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Towards mechanisms to besiege domestic violence against women

 “Towards mechanisms to besiege domestic violence against women“

Policy Paper

Issued it

Public Policy Analysis and Human Rights Unit

Affiliate Foundation

, Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights

Under a project

The Universal Periodic Review as a Tool to Improve Public Policies during the Transition (Funded by the European Union)

June 30, 2016

 

“This publication was implemented with the assistance of the European Union. The content of this publication is the responsibility of the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights and can in no way be considered a reflection of the views of the European Union.”

Violence is one of the unacceptable phenomena that women suffer from everywhere. Towards mechanisms to combat domestic violence against women! The world, but the concept of violence differs and changes from one society to another according to the awareness of the local community, the degree of its progress, the extent of its knowledge and developed civilized culture, and also the degree and level of the concept of social justice and human values firmly established in the conscience of the various local communities, and the extent of those communities’ respect for the principle of the rule of law and human rights in these communities. .

The human rights movement in many Arab countries, as well as international organizations, has provided a helping hand to those countries in working to reduce the phenomenon of violence against women in general and violence against women within the small family in particular, after the phenomenon of domestic violence against women has become a major title for violations of women's rights This is what called the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 to issue a universal declaration calling for the elimination of physical and psychological violence directed against women in order to lift injustice and eliminate abnormal and bad practices towards women.

In spite of these efforts made by human rights organizations in general and feminist organizations in particular in reducing this phenomenon, the phenomenon of domestic violence against women remained present in most Arab and Egyptian societies in particular, which made it impossible to reduce those risks facing the Egyptian family as a result of this negative phenomenon in Unfortunately, it has cast a shadow over development efforts and establishing standards for social, economic and political justice, which requires more awareness campaigns, shedding light on this phenomenon and addressing it radically.

 And under interesting Public Policy Analysis and Human Rights Unit With the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights with the recommendations that were submitted to Egypt in light of the universal periodic review and the Egyptian government's position on the recommendations and in light of the foundation’s implementation of a project The Universal Periodic Review as a Tool to Improve Public Policies during the TransitionFunded by the European Union during 2016-2017, the Foundation has focused on shedding light on this issue through a policy analysis paper entitled” Towards mechanisms to besiege domestic violence against women “Let's stand on the legal, constitutional and human rights situation for this issue.

The paper dealt with several basic points: I started by defining the concept of domestic violence in general. We turned to the definition of domestic violence against women and explained the concept of violence and forms of domestic violence against women, its causes, motives and the extent of its impact on society. Then the paper dealt with the concept of a culture of violence against women in the local community and monitored numbers Statistics on the number of families who have been abused. The paper also intended to highlight the legal gaps that hinder the accountability of those responsible for violence against women. The paper also examined the efforts made by the state and civil society to take care of and rehabilitate women who are victims of violence.

Then the paper moved to present the constitutional, legislative and legal framework for that issue, and in the final part of it, this paper listed the most important solutions and recommendations to address the issue of domestic violence against women at the legislative level, and the level of qualification and training of those in charge of caring for women who have been victims of violence, and the paper also presented recommendations to the executive authorities in the country to reduce this Phenomenon.

The first axis: the concept of domestic violence against women

  • The concept of violence

The phenomenon of violence is considered one of the phenomena that have existed since the beginning of creation, and violence has been linked and is still related to the social environment in which a person lives and the environment in which he is affected, and with scientific progress a different division of the phenomenon of violence began to appear, which varied in its forms and diversified into new types, including: political violence and religious violence, Domestic violence, which varied and was also divided into: Domestic violence against women - Domestic violence against children - Domestic violence against the elderly. Violence is that behavior associated with the use of physical force that is physically or morally damaging. Scientists say that violence was never of a human nature. Rather, it was acquired, citing this by saying that a person when he was born was not violent in nature, but the problems of daily life and the violence of parents are the ones that implant in the brain cells genes that make violence sometimes in a person a method and a means to confront others. Because of these legacies and with the chronological development of the incident, sociologists have divided violence into three types: verbal, psychological, and physical violence.

