The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for DV-LAW-2

Nov. 4, 2026, 8:53 p.m.
Countries: Denmark
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, LRW-LAW-1, LRW-LAW-2, LRCM-PRACTICE-1, LRCM-LAW-2, DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“Danish law criminalized rape of a person, regardless of gender, including spousal rape and domestic violence. Penalties for rape included imprisonment for up to 12 years for aggravated circumstances and up to six years for domestic violence. Greenlandic law criminalized rape. Greenland’s Criminal Code did not specify minimum and maximum penalties, and sentences were decided by the court on a case-by-case basis. The law was applied equally regardless of the marital relationship of the offender and the survivor. The law provided that sentencing be based on the severity of the case as well as an individual evaluation of the offender. Sentencing was typically between 12 and 18 months. Denmark and...more
Nov. 4, 2026, 8:50 p.m.
Countries: Czech Republic
Variables: DV-LAW-2

“Domestic violence was punishable by up to four years in prison, with longer sentences in aggravated circumstances. Police had the authority to remove violent abusers from their homes for 10 days. The law stated a removal order could remain in effect for up to six months, including extensions. The government generally enforced the law effectively...The government supported shelters and NGOs working with survivors. It also funded a widely used hotline for gender-based violence crimes, including domestic violence. The government trained police officers on responding to domestic violence” (19).
Nov. 4, 2026, 8:41 p.m.
Countries: Cyprus
Variables: DV-LAW-2

“The law also criminalized domestic violence, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The government generally enforced the law effectively, although many cases went unreported” (33). “Media outlets and NGOs criticized the Social Welfare Services for providing insufficient support to survivors of domestic violence. There were three shelters for survivors of domestic violence, each funded primarily by the government and operated by SPAVO. The government also funded the SPAVO-operated Women’s Home, a one-stop facility in Nicosia where women survivors of gender-based violence, including sexual assault, and their children were provided with medical, legal, and psychological services, while also having the opportunity to provide testimony to police. Police conducted...more
Oct. 27, 2026, 11:59 a.m.
Countries: Canada
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"“But not just arresting the individual. We have to make sure the individual goes through training to understand what they did is not right. It’s absolutely the only way to stop this. If we don’t educate them, then the cycle just continues"" (27).
Oct. 18, 2026, 8:16 p.m.
Countries: Solomon Islands
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-2

"Constable Adi told us that while abusive men can be issued with a notice to cease contact for 21 days, many female victims will return to the station later asking to have their complaint withdrawn, often for financial reasons. “If the [offender] is the sole breadwinner, and they stay apart from each other for 21 days, who’ll provide for the family?”" (para 73-74)
Oct. 16, 2026, 11:01 p.m.
Countries: Costa Rica
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“The law prohibited domestic violence and provided measures for the protection of domestic violence survivors. Criminal penalties for conviction ranged from 10 to 100 days in prison for aggravated threats and up to 35 years in prison for aggravated homicide, including sentences of 20 to 35 years for persons who killed their partners. The government enforced the law effectively” (15).
Oct. 16, 2026, 10:59 p.m.
Countries: Congo
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“The law prohibited domestic violence, with maximum penalties including prison terms and hard labor. The government took steps to enforce the law but was impeded by low reporting due to societal pressure on survivors to stay silent. According to court system observers, most of the reported cases were filed by women who had since left the country or who usually lived abroad” (20).
Oct. 15, 2026, 10:30 p.m.
Countries: Comoros
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“The law treated domestic violence as an aggravating circumstance, including crimes committed by one domestic partner against an existing or former partner. Penalties include prison sentences up to five years and fines. Authorities sometimes enforced the law. According to the United Nations and the Ministry of Health, approximately 17 percent of women endured at least one incident of physical or sexual violence in their lives” (15).
Oct. 15, 2026, 10:18 p.m.
Countries: Chile
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“The law criminalized some forms of physical and psychological domestic violence. Family courts handled cases of domestic violence not defined in the criminal code, including psychological and economic violence, and penalized offenders with fines and other sanctions, such as eviction of the offender from the residence shared with the survivor, restraining orders, confiscation of firearms, and court-ordered counseling. Cases of habitual psychological abuse and physical abuse were prosecuted in the criminal justice system. Penalties were based on the gravity of injuries and ranged from 61 days’ to 15 years’ imprisonment. Murder in the context of domestic violence was defined as femicide in the criminal code, and penalties ranged from 15...more
Oct. 15, 2026, 10:05 p.m.
Countries: Central African Rep
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

