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

Latest items for DV-PRACTICE-1

Feb. 20, 2024, 6:27 p.m.
Countries: D R Congo
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[There is] limited access to justice and reparations by women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence and [a] lack of sanctions imposed on the perpetrators" (8).
Jan. 29, 2024, 5:50 p.m.
Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[A]ll forms of gender-based violence against women, including domestic violence, are [not] duly investigated and prosecuted… [P]erpetrators are [not] adequately punished and victims [do not] have access to appropriate redress, including compensation" (8).
Jan. 22, 2024, 6:37 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-2

"The film crew found some women had committed suicide by setting themselves on fire or drinking bleach to escape domestic violence after the Taliban, which swept back into power in September last year" (para 30). "This quote suggests that suggests there is a lack of laws/enforcement of them and reluctance to report" (EV-Coder Comment).
Jan. 16, 2024, 6:33 p.m.
Countries: Botswana
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The 2013 Baseline Study on Gender revealed that 61.6% of study respondents were aware of laws that address gender equality and intimate partner violence. The Gender Based Violence Indicators Study of 2012 indicated that 46.2% of women and 42.5% of men noted that they have heard about the Domestic Violence Act. Approximately a third of women and men in sample, 3.9% of women and 31.4% of men, were aware of protection orders" (12). "Botswana is currently piloting a gender based violence referral system in an effort to provide comprehensive service delivery to survivors of gender based violence" (15).
Jan. 4, 2024, 10:41 a.m.
Countries: Singapore
Variables: LRW-LAW-2, LRCM-LAW-2, DV-PRACTICE-1

