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

Latest items for DV-PRACTICE-1

Nov. 19, 2024, 11:48 a.m.
Countries: Belgium
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-2

"'Very frequently, domestic violence has already been reported before the facts. For example, for the second-most recently recorded femicide, there were seven police reports against the perpetrator for domestic violence.' Dirkx [Advocacy group Stop Feminicide coordinator] further explained that women are most at risk whilst separating from or divorcing their partner, and that generally femicides are especially notable for their intense brutality" (para 5-6).
Nov. 16, 2024, 4:25 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"Women cannot access justice agencies and in most areas their petitions asking for justice cannot not be heard, which will increase the deepening violence against women" (para 6).
Nov. 16, 2024, 2:55 p.m.
Countries: 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"`
Nov. 12, 2024, 10:20 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Domestic abusers will have their names added to the sex offenders’ register in a major crackdown on violence against women and girls. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, writing exclusively in the Daily Mail today, vows that ‘wicked’ abusers will be ‘watched more closely’ as a result of a new package of measures. Rishi Sunak said the moves will make it ‘a priority’ for police to tackle attacks on women and girls, and outlined his determination to ‘stamp out these appalling crimes’ " (1-3).
Nov. 12, 2024, 1:32 p.m.
Countries: Latvia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Committee welcomes the progress achieved...in particular the adoption of the following…[a]mendments to the Law on Social Services and Social Assistance, providing for State-funded social rehabilitation services for adults and children, including refugees and 'persons of alternative status', having suffered violence, including domestic violence, as well as perpetrators of such violence, in 2015" (1-2). "The Committee notes with concern...the inadequate handling of cases of gender-based violence against women, in particular sexual and domestic violence, by the police and investigating authorities, such as failure to interview victims and perpetrators separately, complete investigations or refer cases for criminal prosecution [and] the very low numbers of restraining or separation orders for victims of...more
Nov. 5, 2024, 12:44 p.m.
Countries: Guatemala
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"It has taken the judicial system years to get around to properly investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the deaths and the alleged [sexual] abuse [of girls in a domestic violence shelter]. Eight people – the former director of the shelter, five senior government officials, and two policemen – have since June 2017 faced charges of abuse of power, breach of duty, culpable homicide, child abuse, and neglect" (para 4,5).
Oct. 16, 2024, 3:08 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"Women cannot access justice agencies and in most areas their petitions asking for justice cannot not be heard, which will increase the deepening violence against women" (para 6).
Oct. 10, 2024, 1:33 p.m.
Countries: D R Congo
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

Dr. Gisele Ndaya Luseba, former Minister of Gender, Family, and Children, has announced a zero-tolerance policy against gender-based violence and sexual violence in her country. The DRC is already seeing the fruits from those efforts. People are already starting to be scared of committing or watching domestic violence and violence against children.
Oct. 9, 2024, 7:59 p.m.
Countries: Belize
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"The Belize Police Department continues to operate Domestic Violence Units in major municipalities. So far, only the Belize City Family Violence Unit works on a 24-hour shift and has an in-house Counsellor. Since 2020, the DMU operates two hotlines in Belize City with a referral system to local police stations. In the other municipalities, specialized Domestic Violence Officers work from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Thus, on weekdays and after hours, the response rest on regular police officers. Therefore, the Women’s Department consistently train the Police Department on gender-based violence protocols and procedures, the referral system, case management and handling of evidence so they can improve the quality of their response" (13)....more
Sept. 5, 2024, 1 p.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

“Misidentification — when a domestic violence victim is incorrectly named as the respondent (person reported to be the perpetrator) on an intervention order, or charged with criminal offences — is alarmingly common. For example, close to half of all female domestic and family violence related deaths in Queensland from 2015 to 2017 were of women who had previously been identified as a respondent to a domestic violence order. Failure to appropriately identify the primary domestic abuser disproportionately impacts First Nations women, who are also more likely to experience structural racism in the criminal legal system” (24-26).
July 18, 2024, 6:38 p.m.
Countries: Guatemala
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"With regard to the strengthening and follow-up of the National Coordination Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Violence against Women, progress was made towards establishing regular and special meetings, following up on policy measures aimed at eradicating violence against women and on the Office’s activities. In 2021, members and alternates were appointed to six working committees. The 2018–2022 strategic plan, which regulates the Office’s actions to prevent, address, punish and provide reparation to victims of violence against women, was strengthened" (5). "The Ministry of the Interior is implementing the 2017–2027 National Strategy for the Prevention of Violence and Crime, which includes the Programme for the Prevention of Violence...more
April 30, 2024, 8:19 p.m.
Countries: Israel
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"It has barred the use of feminine nouns in advertisements for civil service jobs, even though Hebrew has distinct masculine and feminine forms for job titles. And although the government passed a law requiring electronic monitoring of men who are the subject of restraining orders because of domestic violence, critics say the law was significantly watered down so that it applies only to men who are deemed an immediate threat or have a criminal record" (para 21).
April 12, 2024, 5:14 p.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"Police are traditionally trained to respond to single-incident alleged domestic crimes… [M]en using [Technology-facilitated abuse], whose harassment, while abusive, may not be criminal" (para 21). "The police called them 'domestics' and only interfered if things looked like they might get 'out of hand'" (para 43). "We have to realise that domestic violence is best understood as a group of behaviours, with physical violence being just one part of the repertoire and with may perpetrators employing what might be called a sliding scale of abuse in order to control their current or former partner" (para 30, 76).
April 9, 2024, 9:31 p.m.
Countries: Cuba
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"There is a lack of protocols, there is a lack of press that educates, there is a lack of inter-institutional cohesion that truly appeals to reduce gender inequalities and that gives Cuban women not a secondary place among its objectives, but a top space, intersected with other forms of discrimination and exclusion" (para 23).
March 30, 2024, 2:46 p.m.
Countries: Lithuania
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-1

"[T]he law on amendments to the Law on Conciliatory Mediation in Civil Disputes may revictimize women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence... [C]ases of gender-based violence against women, in particular sexual and domestic violence, [are inadequately handled] by the investigating authorities, such as failure to complete the investigation or to move to criminal prosecution" (7).
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).