Violence is a form of mental deficiency towards a situation, a sign of an unsuspecting soul, an image of fear from the other side, no matter how many forms that fear, and a reflection of anxiety, impatience and balance, and one of the faces of chest tightness and lack of resourcefulness and is an indication of weakness of personality, lack of composure and balance of behavior. Whatever the physiological or environmental cause, violence is culturally, ethically, behaviorally and socially rejected.([1]).

  • The concept of domestic violence

Domestic violence is one of the most important and dangerous types of violence, and this type of violence has received attention and study as a result of the greatness of the family’s role. It is the first building block for building society. Domestic violence is a pattern of aggressive behavior in which the strong demonstrate his power and strength over the weak to use it to achieve its own goals and purposes. All means of violence, whether physical, verbal or moral, and the perpetrator of violence is not necessarily one of the parents, but rather the strongest in the family, and we are not surprised that the person who practices violence against him is one of the parents if it reaches the stage of disability and old age. One of the types of verbal, physical or sexual abuse issued by the strongest in the family against an individual or other individuals who represent the weakest group, resulting in physical, psychological or social harm..

Scholars define family violence as the behavior that a family member issues towards another individual, whether this behavior contains physical or verbal aggression or psychological oppression of whatever degree, intentionally as a result of anger or frustration or a desire for revenge or self-defense or to force him to Doing certain actions or being prevented from doing certain things .  This specifically means: beating of all kinds, imprisonment of freedom, deprivation of basic needs, forcing to do an act against the individual’s desire, expulsion, insulting, insulting, assault and sexual assaults, and causing physical or psychological fractures or wounds. From the above it is clear that the problem of domestic violence is a social problem that affects all Aspects of society, therefore, it is necessary to address them and work to understand them to develop practical solutions that can be relied upon to eliminate this societal destructive phenomenon.

The phenomenon of violence is like other social phenomena that need to know its true size and awareness of objective factors to understand and analyze the phenomenon, as well as awareness of the lifestyle of life so that the phenomenon can be analyzed from its societal context to determine the course of its development, and to uncover its causes in order to work to limit its spread.

  • The concept of domestic violence against women

UN Women defines violence against women as “any violent act that leads to sexism and that results in, or is likely to result in, harm or suffering to women, whether from a physical, sexual or psychological point of view, including the threat of such acts, coercion or Arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether it occurs in public or private life. ”([2]) Gender-related violence against women is violence directed against a woman because of her being a woman or violence that affects women unfairly. Progressive interpretations of the definition contained in the UN declaration assert that acts of omission, such as neglect or deprivation, can constitute forms of violence against women. Some of these interpretations also state that structural violence (the harm that results from the effect of economic regulation on women's lives) is a form of violence against women. Violence against women may take a physical, psychological or sexual character. There are those who believe that violence is the last language of communication that can be used with others when a person feels unable to communicate his voice through regular means of dialogue, but he comes with the woman the first language to communicate with her as some use it as if the other does not have another language to use, to make this violence a nightmare Her existence, to paralyze her movement and energies, and to make her ruins of depression, sadness and submission. There are also those who define violence as  Any violent, hostile, or insulting act you pay Nervousness of sex is committed by any means against any woman for being a woman and causing her psychological harm Or physical, sexual, or suffering, including the threat of such acts, or coercion, or Coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether it occurs in public or private life“.  From the definition we understand that violence is any intentional or unintended act that causes psychological suffering Or the physical or sexual of the woman, aggression is violence and humiliation is violence, and everything that creates her suffering from oppression, fear and threat is violence. Every act is practiced by men in the family or society, starting from Insulting, sexual harassment, cruelty against her, detracting from her value as a human being and forcing her Doing what she does not want, depriving her of her rights and ending with rape or murder, is violence against woman. 

