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Tue, Jul 15, 2025 | Muharram 20, 1447 | Fajr 04:10 | DXB 
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Hope and Healing Across Borders: A Shared Duty to Survivors of Domestic Violence
LSF last year supported 271 new women and 63 new children, in addition to the ongoing care it provides to more than 600 survivors
There are few honours greater than being entrusted with the role of supporting those who have faced hardship with courage and resilience. I have been engaged with Léa Solidarité Femmes (LSF) since 2021, an association dedicated to offering refuge, guidance, and empowerment to women and children survivors of abuse. Recently named marraine — a term that in French signifies a godmother, someone who offers support and guidance with compassion and care — I view this role not only as a privilege but as a continued commitment to stand alongside these women and children, wherever I may be, including from my home in Abu Dhabi.
Founded in 2009 by Patricia Rouff, LSF last year supported 271 new women and 63 new children, in addition to the ongoing care it provides to more than 600 survivors. From my own experience working abroad, I have seen how travel can offer perspective, healing, and the opportunity for meaningful connection.
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Abu Dhabi, known for its safety and hospitality, offers not only remarkable landscapes and cultural richness but also the space to reflect, reconnect and reset. Abu Dhabi served as a place of welcome and care for 25 women and children from LSF, offering a meaningful pause on their journey towards healing. I am deeply grateful to Patricia for embracing this initiative, and moved by the impact it has had. As she recently shared with me, “In addition to the fact that this wonderful trip allowed these families to discover incredible landscapes and cultural sites, which they likely would never have had the opportunity to see, it above all restored their self-confidence and strengthened their self-esteem. Domestic violence infringes upon the integrity of women and children. This magnificent gift has been restorative, providing them with all the necessary strength to start a new, more peaceful life.”
Even before our visitors had returned to France, scenes from their trip garnered attention on social media from other women in the region who were inspired to join the cause. It is in the spirit of this connectivity that I am delighted to announce a new partnership with Sayyida Basma AlSaid of Oman, a trailblazer in the fields of mental health and wellness. She is the founder of the Not Alone Awareness campaign promoting more engaged public dialogue around mental wellbeing. Her Muscat clinic, Whispers of Serenity Clinic, is the first of its kind in Oman, offering therapeutic services centred around community engagement, compassion and creativity.
Sayyida Basma has generously pledged to extend this holistic care approach to the women of LSF. This will include individual and group online therapy sessions with dedicated professionals, with the potential to further develop this programming over the long term.
When Sayyida Basma and I first began brainstorming how we could most effectively join forces, I couldn’t help but feel invigorated by her conviviality, which underscored an infectious passion that aligns with my own. Sayyida Basma is a clinical therapist and PTSD trainer, while my undergraduate degree is in psychology. We both agree that even though tackling the issue of domestic violence — which exists in every culture and society — requires emergency intervention, the lasting effects extend beyond the danger of a victim’s immediate circumstances.
To empower women to break free from cycles of abuse, we must think about what comes after this essential first step of getting them to safety. Recovery takes time, and mental health care is a crucial part of that journey. In Sayyida Basma I have found a collaborator whose leadership in this regard I admire tremendously. We both deeply understand that many women remain in survival mode long after abuse ends, and that their emotional scars take longer to fade.
“In our region, the stigma surrounding mental health prevents people from seeking the care they need. This work with Ambassador Al Otaiba and LSF is, first and foremost, about opening a conversation, and one that can save lives. Because we cannot see how domestic violence survivors are impacted mentally in the same way that we can see bruises on the body, this part of the healing process is at risk of being overlooked,” Sayyida Basma said, adding that Whispers of Serenity Clinic will offer LSF further space, resources and professional support required for survivors to reclaim their futures.
This partnership reflects a broader vision of regional solidarity spearheaded by women leaders collaborating across borders to uplift those impacted by domestic violence. It also marks the latest in a series of existing and impactful connections forged among myself and others championing this cause. The trip to Abu Dhabi was made possible by the engagement of the UAE-based publishing house Mazara Edition. Having worked with its founder Caterina Lo Mascolo Minthe to publish the book — Majlon - Building Bridges Through Diplomacy — whereby I underscored women empowerment and specifically, the efforts of LSF, I reached out to her about expanding these ambitions beyond the page.
What started as Mazara Edition hosting memorable events in France such as a countryside luncheon and a Paris Olympics-inspired hot air balloon ride for some of the women of LSF and their children, evolved into the large-scale organisation of the UAE trip. Lo Mascolo Minthe’s intimate knowledge and understanding of the association through monthly visits to its headquarters allowed for the development of an itinerary tailored to facilitating awe-inspiring moments and healing. Excursions to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Abrahamic Family House, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the desert were accompanied by a talk with Vogue Arabia head of editorial content Manuel Arnaut. These events invited attendees to see parts of themselves reflected in one another, thus establishing a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves and their pasts.
Since then, I have been, and continue to be, the humble recipient of letters from these women. “For many years I lived with my children in extremely difficult situations to a point where I never thought I would escape. And luckily, I was made aware of Léa solidarité, which has today become our second family. Thanks to them, I have regained my confidence and they are a resource for me and my children in everything that we do,” wrote one survivor. “This trip allowed me to rediscover what is essential, and to get back the courage that I sometimes lacked to turn a page in my life and move forward,” shared a second. Another turned to song to express her sentiments, performing personal lyrics that rang like an anthem of resilience. I was also offered the necklace worn by a woman during her visit to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Every day, these female survivors remind me how the greatest gifts in life are those whose preciousness cannot be quantified.
Theirs are the transformative experiences that fuel my purpose as an advocate for women empowerment. My commitment to improving the lives of those impacted by violence in what should be the safety of their own homes is not something cultivated out of obligation, but out of human connection and compassion.
I invite fellow leaders and institutions to stand with us, and to join us in creating and implementing programmes that respond to what women and children survivors truly need: long-term care, mental health support, and dignified reintegration. When we come together to launch coordinated initiatives guided by compassion, we can reshape not only systems, but a better future for all women. Let this partnership between the UAE, Oman, and LSF be a model for what’s possible.
Hend Al Otaiba is the former ambassador to France and advocate for women empowerment.
Hend Al Otaiba
Hend Al Otaiba is an Emirati government official who served as the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to France from 2019 to 2024.
Prior to that, she served as Director of Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation between 2019 and 2021, and Advisor for Media Affairs between 2017 and 2019. Before joining the Ministry Al Otaiba served as Director of Strategic Communications at Abu Dhabi Media Company between 2012 and 2017, and Director of Communications at the Tourism Development and Investment Company between 2008 and 2012.
Al Otaiba holds a master’s degree in security studies in 2019 from the National Defense College in the UAE, and a master’s degree in marketing, management and communications in 2011 from the Sorbonne University in France.
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