"[P]enalties for select offences committed against persons that were in a 'close relationship' or 'intimate relationship' with the offender at the time of the offence; or children under 14 years of age[] may be punished with up to twice the maximum punishment for the offence" (35).
Dec. 20, 2023, 10:43 a.m.
Countries: France
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"'People recognise and deplore the existence of sexism but fail to reject it in practice, a phenomenon particularly widespread among the men questioned. This gap between perception, statements and practice has tangible consequences in terms of symbolic, physical, sexual and economic violence'" (para 9). "Those questioned also spoke of a lack of confidence in official measures to combat sexism and respond 'to a situation that is getting worse with new phenomenon: online violence, increased virulence on social networks, barbarity in many pornographic industry productions, and affirmation of a masculinist and antifeminist pornographic industry. In addition, there are clear signs that women’s fundamental rights, especially sexual and reproductive rights, are being...more
Nov. 6, 2023, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Anti-Domestic Violence Law has been effectively implemented... In 2015, the Supreme People’s Court made it clear in the Summary of the Eighth National Conference on Civil and Commercial Trials that, when hearing marital and family cases involving domestic violence, the principle of maximizing the interests of the child should be applied. The Court also stated that, as a general rule, the parent who had committed domestic violence should not be awarded custody of minor children” (13).
Oct. 30, 2023, 6:57 a.m.
Countries: China
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"After the Anti-Domestic Violence Law came into effect, the Ministry of Public Security incorporated the Law into various aspects of the work of public security authorities, such as examination for law enforcement qualification, law enforcement training and public education in the general knowledge of law, so as to effectively improve the awareness and ability of police officers to prevent and end domestic violence. In the context of specific situations, local public security authorities have issued implementation opinions and operating rules to step up anti-domestic violence efforts” (13-14).
Oct. 4, 2023, 6:58 a.m.
Countries: Angola
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[C]ases of violence against women, including domestic violence, are referred to alternative conflict resolution entities, including family councils" (8).
Sept. 30, 2023, 4 p.m.
Countries: Kazakhstan
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the following: Standard procedure for providing special social services to victims of domestic violence, adopted in 2016" (p.2). "The Committee notes that a major legislation overhaul initiated in 2016 has led to the strengthening of the court system, increased transparency in court procedures and the development of an e-justice system, with around 70 per cent of lawsuits now being submitted electronically, which has facilitated access to justice in rural areas. It also welcomes the establishment of a working group to develop...more
Sept. 26, 2023, 10:17 a.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The lack of coverage and community outrage about violence against Aboriginal women in Australia speaks shameful volumes about our culture. The bodies of three people – including an Aboriginal woman and her baby – were found last month north of Alice Springs; the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide" (para 1, 2) Since there is a lack of coverage in the media even when there are clear cases of murder-suicide, we can infer that the enforcement of laws against domestic violence is not widespread (MCP - CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 25, 2023, 10:51 a.m.
Countries: Turkmenistan
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Turkmenistan has two faces. The first is the one we see in state media: a pretty dancer, a caring mother, a sister or daughter in a beautiful traditional dress. She may be dancing, cooking or decorating an event with her presence.The second is closer to reality: women and girls who have nowhere to go when they meet domestic violence, have no recourse to contraception and family planning services, and face sexual harassment – a few examples on a long list of unmet needs." (para.1-2).
Sept. 25, 2023, 8:02 a.m.
Countries: Guyana
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The law criminalizes rape of men or women, including spousal rape and domestic violence… Successful prosecution of domestic violence cases was infrequent" (8).
Sept. 18, 2023, 12:32 a.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Screaming for help doesn’t help either as gender-based violence is so prevalent in the area that neighbours assume any shouts are from a fight between a couple. The group decided they needed to raise the alarm in a manner that would ensure people would respond. 'Today, when the community hears ‘No! No! No! I don’t want anything to do with you’, they know it is an elderly woman being attacked and they come to our rescue,' says Wanjiku" (para.9).
Sept. 12, 2023, 11:48 a.m.
Countries: China
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[A]round one in four married Chinese women [experience] domestic abuse, according to a 2013 survey by the All-China Women's Federation…Activists say victims' repeated complaints are often not taken seriously by police until it is too late, with the issue often regarded as a private family matter in the country's conservative culture...The situation is thought to be so bad that the city of Yiwu, in Zhejiang province, in China is even introducing a system that lets people getting married check if their partner has a history of abuse" (para 18, 20, 22).
Sept. 7, 2023, 12:33 p.m.
Countries: Lebanon
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"All through the first eight years of her marriage, Gouri’s husband abused her. But as Lebanon’s massive financial crisis plunged the household into economic distress, the violence got worse. Gouri, 23, who asked that her name be changed for fear of retribution, told The New Humanitarian that at the beginning of the marriage the abuse was mostly emotional – her husband constantly insulted her – but gradually he began to physically hurt Gouri and her son, too. 'During the economic crisis, I had my second baby, a baby girl. [Then] his violence increased; he beat me almost every day,' recalled the mother of two from Lebanon’s Chouf region, south of...more
Sept. 6, 2023, 5:32 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[Women's rights activist Kavita] Srivastava cites examples of women who face lifelong domestic violence and are even thrown out of their matrimonial homes for not fulfilling their recurring demands" (para 29).
Aug. 24, 2023, 1:08 a.m.
Countries: Cape Verde
