Map source: Human Rights Watch

Population of women: 5,236,000/9,851,000
Life expectancy of women (at birth): 75.3 yrs
School life expectancy for women: 14 yrs
Adult illiteracy for women: 0.4%
Unemployment of women: 3.5%
Adult economic activity rate: 46%
Source: U.N. Statistics Division, Social Indicators, updated 12 July 2004 (Some statistics provided may be from previous years and other sources as cited by the U.N. Statistics Division)

last updated October 28, 2004

The Constitution of Belarus provides for equality before the law and the right to equal protection for all persons (Article 22). The Constitution does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on specified protected grounds.

Persistent stereotypes about the permissibility of domestic abuse have perpetuated the problem. According to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (International Helsinki Federation), fourteen percent of Belarusian women and twenty-six percent of Belarusian men perceived domestic violence to be permissible. Media coverage tends to contribute to these attitudes by trivializing the problem and relegating it to the "boulevard press" section. There are no specific laws on domestic violence, but both the Belarusian Criminal and Administrative Codes may be used to punish domestic abuse. Non-severe beating is punished by a fine or up to fifteen days' imprisonment, and more serious violations are punished by up to fifteen years' imprisonment. According to the U.S. Department of State, women's groups noted that courts usually enforce laws against domestic violence and that courts generally impose punishments accordingly. Victims, however, are reluctant to report domestic abuse for fear of stigmatization and retaliation.

Article 115 of the Criminal Code defines rape as "sexual intercourse with the use of physical violence, threat or the use of a helpless state of the sufferer." It is punishable by three to seven years' imprisonment. Aggravating circumstances, such as gang rape or rape by a repeat offender, increases the sentence and imposes the possibility of the death penalty. Article 117 also punishes sexual intercourse with a juvenile under sixteen years of age by up to three years. While the Criminal Code could be used to prosecute marital rape, no such cases have been reported.  According to the International Helsinki Federation, women fear reporting marital rape because of the perceived misunderstanding and public condemnation they would face.

With regard to sexual harassment, Article 116 of the Criminal Code punishes anyone, upon whom a woman is financially or professionally dependent, who forces her to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual contact to satisfy perverted sexual desires. The perpetrator may be sentenced up to three years in prison. According to International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights' Women 2000 Report, only one person was tried on charges of sexual harassment between 1994 and 1999. The court later re-categorized his offense as a different crime.

The numbers of trafficking victims have been on the rise in recent years. According to NGOs, several thousand Belarusian women were trafficked in 2002. The International Helsinki Federation has found the most popular cities for recruiting women are Minsk, Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Baranovichi, Vitebsk and Bobruisk. The primary means of recruitment is through deception. Sixty percent of victims leave Belarus expecting to work in a job that does not involve prostitution. Forty percent leave Belarus expecting to work in prostitution, but with a higher income and good working conditions. In 2001, Belarus adopted a new law criminalizing trafficking in persons. [internal link] The government of Belarus has undertaken other initiatives to counter trafficking, including a five-year plan to combat trafficking in persons. The 2002-2007 plan, which involves several government agencies, addresses ways to improve legislation, international cooperation, combat trafficking, and assist victims.

Compiled from:

Women 2000 - An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 5 November 2000. (PDF, 20 pages).

Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/52, 27 February 2003. (PDF, 435 pages).

2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Belarus, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 31 March 2003.