian legislative structure, in its general direction, was prepared to include women's issues in a framework of equality and non- discrimination in rights between women and men. Before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Declaration of Independence 2 This issue regarding salaries does not apply to the governmental institutions because there is no discrimination in this regard, according to the Civil Service Law. 2 constituted an important constitutional basis for the realization of Palestinian women's rights. In 2002, the Palestinian Basic Law has come to effect; as it is considered as the Palestinian constitution for the transitional period. This law addresses the right of women to equality and equitable participation. Furthermore, the law applied in the West Bank is the Jordanian Law No. 16 of 1960 (and amended by the latest Law No. 8/2011) with the exception of occupied Jerusalem, where the Israeli criminal law is applied. (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 156). It should be noted that there were many problems regarding the Penal Code applied in Palestine, the most important of which was Article 308 of the Penal Code, which was used to provide mitigating circumstances for the punishment of the offender in the crime of so-called honor killings and allow the perpetrators of rape to escape punishment if they marry their victims. However, this had been changed when The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) commended the abolition of Article 308 of the Penal Code in force in the West Bank, which exempts the perpetrator of rape from punishment in the event of his marriage to the victim, and welcomed the amendment of Article 99 thereof, which prohibits the perpetrator of the "honor crime" from benefiting from reduced penalties. Indeed, this amendment came as a result of great pressure from civil society and women's institutions, through which the Women‟s Center for Legal and Social Counseling launched a pressure campaign to cancel this article (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 100). 3 The legal system and legislative structure provided by Palestinian laws constitute a good ground for participation and change. With regard to women, the general outcome of the legislation is positive and fair with regard to rights, citizenship, legal personality, social justice, and equality before the law in the fields of work and education. However, what is striking is that not even once the law or legislation is passed; the road ahead is paved for implementation. Customs and traditions, male culture, the traditional view of women, and their role are all impeding factors and still prevailing (Dennis, 2019, p. 13). This paved the way for individuals through lobbying and advocacy campaigns to play a vital role in this issue through social media activism to put pressure on government bureaucrats to change current policies or create new ones that may help reduce violence against women. Advocacy and lobbying campaigns are concerned with expressing interests or defending the rights of a specific group of people or society as a whole; developing its activities to empower the citizen, increasing their capabilities, and involving them in the decision-making process (Fossen et al., 2019, p. 33). It should be noted that many associations and institutions led lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media, such as the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development, the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Forum of NGOs Amal Coalition, and many others. Furthermore, there are many popular Hashtags on social media, such as the "where were you Campaign" "حولةح ّيٌةع عٌِةا", the 16-day campaign for violent crimes against women, and the hashtag entitled "End 4 Violence Against Women - End the Occupation." اًِةاء -"اًِاء العٌة دةذ الوةزأج .االحرالل" Recently, Palestine has witnessed many crimes against women that have an echo on social media; such as the murder of Ahlam, Nora, Rozan, Israa, and others. As a consequence, many campaigns were launched in order to raise the public awareness regarding VCAW, such as the national campaigns entitled "beating is shameful " فعةل فادةة "الضةزب , „feminism is raising‟, among many others. Hence, Palestinian women's organizations and activists called on the Palestinian government to reveal the "killers of Israa" and to pass the Family Protection Law. For instance, the "we are all with Israa Gharib "كلٌةا اسةزاء يزيةة" hashtag went viral on social media; as thousands of people used this hashtag as a pressure tool in trials, as well as the case of Ahlam that shook the social networking sites, topping the hashtag "screams of Ahlam" "صةزخاخ أحةالم" on the list of most popular searches on "Twitter" and "Facebook". Lobbying and advocacy campaigns are necessary to initiate dialogue, raise women's voices, and urge the bureaucrats to set legal texts that include mechanisms and procedures to provide urgent protection for women victims of violence. This can be done by working to pass and amend laws that are directly related to the rights of Palestinian women. Among the most important of these laws are the Penal Code, the Family Protection Law from Violence, and the Personal Status. The specific objective of this study is to examine and unravel the role of social media lobbying and advocacy 5 campaigns in the formulation of public policies in the West Bank, Palestine regarding crimes of violence against women 1.2. Problem Statement: Like several other countries in the world, Palestine is witnessing a remarkable increase in the phenomenon of violence as a result of many economic, social and political factors; features of technological progress, globalization, openness, and mixing of cultures. For instance, in 2016 about 23% of married women were subjected to violence by their husbands (17% in the West Bank) (the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistic, 2016). According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics of 2019, about 29% of married women were subjected to violence by their husbands (24% in the West Bank) (the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019). These statistics between 2016-2019 show that the phenomenon of violence against women in Palestine is constantly increasing. One of the essential elements in social upbringing is accomplishing human safety for individuals in society. Human insecurity, as a result of the phenomenon of gender-based violence, does not affect women only but also the whole family. Indeed, its effects are not limited to women who are exposed to violence, but somewhat it is conveyed through them across generations, males and females. The procedure of receiving violence goes beyond the family frame to the society as a whole with its numerous organizations; thus, becoming part of the prevailing societal culture. Hence, the obligation to restraint violence is not limited to human rights 6 institutions, women‟s organizations, or individuals, but rather it is a general responsibility that rests on the various governmental and non-governmental competent bodies (Caragnano,2018, pp. 51-66). Nevertheless, people can play a vital role in this issue through social media involvement to put pressure on government bureaucrats to change current policies or create new ones that may help in the reduction of the crimes of violence against women in Palestine. The lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media advocate the case of the crimes of violence against women in Palestine. They are among the most significant supports in providing a different view that strongly upholds building public policies and strategies, as well as gender matters in the sectoral agendas of ministries and local bodies. They also try to find strict measures by the security services to decrease VCAW. Recently, Palestine has witnessed numerous crimes against women that have an echo on social media such as the news concerning what happened to Israa Ghraib in the West Bank, and the joint program “HAYA” on Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls. As a consequence, several campaigns were launched to address the case of violent crimes against women in Palestine. Thus, this study came to investigate the role of lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media in shaping public policies in Palestine concerning crimes of violence against women. Advocacy in the field of media is the strategic use of the media by social justice advocates and institutions working in the field of social 7 justice in order to communicate with large numbers of people in order to achieve progress on the level of a social goal or public policy or in order to change behaviors related to a public issue. 1.3. Question of the study: Accordingly, the main question of this study is: What is the role of lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media in shaping public policies in Palestine concerning crimes of violence against women?  What is the role of lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media on the behavior and attitudes of the masses towards the laws and policies in force in the West Bank?  How efficient were these campaigns through social media in reaching their goals? 1.4. The objective of the Study: The main aim of this study is to identify the role of lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media in shaping public policies in the West Bank concerning crimes of violence against women. In addition to the main objective of the research, this thesis seeks to achieve the following sub-objective:  To measure the effectiveness of these campaigns through social media in achieving their goals. 8 1.5. Significance of the Study: The study acquires its significance by handling an important topic that affects all societies and highlighting the importance of lobbying and advocacy campaigns to mobilize the masses and gain their support for changing public policies in Palestine. Moreover, this study sheds light on the importance of using social media with its advantages and applications to serve issues of violence against women. The importance of the study is evident in that is seeks to educate society members in the media about the value and importance of women in communities, and that it is not permissible to practice unjust acts of violence against them; as they are human beings who have the same rights and duties as men. This study demonstrates the religious view of women; their respect and appreciation for them, and spread awareness among women to understand their rights. On the practical side, the libraries will be provided with a new study that will benefit researchers, specialists, and others. 