“Although the law did not specifically mention spousal abuse, it prohibited violence against women and provided for penalties of up to 10 years in prison. Domestic violence against women was common, including physical and verbal abuse and spousal rape. Domestic violence prosecutions were rare, but the Bangui Court of Appeal during the year heard a case brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding a fatality from spousal abuse” (31).
Oct. 15, 2026, 8:05 p.m.
Countries: Ukraine
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Domestic violence was criminalized in Ukraine in 2019; while certain cases could be prosecuted before then, the punishment was mainly fines and community service" (para 14). "She said the police helped her leave two years ago" (para 32).
Aug. 29, 2026, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: Czech Republic
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"A broader circle of persons who can become victims of domestic violence is also newly defined. This definition reflects the actual groups of people who realistically become victims. The victim can be a person who lives or lived with the person committing domestic violence in a common household, or a person whose household the person committing domestic violence repeatedly and long-term visits, a close person or one who was formerly such, or a parent of a common child or one who exercises parental responsibility with the person committing domestic violence. The amendment thus intentionally deviates from the concept of violence "within four walls." It responds to violence committed by persons...more
Aug. 29, 2026, 11:36 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: DV-LAW-1, DV-LAW-2

"Disturbing clauses state that 'slave masters,' or husbands, can give out physical punishments to their wives or subordinates. Meanwhile, if a religious scholar or member of the elite commit an offense, the consequence is limited to advice or a court summons. For the middle class the same crime can result in imprisonment, while the 'lower class' faces both corporal punishment and imprisonment" (para 2-4). "According to the code, corporal punishment for serious crimes will be carried out by Islamic clerics, but encourages husbands to give out 'discretionary punishments' to their wives for less serious misdemeanors. Regarding violence against women, Article 32 states that only if the husband beats the woman...more
July 13, 2026, 7:06 p.m.
Countries: Norway
Variables: LRW-LAW-2, DV-LAW-2

