Are new laws truly working to keep women and children safe and hold violent abusers accountable? This question was the focus of a meeting hosted by The Advocates for Human Rights Women’s Program and the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation last week in Istanbul, Turkey where women and men from 15 countries came together to learn strategies to assess new laws on domestic violence.
After years of working together to expose the widespread impunity for brutal violence against women in post-Soviet countries, drafting new laws to end the violence, and doing the difficult work of getting the laws passed in Parliament, The Advocates for Human Rights and partners throughout the region spent 3 days reviewing and planning new strategies for monitoring these laws. The 33 participants at the workshop -- from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Ukraine – shared stories of both success and the urgent need for continued monitoring and legal reform.
Most of these countries have passed new laws on domestic violence, but many of them are very new. Some advocates are still struggling for the passage of laws in their countries. All participants at the workshop agreed that these laws are critically important to address the widespread impunity that still exists for men who assault and terrorize their wives and intimate partners.
Women from Bulgaria and Georgia reported on both the challenges and successes of their new laws. In Bulgaria, since the new law on domestic violence passed in 2005, approximately 1500 orders for protection per year are issued by the courts. The law is widely used by judges throughout Bulgaria to order violent offenders out of the home. Prior to this new law, women had no recourse other than the criminal justice system which rarely prosecuted domestic violence cases, a problem common in the region. While Georgian advocates reported lower numbers, courts and police are issuing protection orders and advocates and legal officials are working together to improve the law.
Six advocates from Russia reported on the dire situation there. Violence against women by their partners is widespread and statistics show that over 14,000 women die from domestic violence each year. While murder is prosecuted, there is no recourse in the criminal or civil justice system for the vast majority of domestic violence cases. At the workshop, Larissa Ponarina from the advocacy group ANNA, presented their report on domestic violence in Russia, Territory ofSilence which documents the desperate situation for women there and recommends the adoption of a law allowing for civil orders for protection. After the workshop, staff attorney, Mary Ellingen traveled to Russia to work with advocates on drafting such a law.
Gauri Van Gulik of Human Rights Watch (HRW), presented their recently released report, “He Loves You, He Beats You”, a report on the implementation of the domestic violence law in Turkey. She described the process HRW used to monitor the implementation of the law and their findings that most victims of domestic violence are not being protected under the new law. She explained how HRW will work with partners in Turkey and use the report to lobby for improvements in law and policy to better protect victims.
Towards the end of the workshop, an advocate from one country made a plea for assistance, sharing that she was ashamed to ask the question and expose her own fears. She is terrified of the violent men who terrorize and threaten the advocates who work to protect battered women. She is concerned for her own safety and that of her colleagues, and she requested help in learning strategies to stay safe. Presenters and participants encouraged the woman, assured she her she is not alone in dealing with this problem and provided her with references to resources that have been developed around the world to address threats to battered women’s advocates. We left inspired by the courage and resilience of these amazing women and confident that they will find success in their efforts to end violence against women in their countries.