1.6. Structure of the Study: The overall structure of the study takes the form of six chapters, including:  Chapter 1: Introduction: it introduces the role of social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns regarding crimes of violence against 9 women, problem statement, the research question, main goals and objectives, research significance, and operational definition of terms.  Chapter 2: Theoretical framework and previous related studies. It consists of contemporary theories of public opinion, an overview of VCAW, and the national and international legal framework regulating women's rights in Palestine.  Chapter 3: Methodology: research design, population and sample, data collection tools (Interviews), research procedures, and data analysis.  Chapter 4: Research results.  Chapter 5: Research discussions and interpretations.  Chapter 6: Summaries, conclusions, and recommendations. 1.7. Definitions and Operational Definitions: 1.7.1. Social Media: they are modern technological applications that rely on the web for communication and interaction between humans through audible voice messages, written messages, and visual messages (McPherson, 2017). While social media in this context means modern applications used in specific ways for achieving specific purposes designed by lobbyists. 1.7.2. Lobbying: An action or activity undertaken by a specific group with the aim of influencing decision makers and participating in public policymaking (Medaoui, 2019). Lobbying in this thesis means actions and points of view undertaken by activists and women associations in 11 order to influence the officials to change some policies related to Violence crimes against women. 1.7.3. Advocacy Campaign: An organized political process based on people's coordinated efforts to change policies, procedures, ideas, and values that lead to inequality, prejudice, and marginalization (Sprechman and Pelton, 2018). From the researcher`s point of view, an advocacy campaign is prepared to change policies, gain people`s support and it is applied in West Bank precisely. 1.7.4. Public Policies: The set of governmental rules and programs that constitute the decisions or outputs of the political system, in relation to a specific field; they are expressed in several forms, including laws and regulations, administrative decisions, and judicial rulings (Dunn, 2018). 1.7.5. Crimes of Violence Against Women: It is a deliberate, violent behavior directed towards women, and it takes many forms, whether moral, physical, or psychological (Müller and Tranchant, 2017). The researcher`s operational definition is any violent behavior against women caused by any member at any form in West Bank. 11 Chapter Two Theoretical Framework and Literature Review 2.1. Theories of the Study, Contemporary Theories of Public Opinion: The theoretical framework of this study is built on contemporary theories of public relations. The researcher will use two of the key contemporary theories of media effects; they are as follows: Agenda-Setting theory and the Priming theory. 2.1.1. Agenda-Setting Theory This theory was developed by "Walter Lippman" through his book "Public Opinion" (Russell et al., 2019, pp. 1-12.). It is actually concerned with studying the relationship between issues, interests, and trends in the public. This can be formulated in a question: Are the interests and knowledge, that exist among the public, developed by the media or other means? This theory deals with arranging priorities, setting the agenda, or arranging interests. It stems from an important issue. That is, the media and its various means develop the audience's knowledge, place them on the issues that they think about, and focus on the personalities and events in which the audience are interested (Russell et al., 2019, p. 22) The agenda-setting theory is a reformulation of the events surrounding a new template. The importance of which in the media is 12 arranged in a manner consistent with the editorial policy of the media institution and with the aim of persuading the public and changing its direction in line with the ideological orientations of that medium. Although the theory of agenda-setting specifies a relationship between the media salience of an issue and the public salience of that same issue, it says very little about what individuals do with the media content to which they have been exposed (Brause & Blank, 2020, p. 11). The importance of applying the Agenda-Setting theory is highlighted in this study, given the fact that this theory is one of the most prominent theoretical frameworks. This is because it explores the influence of the media in order to prioritize political, social, and economic issues of interest to the public. This theory studies the reciprocal relationship between the different campaigns that take place through the media and Arab women's issues, especially the Palestinians. In a nutshell, the Agenda-Setting theory examines the influence of the media on audiences and masses in any community. This theory contributes to explaining the media's use of purposeful content and expressive images to stimulate the feelings and thoughts of recipients. This is done in order to make them think in a certain way and motivate them to take a specific position on the issue at hand. In addition to using the public as a pressing force in order to change the agenda set by state officials, and to put the issue on top of the priorities of policymakers in the country with a view to changing the policies already set. Through this theory, the 13 research questions that the researcher previously asked will be analyzed and discussed. The Agenda-Setting theory can be distinguished from what is called "Agenda-Building theory". Indeed, the later theory talks about and explains the fact that the public as a whole can participate and be a part of the decision-making process and in the democratic process as well. It is worth mentioning here that the public, even through social media platforms, can have a limited role in influencing the national agendas. For instance, this applies to the subject of study in that it shed light on the public limited role in influencing the Palestinian national agendas regarding women and the violent crimes against them. 2.1.2. The Priming Theory The researcher will use the Priming theory due to the fact that it examines the influence of the media on audiences and masses in any community. This theory assumed that social media cannot present all the issues that occur in society, but rather that some topics are chosen (Anderson et al., 2018, p. 366). These issues raise the public‟s interest and urge them to think about them. This is applicable in this case of study since social media would highly affect the public regarding the violent crimes against women. Further, it is assumed that social media cannot present all the issues that occur in society, but rather that some topics are chosen, which their nature and content are controlled by the media. These issues raise the public‟s interest and urge them to think about them. 14 Priming is a concept through which the media effects among the people are enhanced. This is by providing a basic perception that human minds make decisions based on the preconceptions that are already been stored in their memory. The memories are stored as a form of nodes and they are interconnected effectively and mostly act as a frame of reference to the decisions that they make. Priming enables the audience to evaluate the situation and to conclude how effective the media have been in order to make a decision by providing a frame of reference. Thus, media creates an influence among people to make a judgment or a decision (Higgins et al., 2017, p. 141). Priming is an important concept in media effects. As agenda setting brings out only the importance of the issue, priming offers an explanation of how the information from the media is stored in the human mind, and how it influences in making decisions. Media affect the judgment or behavior by stimulating the associating thoughts which are caused due to the mental relationships created inside the memory (Higgins et al., 2017, p. 141). Priming is important to PR scholars because it is at the heart of modern campaigning. Research has established that little true “dialogue” that occurs between parties or candidates during election time. Accordingly, campaigns are struggling to determine what elections are about and what issues voters should consider when making their choices (Higgins et al., 2017, p. 141). 15 The lobbying and advocacy campaigns are also struggling to determine and highlight the true and real numbers of the violent crimes against women. For instance, this might be manifested in the fact that underreporting of domestic and other forms of violence made the response and data collection previously a challenge. The difficulty of reporting is compounded by the difficult circumstances we are witnessing now, including restrictions imposed on women and girls' access to phones and helplines, and disruption of public services, such as police, justice, and social services. These disorders may also affect the care and support needed for survivors, such as the clinical management of rape victims, mental health, and psychosocial support. It also ignites impunity for the perpetrators. The role of lobbying and advocacy campaigns comes in such instances so as to modify those laws that don‟t specifically protect women from violence. 