Contributed by: Branislava Vargová (ROSA), Czech Republic National VAW Monitor and Marie Vavronová, Jirí Vavron
There is no National Plan of Action concerning violence against women in the Czech Republic. The duty of the Czech Republic is to solve the issue of violence against women using standards established by UN international treaties, especially the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The Czech Government began addressing the issue of violence against women in 1998 by asserting the equality of men and women, when the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs submitted the Priorities and Procedures for Promoting Gender Equality to the Czech Government. It includes, in particular, the revision of valid legal regulations, the establishment of a platform for interdisciplinary cooperation in the issue of violence against women, help for victims of crimes and realization of general informational campaign and research. It was established by the Governmental Council for Equal Opportunities by the Czech Government according to Resolution No. 1033 from 10 October 2001. This Council had a coordinator in the field of violence against women, and it connected placemen at the highest level of the state administration. Each Ministry has to annually solve a specific task, which should be aimed at combating violence and helping victims. The Priorities are annually evaluated by the Czech Government.
The following should be done in the field of violence against women in 2006: Organization of an informational campaign against domestic violence and other violence against women, enactment of new legislation, which should lower the prevalence of domestic violence and lead to better security for victims, monitoring steps against domestic violence, support for the enlargement of the shelters’ network, continuing efforts to combat discriminatory stereotypes about the position of women and men in the family, work and society.
The Governmental Council for Equal Opportunities does not currently work, because its activity was ended by the demission of the Czech Government on 1 September 2006. Since the June 2006 election, the Czech Republic has had an unstable government without the support of Parliament, and the Priorities are not obligatory for the next government.
The Czech government submitted a response to the UN Division for the Advancement of Women's Questionnaire regarding the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. To prepare for a "Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly" during its forty-ninth session, the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women sent another questionnaire (PDF) to all governments requesting information on accomplishments and obstacles to implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. Responses were due by 30 April 2004. Czech Republic has submitted a response to the questionnaire.