Germany, Iraq, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, San Marino, Slovenia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States and Yugoslavia.

Additional replies received for the First Report: Australia, Austria, Barbados, Bulgaria, Canada, Congo, Croatia, Greece, Guatemala, Lesotho, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Thailand.

In the report, the concept of domestic violence traditionally defined as violence perpetrated by intimates against intimates or to woman-battering within the home is now exposed in its various forms and dimensions and defined as "violence perpetrated in the domestic sphere which targets women because of their role within that sphere or as violence which is intended to impact, directly and negatively, on women within the domestic sphere and may be carried out by both private and public actors or agents" and although encompassing but not limited to physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, it also includes the crimes of battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation.

By clearly defining the various and specific forms of domestic violence, it can no longer be regarded as a private problem within the household, nor the rhetoric of public versus private can be used to confer impunity to perpetrators of domestic crimes which are violations to human rights.

"The concept of State responsibility has developed to recognize that States also have an obligation to take preventive and punitive steps where human rights violation by private actors occur." It has been clearly stated that governments have the obligation to refrain from committing, prevent human rights violations without discrimination to their citizens and to respond by investigating violations when they occur and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Therefore, a "State can be held complicit where it fails systematically to provide protection from private actors who deprive any person of his/her human rights".

Challenging the theory that domestic violence is a less severe form of violence than the torture perpetrated directly by the State, jurists argue that psychological experts in torture and gender violence have agreed that domestic violence constitute a form of torture as both:

1. cause severe physical and/or psychological pain including death in some cases;
2. like officially inflicted torture, domestic violence is intentionally inflicted to obtain information, punishment, intimidation, discrimination, and, under the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, to destroy the personality and diminish the capacities of the woman. As in torture, battering may involve a humiliating interrogation whose purpose is more the assertion of supremacy and possession over the victim than the acquisition of information. Battered women, like official torture victims may be explicitly punished for infraction of constantly changing and impossible to meet rules. Both may be intimidated and broken by the continual threat of physical violence and verbal abuse; and both may be most effectively manipulated by intermittent kindness. Intimate violence is, as has been internationally recognized, an expression and act of gender discrimination;
3. addressing the problem of the tacit involvement of States either by not exercising due diligence and equal protection to prevent and punish domestic abuse or by permitting this violence in acting passively or half-hearted or abandoning the battered woman to the dominion of the batterer, the international human rights framework could be applied then adequate measures to prevent and punish the abusers are not undertaken by the State.

"The argument that domestic violence should be understood and treated as a form of torture and, when less severe, as ill-treatment, is one that deserves consideration by the Rapporteur and treaty bodies that investigate these violations together perhaps with appropriate NGO experts and jurists."

The Special Rapporteur, therefore, has prepared the attached standard format for reporting on alleged cases of gender- based violence against women which should be sent to:

The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Centre for Human Rights United Nations 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Fax: (41-22)917-0212

Studies have shown that when called in domestic violence cases police often try to mediate or counsel the couple rather than to treat the incident like a criminal matter.

A synthesis of the broader concept of acts that constitute violence against women addressed in Ms. Coomaraswamy's first report include:

WOMAN-BATTERING (Page 15)

Woman-battering may lead to murder. However, physical harm is not the only damage caused. As in acts of torture, psychological consequences are "stress and stress-related illnesses such as post- traumatic stress syndrome, panic attacks, depression, somatic problems, elevated blood pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, low self-esteem and an alarming high incidence of suicide and suicide attempts."

FEMICIDE DUE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (Page 16)

India, Bangladesh, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Peru, United States: High correlation between domestic violence and suicide.

United States: 35 to 40% of battered women attempt suicide, many successfully. An estimated 2 million women are beaten by their male partners each year.

Malaysia: Of the 6.2% of cases that rose to the level of criminal assault between 1990 and 1992, only 0.5% of the cases were brought to court.

India: A survey revealed that 9 out of 10 murdered women were killed by their husbands.

INCEST (Page 19)

Incest is not only a crime but a violation of the human rights of children protected under international law. States therefore are held to due diligence standards in preventing, prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of incest in all societies. The vast majority of countries throughout the world legislate against incest and make it a criminal offense. However, the essential question is whether sanctions are effectively applied in any given society.

FORCED PROSTITUTION (Page 20)

Domestic violence in the form of forced prostitution by male partners or parents has been reported worldwide.

Pakistan: It is common for women to be prostituted by their husbands in addition to being physically or sexually abused by them.

Nepal: Young indigenous women from rural villages are sold or tricked by their husbands or relatives into being trafficked to India for prostitution and sexual slavery.

India: Many women who have been prostituted are forcibly sterilized, barred from communicating with their families and prohibited from returning to their homes.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS (Page 21)

The escalating proportions of violence against female domestic workers has only recently been given attention at the international level. Non-existent and ineffective laws and enforcement mechanisms exacerbate violence by creating a situation in which women migrant domestic workers are vulnerable, lack protection and rights.

Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia: Increasing unemployment and poverty in these countries lead women to seek employment abroad.

At least 50% of the over 10 million Asian migrant workers are women.

Kuwait: From March 1991 until August 1992, at least 2,000 women domestic servants escaped violent situations, generally seeking shelter in their embassies.

Kuwait, United Arab Emirate, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore: A non- governmental organization has identified that there exists a significant and persuasive pattern of rape, physical assault and mistreatment of Asian maids that takes place largely with impunity.

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE GIRL CHILD (Page 24)

Sexual, physical and psychological violence against children is perpetrated against both male and female children. However, there are gender dimensions to child abuse: an estimated 90% of victims of child sexual abuse are girl children and more than 90% of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse are men.

United States: The rate of child abuse in violent domestic situations is 1,500% of the national average.

Colombia: In Bogot , a study documented that 1,200 children were living on the streets after being forced from homes in which domestic violence occurred and of these children, 389 were prostituted, 32 were beggars and 122 used drugs.

SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTIONS AND FEMALE INFANTICIDE (Page 25)

Son preference is the discriminatory preference for male children that often results in violence against and maltreatment of female foetuses and girl children. In many cases, States either passively acquiesce or overtly sanction such violence, mostly perpetrated by parents or family members, through official policies.

Within cultures with a high level of son preference, female infanticide provides a disturbing alternative when there is no access to amniocentesis, sonogrammes and abortions. Infanticide has been described as a "mechanism through which societies dispose of a girl child to relieve parents of the "burden" associated with the birth of a girl child.

India: The persistence of cultural practices that discriminate against girls and women means not only abuse but also the deaths of countless women. A study conducted in one clinic showed that out of 8,000 aborted foetuses, 7,997 were female. Another survey in Bombay showed that 40,000 female foetuses were aborted in one year.

China: the one-child policy demonstrates the interlinkage between State-approved violence and domestic violence. This policy encourages and endorses sex-selective abortions of female foetuses and female infanticide. In 1997, 117 boys were born for every 100 girls, a figure significantly higher than the world average of 106 males to every 100 females. Thus, approximately 500,000 more male children than female children are born each year in China.

Developing countries: More boys are immunized and treated by hospitals than girls. Girls between 2-5 years-old have higher death rates than boys. In many cultures, girls and women are allowed to eat less food than boys and men. Iron deficiency in Africa affects between 75-96% of girls of 15 and older and in India 70% of girls between 6-14 years-old.

TRADITIONAL PRACTICES AFFECTING THE HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN (Page 27)

Certain customary practices and some aspects of traditions, such as those related to deeply rooted power inequities of society often constitute a cause of violence against women and girls. Blind adherence, lack of information and education and State inaction contribute to the continuing existence of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children today in Asia, Africa and increasingly in Western countries with large immigrant communities from those regions.

Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Sudan: Australia reported that female genital mutilation of women immigrants from those countries had increased by 154% since 1991.

Lesotho: Indicated that female genital mutilation still takes place in cases where girls and women are sent to initiation schools. Africa: According to information received from an NGO, it is pressure from the local mullahs which makes Muslim women believe that the practice of female genital mutilation constitutes an integral part of being a Muslim and is therefore not to be challenged.

LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AS REPORTED BY GOVERNMENTS (Page 31)

Twenty-five reports by governments on: specific criminal provision; protection available; domestic violence as grounds for divorce; specific provision on marital rape and specific procedural protection for victims, were received by the Special Rapporteur from Australia, Austria, Barbados, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Yugoslavia.

MODEL LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (Pages 33 and attached)

Attached is Addendum 2 which was prepared for the Special Rapporteur by International Women in Law and Development. It is a model which can, and should be used when lobbying your government. "It could be argued that there is no one model that would lead to the eradication of violence against women in all societies but there are important elements that must be included in any strategy to combat violence against women and can be adapted to different socio-cultural contexts.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AT THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS. (Pages 38-41)

The nature of violence against women, its prevalence, persistence and high incidence throughout the world demand States to adopt strategies to fulfill their international obligations effectively, and if statistics demonstrate that existing laws are ineffective in protecting women from violence, States must find other complementary mechanisms to prevent domestic violence.

1. Use the attached model legislation when demanding your government to enact legislation on domestic violence.
2. Demand that your government ratify all international human rights instruments.
3. Withdraw any reservation on all human rights instruments particularly the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw). And to adopt and ratify an optional cedaw protocol which would allow women the right to seek redress for violations against their human rights.
4. Demand your government to comply with the reporting requirements of the various human rights instruments and ensure the inclusion of gender-specific information to all such instruments.
5. Demand your government to undertake legal literacy campaigns to inform women of their legal rights and educate men and women about domestic violence as a crime.
6. Implement in your plan of action further specific recommendations listed in Ms. Coomaraswamy's report from (e) to (w), pages 38-41.
7. Do not hesitate to use, when necessary, the confidential violence against women information form, which is attached, to request justice to any violation committed against women. The concerted action of the international community to combat violence against women is part of the general campaign for human rights.

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