2.2. An Overview of Violence Crimes Against Women (VCAW): Violence against women is widespread in the world until it has become the talk of the day in the media. The reality of women today, as it has always been, calls for sadness and grief; as they are exposed to various forms of violence, including physical, verbal, social, and health violence. The effects of violence against women are destructive to them, their families, and even to the society as a whole. This danger requires activating all members of society and its institutions to work to reduce such crimes because the issue 16 of women falls within the context of the nation‟s cultural, social, political, economic, and development issues (Higgins et al., 2017, p. 99). One of the most common models for understanding violence against women is "domestic violence", which was developed mainly in the fields of sociology and psychology. "Domestic violence" deals with all forms of abuse within the family, regardless of the age or gender of the victim or the aggressor. The term "domestic violence" does not include many types and forms of violence against women outside the home and in the family, such as assault and sexual harassment in the workplace. Also, the feminist researchers believe that domestic violence assumes gender neutrality, and this neutrality is a problem in itself; as the term domestic violence does not confirm that violence is usually done by men against women, girls, and children (Coker, 2017, pp. 260–268). There is an increasing global agreement that violence against women, girls, and female children, regardless of where it occurs, whether it is inside or outside the family, must be dealt with as gender-based violence. As it is the result of the low status that women, girls, and male children enjoy compared to the higher status that men, boys, and children enjoy in the family and in society in general (Coker, 2017, p. 263) . It should be noted here that international conventions have taken care of the issue of women in order to protect them and give them equal rights with men. For this purpose, many conferences have been held related to women and their status in the world. The United Nations Charter was 17 issued in 1945, which affirms in its introduction the equal rights of women and men, then followed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which affirmed the equality of all human beings in all rights. After that, the conventions on the rights of women followed, and the most important of which are the following (Boyd and Sheehy, 2016, p. 5–17):  International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, in 1950.  International Labor Organization Convention, for equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, in 1951.  The Convention on the Political Rights of Women, in 1952.  The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women in 1957.  Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, in 1964.  The Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict, in 1974.  The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (abbreviated as DEDAW) is a human rights proclamation issued by the United Nations General Assembly, outlining that body's views on women's rights. It was adopted by the General Assembly on 7 November 1967.  The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. As for the conferences that focused on women's issues, they were the following (Boyd and Sheehy, 2016, p. 5–17): 18  The first International Conference on Women in 1975 was held in Mexico, and in the same year, the United Nations declared the International Year of Women.  The United Nations conference was held in 1975 to eliminate the differences between men and women, and as a consequence the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) came to the light..  The Second Conference on Women was held in Copenhagen in 1980.  The third conference to discuss forward-looking strategy for the issue of women was held in Nairobi in 1985.  The Fourth Conference on Women was held in Beijing in 1995. In addition to some international conferences that dealt with various issues related to women, such as:  The Children's Conference in New York in 1990,  The Environment and Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,  The Population and Development Conference in Cairo in 1994,  The Social Development Conference in Copenhagen in 1995,  The Istanbul Conference on Settlements Mankind in 1996,  And the Man and Culture Conference in Stockholm in 1998. As for the Palestinian context, the Governmental Coordination Committee on the Advancement of Palestinian Women and the General Union of Palestinian Women issued a national strategy for the advancement of Palestinian women in 1997 in line with the work of Beijing. The document 19 was based on the Palestinian national program of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which calls for achieving the goals of the Palestinian people in return, the right to self-determination, and the establishment of the Palestinian state. It also relied on the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the Palestinian women's rights document issued in 1994, and other international agreements and treaties issued by the United Nations. The most important of which are the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) issued in 1979, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. 2.3. The Legal Framework Regulating Women's Rights in Palestinian Society: 2.3 The Palestinian legal reality is very complex; as a number of old laws are applied and considered to be a reflection of the political reality that prevailed in Palestine. Starting with the control of the Ottoman rule, and then to the control of the British occupation, the French occupation, and the Israeli occupation, which affected Legal and legislative reality. Below are the national and international references that are followed in Palestine regarding the rights of women (the annual report for Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling, 2017): 2.3.1. National References  The Palestinian Declaration of Independence: At the conclusion of the nineteenth Palestinian National Council session, held in 21 Algiers in mid-November 1988, a Declaration of Independence was issued, declaring “the State of Palestine in our land of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.” This state “shall be an Arab State and shall be an integral part of the Arab nation, of its heritage and civilization and of its present endeavor to achieve the goals of liberation, development, democracy, and unity.” It was to be a state “for Palestinians, wherever they may be, therein to develop their national and cultural identity and therein to enjoy full equality of rights. Their religious and political beliefs and human dignity shall therein be safeguarded”.  Palestinian Basic Law: Article 9 stipulated that " Palestinians shall be equal before the law and the judiciary, without distinction based upon race, sex, color, religion, political views or disability." Article 10 stipulated that " Basic human rights and liberties shall be protected and respected. The Palestinian National Authority shall work without delay to become a party to regional and international declarations and covenants that protect human rights”. 2.3.2. International References  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: it was issued in 1994. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulated that" Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, 21 no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self- governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty."  International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Article two, Paragraph two of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that " The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Article 2 states that" Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status".  The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. The 22 Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." 2.4. The Legal Framework Regulating Palestinian Women's Rights at the International Level: The State of Palestine adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women with first national ratification in 2005, according to a decision issued by the Palestinian Council of Ministers. In 2009, Palestine submitted a unilateral declaration under Presidential Decree No. (19) of 2009 announcing its accession to this agreement. On April 1, 2014, less than a year and a half after the State of Palestine obtained observer status in the United Nations, and according to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 67/19 in 2012, Palestine formally acceded to this convention without any reservation on its articles. On the same date, Palestine ratified dozens of international treaties and conventions, related to human rights in general and women in particular. 23 Summary In this section, the researcher talks about and highlights the theoretical framework of this study, which is built on contemporary theories of public relations. The researcher uses two of the key contemporary theories of media effects; they are as follows: Agenda-Setting theory and the Priming theory. Besides that, this part talks about some international conventions, which have taken care of the issue of women, in order to protect them and give them equal rights with men. For instance, The United Nations Charter was issued in 1945, which affirms in its introduction the equal rights of women and men, then followed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which affirmed the equality of all human beings in all rights. After that, the conventions on the rights of women followed, and the most important of which are International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, in 1950, the International Labor Organization Convention, for equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, in 1951, and many among others. Also, it talks about the legal framework regulating women's rights in Palestinian society and at the international level. 