Together against violence

Baku / 25.11.17 / Turan: Within the framework of the Global Movement "Sixteen days of active action against gender violence", a similar thematic campaign was launched in Azerbaijan that coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marked on November 25. Its organizers are the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Development Program, UNICEF, the International Migration Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the State Committee for Family, Women and Children.

The goal of the action, which is also held in 100 countries, is to draw public attention to the current problem of domestic violence, the victims of which are most often women and children. In addition, the process is aimed at combating trafficking in human beings, ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for women and men, as well as enhancing cooperation between government bodies and public organizations in order to eliminate domestic violence and protect women's rights.

Speaking at the conference on this occasion, the chairman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova noted the importance of holding such events in terms of changing gender stereotypes, raising people's awareness of this problem, taking measures to prevent domestic violence. She said additional measures are needed to increase the effectiveness of the fight against all forms of violence against women, coordinate the actions of the government and civil institutions.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ghulam Isakzai said that an important part of preventive work in this area is close cooperation of state structures with international organizations, which contributes to the implementation of new initiatives to improve the legal framework, expand opportunities for girls and women in access to education, medicine, careers. Discrimination of women in obtaining a profession, specialty, in the realization of its potential is directly related to the violation of their rights.

The US Deputy Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ulm Gill noted that gender violence threatens not only the health, dignity and safety of women, but also the whole society. Such facts increase the level of aggression in families, harm the health of people and the economy of the country. We need concerted action by all interested parties to defeat this evil.

The idea of ​​coordinating actions to increase the productivity of activities against gender-based violence was the main leitmotif of speeches delivered by human rights activists, lawyers and experts at the conference.

The problem of domestic violence is very relevant in Azerbaijan, as evidenced not only by criminal statistics, but also by the results of independent research, debates in the Milli Majlis, where the deputies urge the government to take effective measures. Unfortunately, that for our already burdened with economic, financial problems of society, the social phenomenon of domestic violence is characteristic. Although this is already talked about openly, many regard family relations as one of the most personal and closed topics. Moreover, there are even those who justify assaulting against the weaker sex. The Center for Public Health and Reforms of the Ministry of Health of the Republic has recently conducted a study, the results of which caused an easy shock among the project coordinators. Respondents-women were asked about domestic violence. The poll was conducted in Lankaran, Beylagan, Fizuli and Shamkir regions among 400 women over the age of 18. They were asked in which case a man has the right to beat a woman, among whom were burnt food, a conflict with her husband, leaving the house without her husband's permission, refusing intimacy. Some women agreed that in these cases a man can beat his wife. In general, 28% of respondents believe that it is right to beat their husbands' wives for one of these reasons.

The figure is alarming, indicating the survivability of stereotypes of behavior of our modern women, about the lack of conformity of the mentality with the desire to realize their rights to the fullest. But there is another, equally worrying trend: according to official figures, if 530 cases of domestic violence were recorded in Azerbaijan in 2015, this figure amounted to almost 900 crimes last year; 791 women and 4 minors were injured, and 29 women were killed.

According to the head of the Public Union "Clean World" Mehriban Zeynalova, it is too early to speak about the effectiveness of combating gender violence, despite the fact that under the pressure of public and international organizations the government began to take some measures. This concerns the creation of an electronic database of victims of domestic violence, the adoption of laws, the opening of temporary shelters for women who find themselves in a difficult life situation.

"But all this is not enough. The legislative base needs improvement, there are inconsistencies in the documents, the mechanism for their implementation is not considered. In addition, many law enforcement officers through the fingers look at such facts and do not react to them. Because of this attitude of law enforcement officers, most offenders go unpunished. In addition, the law clearly does not differentiate the types of violence against women, respectively, the degree of punishment is not specified. In other words, real criminal responsibility for a man threatens only in the event of a lethal outcome of the conflict. In all other cases, it is difficult for a woman to even prove the fact of physical, economic or psychological violence," Zeynalova points out.

Another important detail - the difficulty of obtaining a "security warrant", a document that must protect a woman from a domestic tyrant. Under the law, such a warrant can only give a woman a court. It is asked how many women, especially in regions of the country that have been subjected to violence by their husbands, decide to go to court, go through all the inquiry procedures and wait for the receipt of this document. It is no accident, since 2013 in Azerbaijan only about 20 people have received such documents, although thousands of victims of domestic violence are counted.

According to Zeynalova, there are a lot of shortcomings in this sphere that do not allow forming a full-fledged system of protection for women subjected to violence. Along with shelters for victims of domestic violence, it is extremely important to organize psychological support centers for victims of violence, to train psychologists and social workers working with conflict families. For these reasons, the effectiveness of the measures taken in this direction is extremely low.

The chairman of the Women's Society for Rational Development Shahla Ismail agrees with this position. According to her, in recent years violence against women in Azerbaijan has acquired a sharp form and wide scope. For persuasiveness, it's enough to track the criminal chronicle daily. At the national level, there are legislative acts whose effectiveness is questionable.

"Our country has not yet joined the EU Convention on Counteracting Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women, which provides for additional legal, organizational, institutional measures in this area.

Our laws have emptiness and mutual exclusion, which leads to no coordination of actions. They need to be eliminated. Without these measures, the system of preventing domestic violence will not function fully," summed up Shahla Ismail.

The International action "Sixteen days of active action against gender violence" will end on December 10 on International Human Rights Day. These dates underscore the symbolic link between violence against women and the violation of human rights.--0--