The Advocates for Human Rights Comments on New Mongolian Domestic Violence Law Mongolian Law Against Domestic Violence (May 2004)
The Mongolian Law Against Domestic Violence (hereinafter, the Law) includes positive changes in legislation with regard to domestic violence. The Law articulates important principles on which it is based. Article 4 states, “Activities aimed at combating domestic violence shall be based on the principle of providing security to victims, prevention from possible violence, taking complete measures against violence timely, influencing behavior of offenders and strengthening stable family relationship.”
The Law also states that the State shall provide shelter to victims and promote NGO activities aimed at combating and preventing domestic violence. Government funding of these activities is also addressed in the Law. The Law provides the important remedy of orders for protection. However, the Law also presents many potential obstacles to ensuring domestic violence victims’ safety and offender accountability for violent crimes.
The Law contemplates a great deal of state intervention in cases of domestic violence, independent of victims’ wishes or requests and without the involvement of advocates who work with victims and can best represent their interests. For example, Article 7.1 authorizes police, “To submit a request to the court regarding an issuance of temporary protection order or protection decision.” Article 8.1.1 authorizes social welfare staff, “To assess environment in domestic violence might occur and define level of negative influence of the environment and danger jointly with police officers”. Article 10.1 obligates teachers, medical personnel and social welfare staff to inform police of violence or “potential violence. Articles 14 and 15 authorize attorneys, social welfare staff and others to request an order for protection and Article 16.3 provides the court with authority to issue the order based on that request.
Provisions which authorize government representatives to make decisions about the issuance of an Order for Protection without the involvement of the victim may in some cases interfere with safety and other interests of the victim. A primary goal of government intervention in cases of domestic violence should be to respond to the needs of victims. This goal is not served by provisions in the Law which authorize government action and intervention in the Order for Protection process independent of the victim’s wishes.
In addition, women who are victims of violence are most often the best judges of the dangers presented to them by violent partners. Therefore, it is not advisable to exclude them from decisions about how to handle a violent situation in their home. This is particularly true since we know that one of the most dangerous times for many women is when they separate from their abusers, which would occur, of course, upon the issuance of an Order for Protection as provided by the Law. A 2003 study described by the Family Violence Prevention Fund confirmed that "[s]eparating from an abusive partner after having lived with him, leaving the home she shares with an abusive partner or asking her abusive partner to leave the home they share were all factors that put a woman at 'higher risk' of becoming a victim of homicide." It is very important for a battered woman to make her own decision to leave a relationship because she is in the best position to assess the potential danger.
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The Advocates for Human Rights Comments on New Romanian Law on Domestic Violence
Romanian Law to Prevent and Fight Against Domestic Violence (May 2003)
The Romanian Law to Prevent and Fight Against Domestic Violence (Romanian)(hereinafter, the Law) includes positive changes in legislation with regard to domestic violence but also presents many obstacles to ensuring domestic violence victims' safety and offender accountability for violent crimes. Positive aspects of the law include the following:
- The Law states that domestic violence encroaches on womens fundamental rights and freedoms. (Art. 2)
- The Law provides for the establishment of both public and private shelters along with social services for victims of domestic violence. (Art. 23)
The Law allows for public subsidies for private organizations that serve victims of violence and directs government ministries to conduct research and education on domestic violence. (Arts. 7, 17 and 18)
The Law allows courts to order that violent offenders leave the family home. (Art. 26)
The following provisions of the law present obstacles to ensuring the safety of domestic violence victims and the accountability of offenders for their violent crimes.
The language of the Law frequently focuses on the protection and support of the family rather than the safety of domestic violence victims and the accountability of violent offenders. For example, the first sentence of the Law Chapter 1, Art. 1 (1) states that it is in the national interest to protect and support the family. Art. 8 (2) states that the objective of the agency charged with implementing the Law, the National Agency for Family Protection, is to support family values. While the goal of providing support to families is admirable, there are circumstances where the Law's focus on protecting the family may not serve the interests of a domestic violence victim seeking to escape a violent familial relationship. Experts involved in drafting model domestic violence legislation recognize the importance of laws which prioritize victim safety. See the sections of this website entitled
United Nations Framework for Model Legislation on Domestic Violence and
United States Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence.