2.5. History of Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns: In the mid-18th century, the early development of pressure groups - or what is so-called "lobbyists"- was connected to and associated with broad political, financial, and economic changes in England. Thus, lobbying first 24 developed in the UK and the USA, where some Lobby groups have considerable financial resources at their disposal (Medaoui, 2018, p. 30). Understanding the policy and decision-making process is one of the important and vital elements for the success of the advocacy process, which is related to a comprehensive understanding of the stages of how policies or decisions are made, and the political environment in which they are conducted (Medaoui, 2018, p. 30). It should be noted that we must understand the concept of institutional setting and how to make decisions related to policies and power centers (powers). This is in order to develop a policy of lobbying and advocacy to influence public policies from different administrative levels and those who have the ability and authority to bring about this change and who has the power to make those decisions. Besides that, we should also identify opportunities in which people can intervene to influence those decisions, and support civil society to expand the pressure for more effectiveness as possible as we can. In addition to ensuring that changes are implemented and applied on the ground (Medaoui, 2018, p. 40). Definition of Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns Advocacy is a movement by an individual or gatherings that aim at influencing issues within political, financial, economic, social frameworks, and collaborations. Advocacy contains activities and publications to 25 influence public policy, regulations, financial plans, and budgets by using facts, their relationships, the media in order to educate government officials and the public as well. Advocacy can incorporate numerous exercises that an individual or association embraces including media battles, open talking, dispatching, and publishing research (Medaoui, 2019, p. 30). In other words, it is a chain of operations or events that reinforce each other, within a specific framework and a period of time, according to an administrative path that envisages employing all the available capabilities and resources. Advocacy campaigns also take into consideration the answers to the following questions: What does your group or institution want to change? Who will make this change? How will you make this change? And what time will you specify for that? How long will it take until you achieve your goal? (Obar and Lampe, 2018, pp. 1-15). In the social and financial advancement, setting the points of promotion are to make or change strategies, laws, guidelines, dissemination of assets or different choices that influence individuals' lives and to guarantee that such choices lead to usage and implementation (Sofia and Pelton, 2018, p. 33). Lobbying, influence, persuasion, or interest representation is the demonstration and act of attempting to influence the actions, strategies, policies, or choices of authorities. Many critiques of lobbying point to the potential for conflicts of interest to lead to agent misdirection or the intentional failure of an agent with a duty to serve an employer, client, or 26 constituent to perform those duties. The failure of government officials to serve the public interest is a result of lobbying by special interests who give advantages to the official is an example of agent misdirection (Arab Lobby in the United States Handbook, 2017). lobbying and advocacy campaigns can be defined as follows: Resorting to pressure on a specific body of decision makers, such as the government or the legislator, in order to take a specific decision or change a specific political practice. At other times, resorting to support and assistance a group of the public so that it can achieve specific goals, and may not include the community as a whole. This can only be done by finding a sufficient number of supporters among the public (Obar and Lampe, 2018, pp. 1-15). To conclude, we must be aware of the concept of institutional preparation and how to make decisions related to policies and power centers (authorities). This is so in order to develop a policy of lobbying and advocacy to influence public policies from different administrative levels that have the ability and power to make the changes and decisions regarding the public interest (Obar and Lampe, 2018, pp. 1-15). 27 Summary In this research, lobbying and advocacy campaigns mean that they are two important tools used to improve the reality of Palestinian women in terms of civic and political participation. Indeed, the role that women in Palestine has begun to play in society is increasing, as a result of the strategies of awareness, empowerment, pressure, advocacy, and the provision of various services by Palestinian civil society institutions; the most important of which are women‟s institutions, which are in favor of women and their various rights. With that being said, the reality of Palestinian women in terms of women's inclusion at the level of some sectors does not rise to the required level, especially with regard to gender equality, changing mutual societal roles, society's understanding of the nature of gender, the right of women to active political and civil participation, decision-making, and full equality between men and women. This confirms the need for extensive efforts that should be made by the lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media platforms, Palestinian women's movements, representatives of the Palestinian official and civil sector, so as to improve the reality of women and enhance their societal participation. This could be done by unifying the vision, trends, and strategies of action, as well as enhancing the coordination and alliance process. 1.5.2 Advocacy Strategies Advocacy is a core nonprofit function. It aims to attract growing scholarly interest and influence public policy. However, change can be difficult and 28 complex, particularly for those with limited power and resources (Cullerton et al., 2018, p. 83). The word strategy means a broad plan to achieve a specific goal. Citizens and their institutions often use a variety of diverse strategies in order to achieve their goals in the field of advocacy. There are many strategies for advocacy; the most important of which are as follows (Cullerton et al., 2018, p. 83) :  Building a supportive audience or popular base supporting change: The main goal is to increase awareness, educate, organize, and mobilize people affected by the problem/ issue or interested in it so that they can participate in and contribute to the work.  Collaboration strategies: The main goal is to build cooperative relationships between community groups, the state and/ or business sectors in order to spread innovations, provide state services, or improve local infrastructure.  Educational Strategies: The main goal is to raise levels of critical awareness. These strategies include strengthening the capacity of civil institutions and grassroots organizations to express themselves and provide information, or cooperate in collecting and analyzing data and information, as well as developing alternative policies.  Persuasion strategies: The main goal of these strategies is to use information, analysis, and mobilize citizens in order to demand change. They often include resorting to pressure groups and using the media to 29 influence decision makers and public opinion. Providing communication skills, negotiation, and the use of numbers and statistics to clarify goals is the key to the success of using this strategy.  Litigation Strategies: The main goal of these strategies is to promote social and economic changes by using the court system to test and challenge laws and institutions.  Coping strategies: The main aim of these strategies is to use direct action to challenge negative policies, attract attention to them, and mobilize a greater amount of pressure compared to other strategies for bringing about political change. This strategy can involve adopting violent or non-violent ways to direct action. In a nutshell, social media campaigns are unsuccessful in Palestine, given the fact that they mainly aimed to attract growing scholarly interest and influence public policy. Accordingly, social, economic, or even religious change can be difficult and complex, especially for those with limited power and allocated resources. 1.5.1Advocacy Tactics: Advocacy groups need to employ a wide variety of tactics provided that they are used wisely to achieve a specific goal. For example, an advocacy group should not organize a public demonstration just to appear in the newspapers. Rather, accurate calculations should be made for such demonstrations in order to achieve a goal, support the cause, and its timing so that they come at an important political moment. Of all the outreach 31 tactics related to advocacy campaigns, the use of "free and social media" is the most important one, especially for campaigns with a broad geographic base; as it provides the best opportunity to reach most of the targeted people at any given time, as well as using the media to make the message heard is the key to mobilizing awareness and support for any cause (Gen & Wright, 2018, pp. 298-326). In summary, social media campaigns are unsuccessful in Palestine, given the fact that changes in laws, public policies, and public behavior need more than just good intentions. As Gen & Wright, (2018) noted that an effective public advocacy campaign, should be built on a series of coordinated and related activities and on well-planned events that keep the issue under the spotlight. In addition to forcing the targeted decision- makers and the general public to pay attention to the issue to be highlighted and talked about, particularly the issue of crime violence against women (Gen & Wright, 2018, pp. 298-326). In this study, I will examine the role of social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns in the formulation of public policies in the West Bank regarding crimes of violence against women. 