"In many ways, the case of Marius Borg Høiby, who was sentenced to four years in prison last week after being found guilty of offences including domestic violence and two counts of rape, was exceptional" (para 1).
April 28, 2026, 9:45 p.m.
Countries: Solomon Islands
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Constable Adi told us that while abusive men can be issued with a notice to cease contact for 21 days, many female victims will return to the station later asking to have their complaint withdrawn, often for financial reasons" (Para 62). While the law has consequences for domestic violence, this suggests victims don't usually have the resources to go through with it and get justice (CODER COMMENT-JS).
Dec. 19, 2025, 1:37 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Domestic abuse protection orders will be rolled out across England and Wales,placing mandatory curfews, electronic tagging, exclusion zones and notificationrequirements on abusers, with offenders who break orders facing up to five years in jail" (6).
Oct. 17, 2025, 6:59 a.m.
Countries: Azerbaijan
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"[D]omestic violence law also emphasizes the need to provide protection for survivors and determines the procedure for obtaining a restraining order. Short-term restraining orders are issued by relevant executive bodies and long-term protection orders are issued by the courts. However, violation of a restraining order does not create an aggravating circumstance for domestic-violence cases in court" (Para 13). "The Code of Administrative Offenses states that individuals who fail “to comply with the lawful requirements of the bailiff in connection with the execution of court and other bodies’ decisions … shall be fined 500 to 1,000 Azerbaijani manat [about $294 to $588 US], or be placed in administrative detention from ten...more
Oct. 3, 2025, 3:34 p.m.
Countries: Ukraine
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Domestic violence was criminalized in Ukraine in 2019; while certain cases could be prosecuted before then, the punishment was mainly fines and community service" (para. 13).
April 3, 2025, 9:02 p.m.
Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"In 2018, governmental institutions of Brčko District adopted the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence and adopted Protocol on Cooperation and Procedures in Cases of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, aimed to ensure improvements in systemic response on VAW/DV. However, although newly adopted domestic violence law of Brčko District introduces urgent protection measures (a. removal of a perpetrator from an apartment, house, or other common living space, and b. order of restricting approach and communication of perpetrator to a victim) and protection measures (a. removal of a perpetrator from an apartment, house, or other common living space, b. order of restricting approach of perpetrator to a victim, c. prohibition...more
March 19, 2025, 10:12 p.m.
Countries: Iraq
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"There are also several issues with the [Kurdistan] Domestic Violence law itself. For example, it does not allow third parties to file complaints on behalf of victims, and some of the penalties in the law for acts of violence carried out by family members are lighter than the penalties prescribed for similar types of violence in the Iraqi Penal Code. A series of amendments to the law drafted by civil society organizations and think tanks have been presented to parliament, but have yet to be passed" (3).
March 5, 2025, 8:35 p.m.
Countries: Ecuador
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"In 2019, the Secretariat for Human Rights issued procedural regulations for ordering immediate administrative protection measures, which include the general guidelines for their implementation, taking into account services related to first reception, receipt of applications, authorizations, notifications, referral to the judicial branch and follow-up. In 2019 the Ministry of the Interior issued a procedural manual for parish commissioners entitled 'Managing the Authorization of Immediate Administrative Protection Measures to Stop and Prevent Violence against Women'. The Ministry of the Interior issued instructions to the National Police entitled 'Police operations for the execution of urgent actions and immediate administrative protection measures to stop and prevent violence against women'. The granting of immediate...more
March 3, 2025, 9:03 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, the creation of more than 2,000 family divisions and centres in courts, and the provision for protection orders and victim support services in the law of administrative penalties and criminal liability. However, the Committee is concerned that the stated objective of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law is harmonious relations between family members rather than the security of women and family members, and that a small percentage of all domestic violence reported to the police result in restraining orders, endangering the security of women and the family. It further notes with concern:... (b) The lack of capacity-building for the judiciary, the police,...more
Feb. 26, 2025, 8:40 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Cho Byul Me, a former smuggler from North Hamkyung province who left North Korea in 2014, explained that she sometimes had to run away from her house when her husband started beating her up, but had nowhere to go. 'Eventually I’d just have to go back home and wait outside the door sometimes in the bitter cold, under the snow or the rain, until I’d think he had fallen asleep,' she said. 'I had nowhere to go and I would have left him if I had anywhere to go'" (par. 6).
Feb. 12, 2025, 7:04 p.m.
Countries: Pakistan
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Pakistan (and many other countries around the globe) have tried to address these problems with women's police stations staffed by women. In July, Saleem established a new kind of facility in Gujranwala: a Women's Enclave. Decorated with pink and purple couches, it provides a safe space for women to file complaints informally before contacting a police station and assits victims with counseling and getting a lawyer" (par .4).
Feb. 8, 2025, 12:26 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Amina Haji Elmi, director of the Mogadishu-based advocacy group Save Somali Women and Children, said, 'Somali women, alongside others, have been living in the war-ravaged country. They were victimised by both natural disasters and man-caused problems. Currently, women are facing many challenges; among them are lack of support and poverty. They do not get protection and support after incidents'" (par. 6-7).
Feb. 6, 2025, 7:05 p.m.
Countries: Morocco
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"New protective measures have been adopted. The spouse committing the violation is removed. The perpetrator is warned to desist in cases where threats are made, and forced to pledge not to commit violations. Nursing women are returned with the child they are nursing to the home. The perpetrator is prohibited from being in the vicinity of the victim or her home, and notified that he is prohibited from spending the couple’s joint finances, and so on" (48). "Judges have become firmly convinced that domestic violence can be documented by a variety of means, including doctor’s certificates, photographs, exams and a variety of other available evidence" (49).
Jan. 25, 2025, 12:56 p.m.
Countries: Cote D'Ivoire
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-2

"In 2021, the Ivorian government adopted measures to protect victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual violence in general, including establishing emergency protection orders. It also ended the requirement for a victim to supply medical certificates, and introduced training for gendarmes and police officers on gender-based violence" (para 16).
Jan. 9, 2025, 4:08 p.m.
Countries: Kyrgyzstan
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"Instead of two types of orders, namely, a temporary protection order and a court order, a single protection order has been introduced. For the first time, plans have been made to introduce re-education programmes for perpetrators of violence with the goal of changing their violent behaviour" (13).
Jan. 9, 2025, 10:38 a.m.
Countries: South Sudan
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-LAW-2, DTCP-PRACTICE-1, DTCP-LAW-1

"For women, customary laws tend to prevail, with rape cases - where reported - handled by community elders. Impunity for perpetrators is also due to a weak legal system, consisting of a mixture of formal and customary laws"`
Jan. 8, 2025, 3:34 p.m.
Countries: Tajikistan
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"From 2019 to the first half of 2022, the centre for training of judges under the Supreme Court of Tajikistan has provided ongoing training for judges on prevention of domestic violence and assistance to victims of violence, the State programme for prevention of domestic violence in Tajikistan for 2014–2023, the national strategy for the promotion of women in Tajikistan for 2015–2020 and the national strategy for the promotion of women’s role in Tajikistan for 2021–2030. In 2019 these training workshops were attended by 176 judges and 58 trainee judges and court officials. With the support of the international organization GOPA, 72 judges and 77 court officials were trained on the...more