“On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting women's rights in Kurdistan. We also assure women that we will continue working tirelessly to eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against them,” President Barzani said in a statement.
“On this day, we call for greater cooperation among government institutions, civil society organizations, and media outlets to spread awareness and promote the values of forgiveness and equality,” he added.
November 25 also marks the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which is an international campaign that runs until Human Rights Day on 10 December. It was first initiated by activists in 1991.
The Kurdistan Region suffers from high rates of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, domestic violence, so-called honor violence, child marriages, and female genital mutilation.
An Amnesty International report published in July heighted that inadequate implementation of laws criminalizing violent acts, prioritization of preserving the “family unit,” outdated social norms, and a lack of funding for specialized institutions have resulted in major and sometimes “insurmountable” obstacles for justice for victims of GBV in the Kurdistan Region.
The rights watchdog said that laws criminalizing violence against women and girls in the Kurdistan Region “remain wholly inadequate or merely ink on paper due to crucial gaps, exacerbated by slow legal processes, a lack of specialized judges, and vague laws empowering judges to issue sentences not on the level of severity of the crimes.
A main obstacle, highlighted by the report, is survivors are required to file a complaint against their abusers themselves, as public prosecutors rarely initiate such charges. Additionally, domestic violence survivors need to undergo a mandatory reconciliation committee with their abuser before the case moves to trial.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) established a support hotline for victims of violence with the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2018 - seven years after parliament passed its Combating Domestic Violence Law. The hotline was contacted more than 10,000 times in 2023.
The Iraqi constitution prohibits the use of violence within the family, but only the Kurdistan Region has a law on domestic violence. Activists, humanitarians, and lawmakers have worked toward amending the domestic violence law to increase safety for women and vulnerable groups in addition to establishing more expedient legal options in the Region.
At least 30 women were killed in the Kurdistan Region in 2023, according to DCVAW. In 2022, the Region reported its highest femicide rate in years, with at least 44 women killed.