2.6 Definition of Pressure or Advocacy Groups: The concept of pressure or advocacy groups has received great attention from researchers and scholars of political science and public relations. So, they had several efforts all focused on trying to provide definitions of such 31 phenomenon, which led to multiple definitions about it; as is the case with other phenomena in social sciences in general, political science and public relations in particular (Todd et all., 2018, p. 20). First: Definition of Pressure Group (Lobbyists): Pressure groups are a compound of two words: “pressure” and “group”. - Group: The concept of a group means a coalition of a group of individuals that includes common general characteristics (Todd et all., 2018, p. 22). - Pressure: The concept of pressure is related to political processes, meaning that the group has taken a direction or opinion from a certain topic and is working to put this trend into practice in reality in line with its interests (Todd et all., 2018, p. 22). It should be noted here that some lobbyists use illegal methods, such as threatening and providing money specifically for their own interests, but for these groups to reach their goals, the following conditions must be met: they must be highly organized and possess resources and funds that represent the elements of their power and influence. This allows them to defend their interest; therefore, the organized and influential group is the only one who is effective in achieving their goals. (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 202). It is worth mentioning here that such illegal methods are a negative side of lobbying; these methods cannot be of great significance in the case of violent crimes against women. In other words, developing social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns requires a democratic approach. It 32 requires a high degree of professionalism, experience, and transparency, and it should be based on the basis of a feasibility study and clear suitability. It's been identified by Fahmy Khalifa Al-Fahdawi as These influential groups, seek, through their influence power, to have the ability to form an independent position to some degree of the decision it represents in terms of direction, purpose, and putting actual and real pressure into public political life. (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). Accordingly, this definition focused on the organizational side of lobbyists that enables pressure on decision-makers to reach desired goals. Pressure groups are an organization that exercises its activity on official policymakers, in a manner of pressure aimed at influencing them and directing public policy according to its orientations and goals (Al-Fahdawi ,2016, p. 202). Definition of lobbyists: lobbyists are an informal organization, which includes a group of individuals connected by common interests that seek with all available means to pressure decision-makers, with the aim of converting their aspirations, goals, and interests into policies. Meaning that directing public policy to serve its interests; as these interests differ from one group to another according to the goals and activities of each group (Medaoui, 2018, p. 15). 33 Also, these groups differ among themselves from one society to another, in terms of their influence, goals, and degree of influence from one society to another. But they are similar in the methods of pressure used to defend their interests (Medaoui, 2018, p. 15). 2.7. The Characteristics of Pressure Groups (Lobbyists): It is clearly noted that the previously mentioned definitions contain a set of characteristics that characterize pressure groups. These characteristics can be summarized in the following (Medaoui, 2018, p. 30): - Configuration: Lobbyists are represented by a group of individuals, connected by stable relations, goals, and common interests, regardless of their party affiliation. - Organization: Lobbyists are an informal organization that conducts its activities in isolation from the official institutions in the state, but influences and exercises pressure on them until it issues decisions in its interest, and the more organized the group is, the more it enables it to direct decision-makers towards its concerns. - Variety of Activities and Functions: The activities and functions of pressure groups differ among themselves from one group to another. This is because each group has the goals that they aspire, and therefore there is what is called 'the conflict of interests' .Hence, there are some groups who defend the rights of women or defend those with special needs, or even protect the environment and thus its activities is humanitarian. While other groups aspire to obtain material and moral 34 benefits for the owners of one profession. Thus, their activity is a professional one. However, if the group defends certain ideological values, such as preserving the Zionist entity, as is the case with the Zionist lobby, they are political pressure groups whose activities are purely political. - Using Lobbying Campaigns as a Mechanism to Influence Decision Makers: lobbyists practice their influence on decision-makers and depend on that on several methods based on the interest. The degree of pressure and influence varies according to the degree of organization and the availability of resources. - Authority: The main goal of pressure groups is to defend the interests of their members by influencing public authorities, but it is not among their goals to reach power. In a nutshell, talking about pressure groups means the presence of an organization, in which its members defend their interests and those of the groups they represent. This is achieved by pressing the decision-makers without seeking to gain power, and this is the essence of the difference between them and the political parties, whose authority is the primary goal. In other words, it aims to protect the interests of the groups it represents; as it falls within the institutions of civil society, and the term pressure groups are expressed in lobbies in some societies to denote the practice of pressure methods on official bodies in the state (Medaoui, 2018, p. 36). Pressure groups differ in their goals. Some of whom defend political goals or national values, whether local and foreign values. Others defend 35 political and economic goals together, while other groups tend to defend the interests of the owners of one profession, which is preferable to be called interest groups rather than pressure groups. Further, there are groups that defend their goals permanently, while the influence of other groups on decision-makers disappears once the interest that they were searching for is achieved (Medaoui, 2018, p. 36). 2.8. Definition of Public Policies: Public policy interferes with all aspects of the private and public life of citizens. It is well known that the state legislates laws and issues various decisions to regulate the relationship between citizens and the state and citizens and themselves. We say a local public policy, a foreign public policy, and a general policy for women, the environment, poverty, and others. Hence, public policy is linked to the daily life of citizens at all levels (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). The concept of public policy has witnessed an important development. It has received great attention from many political scientists and scholars, through the significance of the state‟s intervention in building the public interest of society. The state‟s authority has been used more effectively in order to respond to the needs and demands of people (Al- Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). During the 1950s and 1960s of the twentieth century, public policy studies had been developed to include various social and economic 36 sciences. So, the public policy was being taught in many schools across the world, which led to the transformation of systems in Western countries from authoritarian systems to democratic ones. At the beginning of the 1970s, there had been an increased interest in the outputs of the political system due to the accumulation of social problems (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 202). During the twenty-first century, researches developed. This led to an increased interest in government institutions and practices. For instance, the role of NGOs and social media lobbying and advocacy campaigns in public policymaking. In addition to the increased involvement of multinational companies and intergovernmental organizations, as well as non- governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations in formulating priorities for public policies and setting their course (Al- Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). William Dunn (2018) defined public policy as: "It is a specific system that the local government in the state seeks to implement and verify the commitment of everyone in it, whether individuals or institutions. It is a government work program that contains a set of rules, which the government is committed to implementing in society. (p. 56) 37 2.9. The Role of Lobbyists in the Formulation of Public Policies: First: Providing Proposals of the Public Policy Pressure groups (Lobbyists) of all kinds often work to present proposals to the public authorities headed by the government and its ministry on some public policies. As in the case in Algeria, where the General Union of Algerian Workers and Independent Trade Unions have their significant impact on an important issue related to the Algerian workers in 2008. For instance, they requested an increase in wages to bring them in line with the purchasing power and the cancellation of Article 87 (bis), and also demanded that they be involved in negotiations on preparing special laws, the system of grants and allowances for various sectors (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 188). Second: Pressure to Eliminate or Maintain a Specific Policy When a policy is not compatible with the interests and orientation of the various interest groups or pressure groups, the pressure groups do everything they could to stop the implementation of such policies. Also, in the reverse situation, when the policies serve the interests of the groups, they do everything in their power to maintain them even if that is inconsistent with the public interest (Medaoui, 2018, p. 22). 38 Political lobbyists are strongly emerging; a lobby for changing or maintaining a specific law; as major corporations finance very important political pressure groups that influence lawmakers. A good living example of which is those lobbyists who emerged for political pressure in the United States of America for the first time( Medaoui, 2018, p. 23) After some economic institutions and groups of similar interests had found themselves far away from influencing the political decision-making mechanism in the US Congress. Hence, lobbies appeared to represent their interests in order to find a position close to the legislators in Washington, with the intention of exercising a kind of pressure and temptations to defend their own interests so that the legislative laws set by the Congress are compatible with those interests (Todd et all., 2018, p. 28). Further, some political pressure groups have huge financial resources at their disposal, and there are many political lobbies in America, one of the most important of which is the "Zionist Lobby", which consists of approximately 34 Jewish political organizations in the United States that make unilateral and joint efforts for their interests in the United States and the interests of Israel. Not forgetting, the notable advocacy and lobbying group committed solely to promoting the US- Israeli relationships, whose name is the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (Martens et al., 2018, p. 4295). 