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[A]ll reports of gender-based violence against women, including domestic violence, are [not] duly investigated and victims [do not] have access to protection services. T]he mandate of gender-based violence prosecutors [need to be strengthened] to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and adequately punished and that victims have access to appropriate redress, including compensation" (6).
Aug. 15, 2023, 5:22 p.m.
Countries: Bahamas
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The government generally enforced the law, although women’s rights groups cited some reluctance on the part of law enforcement authorities to intervene in domestic disputes" (12).
Aug. 8, 2023, 8:30 p.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[The governmental system fails] to shift the burden of proof in favour of the victim in civil proceedings concerning protection orders" (6).
Aug. 8, 2023, 12:20 p.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"Despite the efforts made by the State in this area, difficulties in access to the law and justice remain an undeniable reality because a large part of the female population cannot afford the cost of services provided by court officials (deposits, bailiffs’ fees, lawyers’ fees)." (5). "Article 34-2 of Organic Act No. 2017-09 of 17 January 2017 on the Supreme Court states: 'The petitioner of a cassation appeal shall be required to submit a deposit to cover the payment of fixed stamp and registration duties. Failure to do so shall result in the petitioner being barred and, consequently, forfeiting the appeal. Except in cases provided for in other laws, legal...more
July 30, 2023, 5:46 a.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Increased legal protections are failing to prevent the “systemic” blocking of support to those fleeing abusive relationships, the report by the Public Interest Law Centrefound. " (Parag. 2) "She added: 'What local authorities are doing is acting unlawfully until someone gets involved. After 10 years of austerity, and cuts to legal aid and housing lawyers, local authorities are getting away with this. Most times we make a legal challenge, the local authority backs down before it ever gets to court because they’re acting unlawfully and they know it.'" (Parag, 10) "Mulholland said the situation was similar in many urban areas across the UK facing a chronic shortage of housing. Survivors...more
July 25, 2023, 10:44 a.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[It is recommended that Cambodia take] specific steps to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and ensure that cases of gender-based discrimination and violence against women, including domestic violence and rape, are thoroughly investigated, perpetrators are prosecuted and adequately punished and victims are provided with remedies" (4). This indicates that perpetrators of gender-based discrimination are not always thoroughly investigated and persecuted (MV- coder comment).
July 25, 2023, 9:59 a.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[There are] Social norms that justify gender-based violence against women and girls and blame the victim rather than the perpetrator, and the high prevalence of such violence, in particular domestic violence, as well as rape, including gang rape or bauk, which is viewed as a means of male bonding" (7). "[T]he law on the prevention of domestic violence and protection of victims provides for mediation and reconciliation for “minor” cases of physical and sexual violence and all cases of emotional and economic violence and that informal reconciliation by community members without any formal training remains the primary means of resolving cases of domestic violence" (7).
July 12, 2023, 11:11 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Increased legal protections are failing to prevent the “systemic” blocking of support to those fleeing abusive relationships, the report by the Public Interest Law Centrefound. " (Parag. 2) "She added: “What local authorities are doing is acting unlawfully until someone gets involved. After 10 years of austerity, and cuts to legal aid and housing lawyers, local authorities are getting away with this. Most times we make a legal challenge, the local authority backs down before it ever gets to court because they’re acting unlawfully and they know it.”" (Parag, 10) "Mulholland said the situation was similar in many urban areas across the UK facing a chronic shortage of housing. Survivors...more
July 10, 2023, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: Maldives
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Access to justice under the DVPA is improving, but too slowly. Magistrates in the Islands are applying the DVPA largely in cases of physical violence only, although the approaches indicate that in many instances, the Magistrates try first to reconcile the couple. The DVPA provides for the victim to apply for Protection Orders which will be implemented by the Maldives Police Service. The number of DVPA case presented to Magistrates remains low in comparison to the number of cases reported by FPA overall. This could in part, be due to the DV survivor’s lack of willingness to prosecute the perpetrator due to lack of faith in the system, fear of...more
June 27, 2023, 11:15 p.m.
Countries: Algeria
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Wassila Network described situations in which a victim goes to police to report a domestic violence incident and family members convince the victim to forgive the aggressor, resulting in no charges" (28).
June 20, 2023, 9:30 p.m.
Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Directorate of the Special Police Unit for Women, Children and Adolescents has a legal department that tracks advances in, derogations from and the entry into force of new laws and recent amendments to existing laws, thereby keeping the Nicaraguan criminal process and the legal and judicial framework governing police action up to date. In 2015, the Special Police Unit for Women, Children and Adolescents merged with the Legal Cooperation Directorate; as a result, it has been possible to capitalize on experience, good practices, specialized personnel and technical resources and offer a better service and greater proximity to communities. The comprehensive service model provides comprehensive support to victims of domestic...more
June 18, 2023, 9:21 a.m.
Countries: Malta
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"In cases of domestic violence and femicide, women almost always take the blame in the court of public opinion (Malta was obsessed by the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard libel case, which confirmed many people’s ideas about victims)."(Para.20).
June 12, 2023, 4:20 p.m.
Countries: Jordan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, DV-PRACTICE-1

"[D]ivorce and custody battles have discouraged women from seeking divorce out of fear of losing access to their children. This is particularly harmful for women suffering from domestic violence and abuse by their husbands, thereby demonstrating how divorce and custody laws are another example of discriminatory treatment against women" (Para.9).