The Law anticipates a great deal of state intervention in cases of domestic violence, independent of victims' wishes or requests and without the involvement of advocates who work with victims and can best represent their interests. For example, Art. 13 (1) requires that family social workers identify and keep account of the families where potential violent situations may occur and identify amiable settlement by maintaining contact with the persons herein. Provisions that authorize government representatives to independently make decisions about a domestic violence situation may in some cases interfere with safety and other interests of the victim.
The Law contemplates that victims of domestic violence need social rehabilitation. See Art. 8 (2) c and Art. 9 (1) j. In fact, many victims of domestic violence do not need psychiatric counseling or rehabilitation services. Rather, domestic violence victims need government agencies to focus resources on ensuring their safety through adequate provision of shelters and economic opportunities and ensuring offender accountability through adequate criminal laws and procedures.
The Law's reference to "conflicting parties" diminishes offender accountability for violent behavior and reflects an assumption that both parties are equally at fault for violence. (See Art. 16 c and e).
The Law's directive that state representatives counsel the conflicting parties to the purpose of mediation diminishes offender accountability for violent behavior and reflects an assumption that both parties are equally at fault for violence. Art. 16 (1) e. It also may further endanger victims of domestic violence since, if seen as an alternative to criminal prosecution, it may allow for violent offenders to avoid criminal prosecution and sanctions for their behavior. Finally, as discussed in the
OFPs and Family Law Issues section of this website, mediation is based on an assumption that both parties in a relationship have equal power to negotiate. This is usually not the situation in domestic violence cases and mediation may actually present additional risk of danger to victims.
The Law presents a risk that a domestic violence victim will be further victimized by the State by having her children taken from her. Art. 16 states that the state should report cases to institutions of child protection. This may unfairly penalize a victim of domestic violence and may also not be in the best interests of the child. For a further discussion of these issues, see the
Role of Child Protection Services section of this website.
The Law does not provide victims adequate access to shelters. Art. 23 (2) states that victims may be admitted to shelters only in emergency cases or with written confirmation of the family social worker. By requiring an independent evaluation of the situation, the Law presents obstacles to victims who have decided that they or their children are in danger. In most cases of domestic violence, it is the victim who is best able to evaluate the level and immediacy of danger presented by an offender. For more information on this issue, see the
Safety Planning and
Safehouses and Shelters sections of this website.
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Russian Translations of Domestic Violence Training Modules Now Available
STOPVAW has Russian translations of five domestic violence training modules now available:
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Research on Violence Against Georgian Women and Their Right to Adequate Housing
An October 2003 report entitled, "Violence Against Women and Right to Adequate Housing: the Case of Georgia" has recently been made available to STOPVAW. The report is available on STOPVAW’s website in Georgia’s Country Page.
The report was prepared by Ketevan Dadunashvili, Nana Khoshtaria, Marina Miqeladze, Rusudan Pkhakadze and Eka Iobadze from the Women's Advice Center "Sakhli", Marina Meskhi from the Georgian Young Lawyers Association and Tamar Sabedashvili from Oxfam GB Georgia. It was delivered at the Asia Pacific Regional Consultations, with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, which were held on 30-31 October 2003 in New Delhi, India. The subject addressed by the consultations was "The interlinkages between violence against women and women's right to adequate housing."
According to this report, Georgian women are guaranteed under law equal rights with respect to the acquisition, alienation and inheritance of property. Nevertheless, women who divorce their husbands are often left homeless because of 1) customary inheritance practices that favor men, 2) the failure to include the woman's name on the registration of marital property and 3) the fact that many married women traditionally live in property owned by their spouse before marriage or by his family. This reality motivates some women to continue living with abusive spouses for fear that they would become homeless if they were to divorce their spouse.
The report recommends that the government of the Republic of Georgia and non-governmental organizations conduct additional research, legal reform and public awareness campaigns addressing and promoting domestic violence survivors’ right to adequate housing.
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New Tactics in Human Rights, a project of the Center for Victims of Torture, has published new notebooks on innovative tactics used to address urgent human rights issues. STOPVAW would like to highlight two notebooks in particular as useful tools for strategies in combating violence against women:
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