39 Third: Creating Wars of New Kinds The world has begun a new stage of its kind, in which human beings face new wars of a special kind. Those wars were created inside test tubes in laboratories that were developing viruses that now kill human life and put it in front of a biological war that it cannot resist (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). For example, we find the AIDS virus, which started as a virus in monkeys in West Africa and then turned into a deadly virus. A laboratory scientific intervention brought it out of control to turn into one of the deadliest diseases of the era, as well as the "Ebola" virus. Some reports indicate that the lobby of the drugs and arms industry in the world is working to harness the media to intimidate the situation and terrorize the world from the deadly virus to promote vaccines against it. It is the closest scenario to reality; as genetically developed viruses are developed in Western laboratories (Al-Fahdawi, 2016, p. 200). 2.10. The Role of Social Media in Lobbying and Advocacy Campaigns: Social media have increasingly been recognized as an important and effective tool for lobbying and advocacy. The effectiveness of social media as an advocacy tool is a contested topic (Dennis, 2019, p. 22). With the beginning of the twenty-first century and with all the development and progress of human beings in concepts, values, and human 41 thought, despite the speed of communication between nations through information technology and education, this progress was not able to guide the human being to the paths of peace and love, the familiarity between men and women. The phenomenon of violence is one of these manifestations threatening the cognitive achievements that man has achieved over the centuries, especially when he is focused on (women) because of their vulnerability in society (Dennis, 2019, p. 22). Social media has become an essential part of the daily life of the common people in today's world. These sites expanded to play a major role in mobilizing the masses and influencing public opinion on certain social, political, and economic issues. Defenders of human rights were among the first groups that became aware of the importance of social media in the process of change. They sought to take advantage of the free and wide spaces that these platforms provide to them to advocate for the causes they defend. Some of them launched campaigns and digital nicknames that are exclusively active on these platforms, and the majority of them contented themselves with including a digital part of their traditional organizations and campaigns (McPherson, 2017, pp. 279–88.). Many internet science professionals point out that social media represents a great leap for communication through the web, in an interactive way much greater than before. Social media has also provided many opportunities, including sharing information among all network subscribers with the possibilities of direct and free sharing on social sites 41 and at the end of each article or news. It also provided the opportunity for recipients to create their own radio or television programs that they like and follow by providing proposals for the program‟s author, or participate by asking questions of the guest who will be hosted in the program (Grewal & Roggeveen, 2020, pp. 1-8). What social media did with the revolutions that swept the Middle East region and the protests that pervaded many European countries and America is a new addition as these events created the so-called citizen journalist. Accordingly, the person who lives the events tend to photograph or write about them and send what was photographed or written to the media. The media is eager for news from areas, where the correspondents of those media could not enter, either because of the ruling regime for fear of knowing the world about what is happening, or the difficulty of reaching the event, whose time may exceed only minutes (Grewal & Roggeveen, 2020, pp. 1-8). Additionally, social media sites, including Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook among many others platforms, have introduced new convening platforms for organizations to facilitate relationship building and stakeholder engagement. Social media platforms help organizations engage present and potential stakeholders by cooperating, sharing, and mobilizing joint actions in near-real-time. Indeed, social media appears to be an increasingly relevant tool for political and advocacy campaigns (Latifat et al., 2019, pp. 259-281). 42 Advocacy in the field of media is the strategic use of the media by social justice advocates and institutions working in the field of social justice in order to communicate and communicate with large numbers of people in order to achieve progress on the level of a social goal or public policy or in order to change behaviors related to a public issue (Latifat et al., 2019, pp. 259-281). Hence, lobbying and advocacy campaigns, especially via social media, must stem from an issue with a specific problem. Very much like the case with the violence against women, on the basis of which an action plan is drawn up, that identifies the target entities of the responsible addressees and the public supporting this issue or those who are concerned with solving the problem. Then, the plan will be completed by setting the time and place for implementation and specifying the means used to make the campaign successful (Dennis, 2019, p. 22). As what happened in the case of Israa Gharib, where various social media have urged demonstrations to gain her right. Israa Gharib is a Palestinian young woman from the town of Beit Sahour (near Bethlehem). Her story started when a young man proposed to her and ended in a morgue. Then, several accusations of killing her by family members began to appear on social media, but her family had another story. Israa's story turned into an issue of public opinion. Also, feminist organizations, activists, and human rights activists considered that 43 what happened to Israa was a murder committed by her family due to social problems and incitement from relatives. Gharib's death turned into a local and Arab public opinion issue, amid a rejection of the family‟s accounts that spoke of her being “touched by the jinn” or mentally ill. Palestinian women's organizations and activists called on the Palestinian government to reveal the "killers of Israa" and to pass the Family Protection Law. As a matter of fact, Israa is not the only woman, whose murder case became a public opinion issue. Rozan Nasser, Nora Shaker Said, Ahlam, and many other names. In the middle of 2020, the murder of Rozan Nasser went viral on social media; as she was found as a lifeless body in a car in the Beitunia industrial area near Ramallah. In the shocking details reported by social media pioneers, Rozan had gone out with her fiancé Ahmed Abu Kweik to buy Eid clothes, but when they left their home, he suffocated her with a handkerchief until she died. Then, he left her in the car in that area and fled until he was found and arrested. Nora, who was 24 years old when she was killed, is the daughter of a separate father and mother, and she is also the mother of a small child. Her husband had divorced her, so she was forced to live in her family's home, where her ex-husband took her son from her. In her father‟s house, Nora was subjected to harsh violence on a continuous daily basis, but that did not seem sufficient for the father who wanted to get rid of his daughter forever. 44 The father's answer: “Nora ran away to her mother.” At other times, he says, “I put her in a mental hospital” in Bethlehem. As Israa, Nora, and others, the issue of Ahlam shook the social networking sites, topping the Hashtag "Screams of Ahlam" on the list of most popular searches in Jordan on "Twitter". Social media platforms of all kinds were also full of a video clip filmed at night, in which we can hear the cries of Ahlam while she was crying out. The story began after the Jordanians woke up to a horrific murder, as a father smashed his daughter‟s head with a stone until she died in front of the residents in the Safut area in the Balqa governorate, west of the capital Amman. The strange thing in Ahlma's case is that after the accused father was arrested, information was spread on social media that the responsible authorities had ignored previous complaints submitted by the victim stating that she had been subjected to domestic violence and that they were content with the family signing of pledges only. It should be borne in mind that lobbying and advocacy campaigns are a double-edged sword. They could be an effective tool for democratic practices, whether used in political or social issues. In case they are developed and planned by well-known and nationally targeted parties with the participation of an audience that has sufficient awareness to play this role. Or that they would take a form of pure exploitation from those involved in it to pass either private or suspicious agendas and practices in 45 which the mass of supporters are exploited due to lack of proper understanding and experience. Most importantly, the campaign's advocate should realize the dimensions of the issue or problem that it is working to support. So, it touches on one aspect of its understanding and awareness and the process of adopting this issue becomes part of its personal faith. This conscience reassures before it embarks on advocacy procedures through searching for facts and legal aspects and opinions on such a problem or issue. It is not subject to exploitation by another party or legal prosecution if it violates the law. Therefore, the Palestinian people should learn to use such effective tools. Besides, they have to ask the competent authorities to provide the necessary guidance in order to participate in national issues and defend the homeland and the citizen, in addition to defending the rights of women. At the top of the priorities are the Palestinian women and the violence that they may be exposed to, either from their families' context or from the external environment. 2.11. Literature Review: During the preparation for this study, many studies have been scrutinized and discussed in this chapter on the literature in academia about the tackled topic. The studies directly touched upon the research topic in they are organized in chronological order as follows. 