DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is not physical violence alone. Domestic

violence is any behavior the purpose of which is to gain power
and control over a spouse, partner, girl/boyfriend or intimate
family member. Abuse is a learned behavior; it is not caused by
anger, mental problems, drugs or alcohol, or other common
excuses. https://www.acesdv.org/domestic-violence-graphics/
Violence against women and girls is a violation of human
rights, causing physical, sexual and psychological suffering.
Violence against women limits their ability to realise their
legal, social, political and economic rights and participate in
Iraq’s development. Eradicating violence against women is a
crucial part of Iraq’s efforts to promote gender equality and
empower women in all spheres of life (Millennium Development
Goal Three) and will provide impetus to Iraq’s efforts to
achieve all of the Millennium Development Goals. Although
women’s political representation has increased and the
Government of Iraq has committed to achieving MDG 3, this has
not yet translated into a broader recognition of gender equality
across Iraqi society and government bodies
HISTORY
Domestic violence is on the rise In Iraq, and there are few
places for abused and vulnerable women to seek refuge, an Al-
Jazeera story reports. Rights groups have said that domestic
violence has increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003,
leaving many women in danger and with nowhere to turn. Few women
have relatives who are willing to take them in after escaping
their abusive husbands, and there are no government-run shelters
for women outside northern Kurdistan in Iraq. After Saddam
Hussein fell, many extremist religious groups became a more
prominent part of Iraqi society, and some of these groups
consider shelters for abused women “distasteful and immoral,”
according to the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq. The
organization, which has lobbied for government-run shelters for
years, cannot get a license for a shelter but runs a safe-house
in a secret location for women who would be killed if they
returned to their families.

Al-Jazeera interviewed some of the women hiding in the safe-

house, including a woman whose family wanted to kill her after
she was kidnapped by strangers, a woman whose brother tried to
rape her, and a former professor who received death threats
because she is a lesbian. While these women have found relative
safety with the help of this organization, there are thousands
more like them across Iraq who cannot leave and would have no
place to go if they left.

STATISTICS

Domestic violence remains a serious problem in Iraq. The

Iraq Family Health Survey (IFHS) 2006/7 found that one in five
Iraqi women are subject to physical domestic violence. A 2012
Ministry of Planning study found that at least 36 percent of
married women reported experiencing some form of psychological
abuse from their husbands, 23 percent to verbal abuse, 6 percent
to physical violence, and 9 percent to sexual violence.

While the Iraqi constitution expressly prohibits “all forms

of violence and abuse in the family,” only the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq has a law on domestic violence. Iraq’s Anti-Violence
against Women Strategy (2013-2017), adopted in March 2013, and
the National Strategy on Advancement of Women in Iraq, adopted
in 2014, both called for legislation on domestic
violence/violence against women.

Violence against women in the home is a major problem that

prevents women’s full participation in society. One in five
women (21%) in Iraq aged 15-49 has suffered physical violence at
the hands of the husband.1 14% of women who suffered physical
violence were pregnant at the time.2 33% have suffered emotional
violence,3 and 83% have been subjected to controlling behavior
by the husbands.

Domestic violence is a global phenomenon and remains a serious

problem in Iraq. The Iraq Family Health Survey (IFHS)
2006/7 found that one in five Iraqi women are subject to
physical domestic violence. A 2012 Ministry of Planning
study found that at least 36 percent of married women reported
experiencing some form of psychological abuse from their
husbands, 23 percent reported verbal abuse, 6 percent reported
physical violence, and 9 percent reported sexual violence. While
more recent national studies are not available, women’s rights
organizations continue to report a high rate of domestic
violence.

TYPES OF ABUSE
1. Physical abuse
2. Sexual Abuse
3. Spiritual Abuse
4. Emotional Abuse
5. Psychological abuse
6. Domestic Abuse
CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN IRAQ

1. Jealousy and possessiveness

2. Domestic Service
3. Sex
4. Blame
5. Denial/ Minimizing the violence
SOLUTION
Iraq: Strengthen Domestic Violence Bill

Increase Protections for Victims; Set Penalties for Abusers

(Beirut) – The Iraqi parliament should set penalties for the

crime of domestic violence, remove provisions that prioritize
reconciliation over justice, and improve victim protections in a
domestic violence bill, Human Rights Watch said today in
a letter and memorandum to the speaker of parliament

Parliament is completing its review of the draft Anti-Domestic

Violence Law, which was introduced in 2015. Parliament should
make key amendments and then urgently approve the bill.
 Demonstrators in Baghdad call International Women's Day a
“day of mourning” in protest of Iraq's new draft Jaafari
Personal Status Law, which would restrict women's rights in
matters of inheritance, parental and other rights after divorce,
make it easier for men to take multiple wives, and allow girls
to be married from age 9. March 8, 2014. In March 2016, the
Iraqi government told a UN treaty body that the draft Jaafari
law “has been withdrawn and the Iraqi Government has no plans to
resubmit it, let alone adopt it.”