The second axis: forms of domestic violence against women and its impact on society

  • Forms of domestic violence against women

Domestic violence against women includes

  • physical violence([3]) It is the material coercion on a person to force him to perform a certain behavior or commitment, in other words it is the abuse of force, and it means the total harm and damage to the physical integrity of a person. The manifestations of physical violence and physical abuse of women are represented in several forms such as (bruises - burns - wounds - broken bones - abortion )
  • Sexual violence([4]): It is a behavior that a member of the family promotes towards another individual that involves physical assault on him, to a slight or severe degree, deliberately destroying situations of anger or frustration or a desire for revenge or self-defense or to force him to commit certain acts or prevent him from committing them. He has to inflict physical or psychological harm, or both, to him, and it is interpreted as the husband's resorting to using his power and authority to have sex with his wife without regard to her health or psychological condition or sexual desires. The husband’s sexual violence against his wife is more like rape, which means forcing the woman to have sex without her desire. It also includes forms of sexual violence such as sexual abuse of the wife, the use of deviant methods and methods that are outside the rules of morality and religion in the process of sex, and denounce her sexual method to humiliate and degrade her.
  • The moral and sensory violence is divided into ([5])
  • Verbal violence: It is all that hurts the wife’s feelings of insulting and insulting, or any words that carry insulting, or describing the victim with bad qualities, which makes her feel insulted and underestimated. Such as mockery, verbal harassment, and nicknames intended to inform women of inefficiency in order to keep them under control.
  • Home confinement or deprivation of liberty: This may be common in some families, violence and punishment of women for behavior that does not correspond to the viewpoint of the perpetrator. Perhaps this type of moral violence is practiced against women and girls, even if there are no reasons for practicing it.
  • The causes and motives of domestic violence against women
  • Intrinsic motivations: They are those impulses that emerge from the person himself and lead him to family violence. These motives may stem from psychological deposition as a result of external circumstances such as neglect, abuse and violence inflicted against a person since his childhood, as well as the conditions of the environment surrounding the upbringing that result in various psychological accumulations that lead to The human end to violence within the family to compensate for those conditions that he was previously exposed to. The intrinsic motives are divided into: -
  • The physiological makeup of the man: where aggression is related to the male element in Arab societies in general and Egypt in particular, especially in rural areas and southern Egypt, which is one of the customs and character of men, and men take this aggressive behavior towards their wives to compensate for their internal deficiency, as studies have concluded that There is a relationship between high male hormone levels and a tendency to be aggressive in men.
  • Addiction and alcohol: where addiction and alcohol affect the human nervous system, and it may lead to loss of control, focus and lack of awareness of it well, and resorting to violence is easier for the person under its influence.
  • Physical impairments:Physical impairments affect the family relationship, which often leads to a bad relationship between the spouses, where the physical impairment leads to a feeling of inferiority and shame on the part of the man towards the woman, which makes the man quick to anger and excitement, which results in an increase in the number of problems and disputes, and the family may not tolerate satisfying the needs of the disabled Because he feels weak in the family leadership and lack of his standing, and this may push the wife to go out to work and the family leadership moves to her, which makes the husband feel inferior and may be distracted from caring for her children, and here violence is one of the man’s means to prove his ability to drive.
  • Mental and psychological health:  The level of intelligence is considered one of the factors governing the increase in the rate of violence between husband and wife, especially when the wife is more intelligent, which makes the steering wheel in the hands of the wife and pushes the man to violence to compensate for this lack of intelligence degrees. There is no denying that mental factors - the level of intelligence, for example - are related to the degree There is a great deal of stability in the family and avoiding various problems, their emergence or increase. The level of intelligence leads to a difference between the thinking of the husband and the wife, and then multiple problems appear within the family. If the wife is of high intelligence from the husband, this may lead to her tendency to control and control the affairs of the family. the husband; The matter that results in serious conflicts that may threaten the entity of the family and may cause it to collapse, and there is no doubt also that mental health has a great impact on family relations, whether between a husband and his wife, between parents and children, or between children each other and the effect may be bad if these factors are not Healthy and bad mental health.
  • Economic motives:In many societies, the economic drive is largely responsible for domestic violence. Poverty and unemployment result in a lack of material resources, which creates a feeling of anxiety and fear, which leads to the husband who is exposed to suffering and conflicts in the area of losing a sense of his position and his power to control his work or deal with his colleagues or any element or any other elements in the external environment, but when he returns to his home Exercises power over family members
  • Social motives: The customs, temperaments, and cultures that a society has grown up in demand from the head of the family according to what they aspire to. These false traditions represent his manhood in leading his family through violence and excessive force towards the family, especially the wife, considering that violence and force are the measure through which the extent of his courage and manhood is shown in front of society and commensurate with The social motive is directly proportional to the amount of the society’s culture, especially the family culture. The higher the level of the society’s culture and the degree of awareness, the less the amount of domestic violence. On the contrary, the lower awareness and culture within a society, the higher the amount of domestic violence. It is worth noting that there are some members of society who believe in a culture of violence who do not believe in these bad customs and traditions, but they fall under the weight of social pressures.
  • Non-compliance with authority: Wives 'non-compliance with their husbands is the result of wives' saturation with domination and control over the opposite sex. A wife of this type always likes to have the center stage in the family, meaning that her husband occupies a secondary position, so we find this wife if she finds her husband in a council or family meeting trying hard to She is proud of her control over this husband, so she works to interrupt him while speaking, objecting to his views and trying to reduce their importance. Which makes it a source of concern for the husband, which leads to poor relations between them as a result of the lack of family compatibility, and violence from the man towards the wife becomes the only way to control her.
  • Watch children quarrels with parents:It is unfortunate that we find some fathers who are accustomed to quarrels and violence within the family who do so in the presence of their children and do not care about the extent of the impact of such behavior on children in the future, especially when it is more authoritarian, but if it is true, with more violence and cruelty, which would lead It leaves a trace on the children and becomes a reason for their subsequent practice of this violence against their family members, and therefore the children's viewing of an aggressive model that causes them to imitate it is not surprising if we see the child who watches his father destroy everything around him when he becomes angry for him to imitate this aggressive behavior.