46 The Researcher worked during the preparation of this study to see many previous studies and literature, and they are arranged based on the chronological order. Minckas, Shannon , and Mannell (2020) aimed at identifying the role of participation and community mobilization in preventing violence against girls and women. The researchers in their study tried to encourage communities to mobilize against gender violence. Indeed, the researchers shed light on community participation as a strategy for preventing violent crimes against women and girls. Minckas, Shannon, and Mannell (2020) theoretical approach was based on two well-recognized theories of participation and community mobilization – Rifkin and Pridmore‟s continuum of participation and Freire‟s steps towards achieving critical consciousness, in order to clarify theoretical assumptions about how participation can mobilize the community to reduce and prevent violent crimes against women and girls. The researchers concluded that the role of external agents in introducing programs needs to be secondary to the ownership and empowerment of communities in designing and delivering their own strategies for violent crimes against women and girls prevention. Theories of participation and community mobilization shed light on understanding male and female patterns, deconstructing gender stereotypes, and creating a societal impact to overcome obstacles that contribute to the 47 spread of stereotypes in social roles and family care, which indirectly play in reducing violence against women. De Bruycker (2019) aimed at identifying whether and under what circumstances a presence in news media debates helps advocacy groups to achieve their policy goals in the European Union (EU) legislative politics. The study sample consisted of more than 200 policy practitioners. The study is based on interviewing those policy practitioners and content analysis of 3,557 media statements connected to a sample of 125 EU policy proposals. The results of the study indicated that an advocacy group‟s media presence could improve preference attainment only when that group wants to frame its aims in the news as aligned with the public interest. The researcher recommended the use of personal communication in the political processes; as it can support or compete with the media in setting the agenda of the public. Further, social processes affect the public's judgments about the importance of an issue or person. Personal contact also enhances the influence of the media's agenda on the issues covered extensively, while it can compete with the media's agenda with regard to the issues covered to a lesser extent. Figenschou and Fredheim (2019) focused on identifying four forms of networked advocacy and analyzing them with regard to platforms, activities, purposes, and constituencies. The study sample consisted of 43 semi-structured elite interviews with interest group leaders (28 leaders) and heads of communication (15 interviewees). The researchers, based on their 48 interviews, concluded that the interest groups always tend to choose the most appropriate platforms, which is widely used by the audience; the platform which significantly affects the target audiences. Further, such groups find Facebook platform a beneficial one, so as group resources make a difference and influence networked advocacy and lobbying. Furthermore, some of the interviews believe that the Twitter platform constitutes an effective one for lobbying, due to the fact that it affords the ability to communicate directly with decision-makers. This study was built on the Agenda-Setting theory. For instance, it shed light on the fact that the media address issues of mutual interest and target audience, with the importance of focusing on general events in the surrounding environment, in order to achieve and form a social discourse. Consequently, the researchers of the study have reached conclusions that confirm the ability of social media platforms to influence the public's agenda. Johansson and Scaramuzzino (2019) aimed at identifying the role of the Internet and social media in providing and offering new platforms for advocacy. The researchers shed light on digital advocacy by combining interest group and social media studies and present the notions of digital protest politics, digital access politics, and digital information politics for a comprehensive analysis of digital advocacy. The study sample consisted of semi-structured interviews with individuals who had been involved in social media and media communication. 49 Three interviews were conducted for IF Metall (two communicators and one representative for the labor movement with great experience of and knowledge on media and communication) and two interviews for the sex workers‟ rights movement (they had been engaged in different organizations, networks, blogs, and projects within the movement). The bulk of empirical material that this study is based on consists mainly of documentation from websites and social media, including texts, photos, video-clips, animations, and audio files. The researchers systematically followed IF Metall, that is, a trade union in Sweden formed as a result of a merger between the Swedish Industrial Union and the Swedish Metalworkers` Union. The researchers concluded that the Internet and social media form key parts of groups‟ advocacy strategies. Besides that, the main purpose of online advocacy strategies is to gain political presence; as advocacy groups are absolutely engaged in seeking to influence governments, civil servants, and the wider public. This study was built on the Agenda-Setting theory. For instance, this study is concerned with the means of mass communication; as it focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the media and the masses that are exposed to these means in determining the priorities of political, economic, and social issues of concern to society, and which are the subject of interest of broad sectors of its components. Medaoui (2019) aimed at identifying the role of pressure groups or lobbyists in formulating the public policies in different political systems. 51 This study relied on the case study approach and the survey approach, where the researcher used a questionnaire of (30) questions distributed to public relations practitioners and officials in civil society organizations in Maghreb countries and Algeria. The researcher in this study concluded that the phenomenon of groups, in general, is an ancient phenomenon, whose primary concerns revolved around economic and financial interests, and their scope did not extend beyond family or familial interests. As for pressure groups, in their modern sense, they are interest groups in the form of an organization that seeks to pressure the government apparatus or members of parliament in order to achieve a specific economic, social or political interest. Further, this type of group emerged in the United States of America and Western European societies in particular, where the democratic climate contributed to their emergence and the strengthening of their influence and the multiplicity of their types. As for Morocco and Algeria in particular, the influence of this type of group hardly goes beyond the stage of elections, which indicates the fragility of the political bond, the interest among the group‟s members, and the weak level of recruitment among its members. The researcher recommended that the lobbyists or pressure groups should deal with the civil society organizations, through which they work more on finding creative solutions in order to demand the opening of the space for negotiations with policymakers to ensure that space is provided for the exercise of basic rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom of 51 association and organizations, freedom of peaceful assembly and demanding change. In a nutshell, the capacities of civil society organizations in the advocacy process should be developed for an open and free civil space, as well as searching together for creative and effective alternatives, in order to overcome crises and challenges resulting from limited resources and increased risks. Al-Turkmani (2018) aimed at identifying the Palestinian political pressure groups that affect the state‟s authorities and political system, and explaining the importance of their role to promote good governance. The researcher in this study used the Analytical Method through extrapolation and analysis of the most important Palestinian legislation that organizes the work of political pressure groups, in addition to the use of literature review and content theory. Content theory can be defined as the earliest theories regarding the concept of motivation. It identifies the reasons for motivating the individual, meaning that it interprets the necessities and requirements necessary to motivate a person, such as the need for achievement, belonging, and authority. The researcher concluded that the political pressure exerted by the pressure groups is considered one of the most important ways to guarantee the participation of all sectors of the Palestinian people in the political decision-making process and the promotion of good governance. The researcher reached many recommendations; the most important of which 52 was that the call of the Palestinian National Authority should to agree its political system with the constitutional principles contained in the Basic Law, especially that guarantee the formation of political parties and civil society institutions, as well as the freedom of expression of public opinion on the ground, and the need to expedite the issuance of the Palestinian Political Parties Law. Cochrane and Birhanu (2018) aimed at identifying the pathways of legal advocacy for change. The researchers in this study shed light on the activities of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), given the fact that it has a significant role in changing the Family Law and making important progress to removing aspects of the law that discriminated against women. Qualitative methods are used in the study; the available literature has been utilized and a limited number of interviews have been conducted with eight current and former members of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association. These interviews were held either in-person in Ethiopia, or through calls and virtually for some former members who have left Ethiopia. This study is built upon diverse theories of change, which have an application to the case study of the advocacy undertaken by EWLA for changing the Family Law. The researchers concluded that legal advocacy has a transformative and significant impact on the lives of the most vulnerable, particularly women. 