WUNRN
Amnesty International
14-Point
Programme for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
Violence
against women in the family – domestic violence – is a fundamental violation of
human rights. It is a pervasive, daily reality for women living in every
country across the globe. Its impact is devastating on women, their lives,
their health, their work and the wellbeing of their families. Amnesty
International calls on all governments to implement this 14-Point Programme for
the Prevention of Domestic Violence. They should act immediately to confront
domestic violence, prevent its recurrence and move towards eradicating it
totally.
Amnesty International invites concerned individuals and organizations to use
their influence to ensure that governments implement this Programme.
The recommendations in the 14-Point Programme for the Prevention of Domestic
Violence are interrelated, and they are all important in addressing domestic
violence. All of them embody these basic principles:
•The goal of any action must be to ensure women’s safety, protection and
autonomy, as well as their physical, mental and social wellbeing in the
aftermath of suffering abuse.
•Government policies, practices and laws must not discriminate against women,
on grounds of gender, or of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical or
mental ability, class,
•language, cultural or religious beliefs, marital, maternal or citizenship
status, or place of residence.
•Governments should consult and work closely with women victims and survivors,
and with non-governmental organizations that have experience in addressing
domestic violence.
All governments should:
1. Condemn domestic violence
State officials and political leaders at every level, national, district and
local, should publicly and consistently condemn domestic violence, highlighting
its gravity. They should acknowledge that domestic violence is a human rights
violation, and therefore a public concern, not a private matter. Officials may
not invoke customs, traditions or religion to evade their responsibility to eliminate
violence against women.
2. Raise public awareness of domestic violence
Widespread public awareness campaigns should be launched in schools, colleges,
citizens’ forums and workplaces to denounce domestic violence, to remove the
stigma from women targeted for violence, and to encourage survivors to seek
redress. All available media should be used, including the press, the Internet,
lectures and debates, and the campaigns should involve community leaders,
municipal politicians, journalists and civil society. All information should be
easily accessible and available in local languages.
3. Use the education system to challenge prejudice
Educational materials should be developed and incorporated into curriculums at
all levels of the education system, aimed at preventing domestic violence and
challenging ideas that regard domestic violence as acceptable. Teachers,
lecturers and other education workers should be part of the effort to overcome
prejudices and stereotypes that confine women and girls to subordinate roles
and contribute to domestic violence.
4. Abolish legislation that discriminates against women
All laws, including criminal, civil, family and housing laws, should be
reviewed to ensure that they comply with human rights principles. Any laws, regulations,
or procedures that discriminate against women or that allow such discrimination
to persist should be reformed, as well as any laws that facilitate or
perpetuate violence against women. New legislation should be adopted as
appropriate with the aim of ensuring equality for women.
5. Ensure that domestic violence is a criminal offence
Ensure that all forms of domestic violence are treated in law and practice as
human rights violations and criminal offences, that acts of domestic violence
are investigated, prosecuted and punished in accordance with the gravity of the
crime, and that victims receive appropriate reparations. No matter where in a
country a woman lives, her complaint should be pursued with equal determination
and thoroughness.
6. Investigate and prosecute complaints of domestic violence
Ensure that the police provide a safe and confidential environment for women to
report domestic violence, that there is mandatory registration of all
complaints of domestic violence, and that all such complaints are promptly,
impartially and effectively investigated. When there is sufficient admissible
evidence, suspects should be prosecuted in accordance with international
standards for fair trial and without recourse to the death penalty or corporal
punishment, while ensuring that sentences are commensurate with the gravity of
the crime. If a case is dropped, the reasons should be made public.
7. Remove obstacles to prosecutions for domestic violence
Investigate why reporting, prosecution and conviction rates for domestic
violence are so low, and tackle obstacles and shortcomings identified by these
investigations. Court procedures and rules of evidence should be reformed so
that they do not discourage women from pursuing complaints. Complainants,
witnesses and others at risk during investigations and prosecutions should be
protected from intimidation, coercion and reprisals. There should be close
co-operation between the police, the prosecution authorities and other
authorities and services at the local level.
8. Provide compulsory training on domestic violence for officials
Fund and implement compulsory training programmes for officials – including
police, lawyers, judges, forensic and medical personnel, social workers,
immigration officials and teachers – in how to identify cases of domestic
violence, how to ensure the safety of survivors and how to collect, safeguard,
consider and present evidence.
9. Provide adequate funding
Allocate adequate funding to programmes to address domestic violence in all sectors
including the criminal justice system, education, social services, health and
housing, for example through a National Action Plan to ensure that assistance
is equally available and of comparable quality throughout the country.
Funding should be sufficient to allow the implementation of legislation
protecting women from domestic violence, and to provide necessary support and
rehabilitation measures for survivors.
10. Provide places of safety for women fleeing violence
Fund and establish sufficient temporary shelters or other places of safety for
women, without compromising their privacy, personal autonomy and freedom of
movement. Such places should support and assist women’s physical and mental
recovery, and help them to access suitable, safe housing in the
longer term.
11. Provide support services for women
Fund and create services for women who have suffered domestic violence, in
co-operation with civil society organizations as appropriate, so that they can
access the criminal and civil justice systems, including free legal advice when
necessary on divorce, child custody and inheritance. Ensure that they have
access to adequately funded health-care and support services, including
counselling. Services should be linguistically and culturally accessible to all
women requiring them.
12. Reduce the risks of armed violence
Remove all firearms from homes where incidents of domestic violence have been
reported. Ensure that health and social workers include questions on the
possession of guns in all demographic, health and social services surveys.
13. Collect and publish data on domestic violence
Ensure that domestic violence is fully reflected in official reports and
statistics, that the collection of qualitative and quantitative data is
standardized and disaggregated according to gender and other relevant factors,
and that it is open to verification. Ensure that all relevant government
departments collect and publish data and statistics on domestic violence, that
they share data, and that the data is used by policy-makers in devising
effective policies and programmes to address domestic violence.
14. Let women know what they are entitled to
Ensure that women suffering violence have access to information about their
rights and the services and support they are entitled to. Police stations,
health facilities and other state agencies should be required to publicize
information about victims’ rights, including the range of protection measures
available. All relevant agencies should be required to draw up, implement and
monitor guidelines and procedures covering every stage of their response to
cases of domestic violence, specifying what action is to be taken if these
standards are not met.
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