“A strong domestic violence law could help save Iraqi women’s

lives,” said Rothna Begum, Middle East women’s rights researcher
at Human Rights Watch. “The Iraqi parliament should make sure
the final bill includes essential provisions to prevent domestic
violence, protect survivors, and prosecute the abusers.”

The strengths of the draft bill include provisions for services

for domestic violence survivors, protection orders (restraining
orders) and penalties for their breach, and the establishment of
a cross-ministerial committee to combat domestic violence.
However, the memorandum identifies several gaps and approaches
in the bill that would undermine its effectiveness.

A strong domestic violence law could help save Iraqi women’s

lives. The Iraqi parliament should make sure the final bill
includes essential provisions to prevent domestic violence,
protect survivors, and prosecute the abusers.
Rothna Begum
Middle East women’s rights researcher

The draft law calls for the parties to be referred to family

reconciliation committees and for prosecutions of abusers to be
dropped if reconciliation is reached. But women in Iraq are
often under tremendous social and economic pressure to
prioritize the family unit over their own protection from
violence. United Nations guidanceprovides that mediation should
be prohibited in all cases of violence against women and at all
stages of legal proceedings because mediation removes cases from
judicial scrutiny. Promoting such reconciliation incorrectly
presumes that both parties have equal bargaining power, reflects
an assumption that both parties may be equally at fault for
violence, and reduces accountability for the offender.

“By promoting family reconciliation as an alternative to

justice, the draft law undermines protection for domestic
violence survivors,” Begum said. “The government should send a
message that beating up your wife won’t be treated leniently
through mediation sessions, but instead be regarded as a crime.”

While the draft law defines domestic violence as a crime, it

fails to set penalties. It also does not repeal provisions in
the Iraqi Penal Code that condone domestic violence. These
include provisions that husbands have a right to punish their
wives and that parents can discipline their children. Those
responsible for “honor” violence or killings can benefit from
reduced sentences as the Penal Code provides for mitigated
sentences for violent acts including murder for so-called
“honourable motives” or if a man catches his wife or female
relative in the act of adultery or sex outside of marriage.

Other recommended changes include:

 Setting out specific duties for both the general police and
specialized police officers in responding to domestic
violence. Police play an important role in responding to
domestic violence and can help determine whether a victim
is able to pursue remedies through the justice system.
 Outlining various types of evidence that can be considered
in domestic violence cases. Attacks tend to happen in homes
behind closed doors where often there are no witnesses
other than children, who typically cannot testify.
  Distinguishing between short-term emergency orders and
longer-term protection orders, including making clear that
short-term orders can be issued without all parties present
on the basis of a victim’s testimony, whereas a longer-term
order would allow for a full hearing and review of
evidence.

The bill provides for the establishment of government shelters,

but it should require coordination with local women’s rights
organizations on the administration, training, and operation of
such shelters, and permit privately run shelters for survivors
of domestic violence. This is particularly important given that
women’s rights nongovernmental organizations, which have
provided such shelters, have often been subject to physical
attack and threats by offenders and have faced hostility by some
government officials, Human Rights Watch said.

Women’s rights groups in Iraq have campaigned for years for

legislation on domestic violence. The Iraqi constitution
expressly prohibits “all forms of violence and abuse in the
family.” But only the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a law on
domestic violence. Iraq’s Anti-Violence against Women Strategy
(2013-2017), and the National Strategy on Advancement of Women
in Iraq, adopted in 2014, call for legislation on domestic
violence/violence against women.

Iraq has international human rights obligations to prevent and

respond to these abuses. Several international treaty bodies,
including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, which oversees the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) treaty,
have called for states parties to pass violence against women
legislation. Iraq ratified the treaty in 1986.