53 Theories of social progress stem from the diverse theories of change. Accordingly, the study is based on its view of social change as moving in an ascending line, meaning that change is progressive and that societies are in constant progress. This in turn contributed to the establishment of the idea of modern democracy. Müller and Tranchant (2017) aimed at identifying and investigating the relationship between political violence and violence against women in the context of the Gaza Strip. The study was conducted by using Quantitative data (the data of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics of 2011), with the help of both the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), GBV-WG network, and UNOCHA, as well as the qualitative strand working with local and international institutions in the Gaza Strip. Besides that, this study has used the literature review and content analysis, in addition to interviews and focus group discussions with the women and girls in shelters and staff of women‟s organizations, police officials, and lawyers. The researchers concluded that there is a significant relationship between the political violence and the domestic violence among women and girls in the Gaza Strip. Women in the Arab region in general, and in Palestine in particular, have been subjected to the most horrific types of violence resulting from political conflicts, which include, as a whole, killing, injury, disability, torture, and suffering from social and economic disintegration, as well as their psychological suffering from the effects of violence before, during 54 and after the war, and while fleeing from combat zones. In a nutshell, Arab women are exposed to the most horrific types of violence, whether it is under the Israeli occupation or armed conflicts. Gan (2016) aimed at identifying and examining various gratifications and other factors that influence the choice of audiences of the different social media platforms. The study tool (data collection tool) used in this study was survey questionnaires. The sample of the study consisted of 398 respondents; 201 of whom used Sina Weibo; 197 of whom used WeChat. The results of the study indicated that what is called "hedonic gratification" plays a very significant role in affecting the use of Sina Weibo than that of WeChat. "Hedonic gratification" means the perceived real excitement and passing time. This intrinsic concept relates to aesthetic, experiential, and advantages related to pleasure or enjoyment. The study was built on the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). This theory is based on the fact that the individuals' use of media brings them intended goals that fulfill their aspiration, and that the public is an effective component of the communication process. Kang (2015) focused on the policy role of social media in developing public trust via Twitter communication with government leaders. The main aim of this study is to identify the role of social media, especially the Twitter platform; as the Government uses it in order to communicate with the public. The data collection tool used in this study is the questionnaire; as about 398 questionnaire samples were collected from Korean citizens 55 who communicate with a central government department via Twitter and employed a structured equation analysis. The findings of this study indicated that tweets coming from a leading (or an executive) government officer (e.g., a minister) played mediation role in increasing citizens‟ perception of credibility in governmental Twitter feed. Furthermore, the citizens‟ trust in governmental media functioned as a moderator for expanding their trust in government from an agency level to the overall government. Qadri (2015) aimed at studying the role of pressure groups (lobbyists) in the process of public policy formulation. The researcher concluded at the end of her study that all the methods, mechanisms, and functions that the lobbyists perform are nothing but attempts by these groups to succeed in persuading the public authorities or decision-makers to respond to their demands in any way, even if they have comprehensive goals for large groups of society. With that said, the boundaries of their work must be set, taking into consideration that they are a group that includes a group of individuals to defend their own rights and the rights of those they represent. This is because the democratic system is the one that grants the right to expression and participation in the decision-making process; as it is not permissible to marginalize and suppress them so that the political system does not move away from democracy as a result of the monopoly of public policy for one group at the expense of another. 56 It is worth mentioning here that the researcher in this study considers the public policy as an imperative set to complete the role of citizenship in the broad social life, and it is the government's way of expressing its action, activity, and existence. He also described the government as a mixture of goals, aspirations, and programs, as well as ideas, centers, buildings, symbols, relationships, and evidence. This study assumes that the media cannot present all the topics and issues that fall into the community. Rather, those in charge choose topics that are highly focused on, and control their nature and content. These topics gradually interest people and make them realize and think about them. Consequently, these topics represent relatively more importance to the masses than topics that are not reported by the media; this is assumed by the theory of agenda-setting. Guo and Saxton (2014) aimed at analyzing the unique features and dynamics of social media-based advocacy and identifying new organizational practices and forms of communication here to fore unseen in the literature. The data collection tool used in this study is the questionnaire, and the study sample consisted of 188 “Civil Rights and Advocacy” organizations. The researchers concluded that the Twitter platform is the most powerful communication tool and an especially major tool for the approaches of public education. Further, they provided a model called 57 "social media-based advocacy", which aims to describe how social media functions specifically vary with the stage of the advocacy process. 2.12. Summary of Comments on Previous Studies: All reviewed studies focused on social media campaigns, advocacy groups and lobbyists, and their role in formulating public policies in various issues and in different countries around the globe. Also, they focused and shed light on the role of online advocacy and lobbying campaigns that take place through the media and on the strategic use of the media by advocates of social justice and institutions working in the field of social justice in order to communicate with large numbers of people so as to make progress on the level of social goals, public policies, or even changes in behaviors related to an important public issue (crime violence against women). The studies of (Bruycker, 2019; Guo and Saxton, 2014; Kang, 2015; Gan, 2016) are similar in terms of the data collecting tool, which is the questionnaire tool that was used in all the previously mentioned studies in order to reach the results. As for the studies of (Müller and Tranchant, 2017; Cochrane and Birhanu, 2018; Johansson and Scaramuzzino, 2019; Figenschou and Fredheim, 2019; Bruycker, 2019; Minckas, Shannon, and Mannell, 2020), they are similar to the current study in terms of adopting the interview as the data collecting tool. The study of Cochrane and Birhanu (2018) was built upon diverse theories of change, which have an 58 application to the case study of the advocacy undertaken by EWLA for changing the Family Law. As for the content, some studies, such as the study of Guo and Saxton (2014), Kang (2015), Johansson and Scaramuzzino (2019), and Figenschou and Fredheim (2019) intersects and correlated with the researcher's current study in the fact that the previously mentioned studies focused on the role of social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter), which were both used as powerful communication tools, as well as for the approaches of public education. In light of the reviewing studies, the researcher noticed that the mechanism for influencing politicians in adopting an issue and in particular to support or oppose specific legislation is based on that collective effort to consolidate an issue or idea. This is done through persuading influential people from political legislators, officials, religious scholars, and others in the case, as well as urging them to support it by adopting and defending it in the official channels and structures. In order to achieve the desired goals through persuasion and influence, it is necessary to study the power centers in society, identify the interests and powers of influential people and politicians and the circumstances surrounding them, and then draw an integrated and practical plan commensurate with the social reality in which it operates. 59 The current study is special and unique in addressing the role of advocacy and lobbying campaigns in formulating public policies regarding violent crimes against women. This study that will be conducted by the researcher intersects with some partials of the previous studies, such as the effective role played by news media debates, which helps advocacy groups to achieve their policy goals. In addition to the significant role of pressure groups (lobbyists) in the process of public policy formulation (especially in the case of those policies, which are related to crimes of violence against women). As far as the researcher knows, what distinguishes the current study from the reviewing studies is that it is the first study in Palestine that investigates the Priming, and Agenda Setting theories. This study examines in the first place the position of the agenda or the arrangement of interests and direction of an important issue, namely, the mass media, the issues that they think about, and focus on the personalities and events that the audience thinks about. Other studies, such as the study of Qadri (2015), Al- Turkmani (2018) intersects with the researcher's view that lobbying and advocacy campaigns through social media have a significant role in affecting the public, and encouraging them to participate in public policy and decision-making process. 2.13. Summary of Comments on Previous Studies: In this section, the re