It is regrettable for fathers to become accustomed to quarrels and violence towards their wives in front of their children, which leaves a trace within the children and is a reason later for their practicing this violence against their family members, and therefore the children’s viewing of an aggressive model makes them imitate it. It is not surprising if we see the child who watches his father bullying The mother imitates this aggressive behavior towards his future wife.

  • Sagging wife's sexual:One of the causes of domestic violence is the sexual dullness of the wife and her constant prevention of her husband when he desires her, especially when the working woman suffers from the phenomenon of the double day inside and outside the home often under the influence of fatigue and exhaustion.
  • The impact of violence on the primary family and society as a whole

Domestic violence is considered the most dangerous disease that threatens the family and society, as it is considered the most important factor in family breakdown and cracking. Where domestic violence contributes to hindering the family's movement and making it difficult for it to perform its functions.

Where studies confirmed that many health effects appear as a result of violence practiced in the family. The report issued by the World Health Organization highlighted that the phenomenon of domestic violence causes severe health effects([6])Another study states: “The chronic hardship resulting from exposure to violence and the constant fear of its occurrence leads victims to frequent doctors’ clinics to seek treatment for some psychological symptoms, such as headache, coughing, tingling, numbness, insomnia, and weight loss. ”[7]). The psychological effects of violence on women range from psychological and psychosomatic diseases such as gynecological problems and chest diseases, to other diseases that have no organic basis, as a direct result of violence against women, especially since the latter often resort to disease as one of the schemes of temporary strategies that They are used as a savior to avoid violence and to circumvent the situation in a societal framework that binds them to silence and submission through education and upbringing.([8])One of the most important psychological effects that appear on a woman is the feeling of fear after being exposed to violence or during an assault. And she may feel guilty even without making a mistake. She may feel responsible for this violence, she may feel failure and frustration as a woman and as a wife, and she may feel that she has been drawn into this marriage and that she has become helpless.([9]). Finally, you may feel lonely, lacking shelter and fear of death. Among the other effects that appear on the battered woman within her family is the decrease in her ability to care for and take care of her children. It increases the likelihood of hitting her children. And she may be inclined to hate them because they force her to continue in that marital relationship that she cannot bear.

The third axis: the reality of domestic violence against women in Egypt - a view (cultural, statistical, and legal)

  • The reality of the culture of domestic violence against women in Egypt

The ancient ideas, customs and traditions rooted in the culture of the majority of the Egyptian people, which in reality carry a special vision to distinguish the male from the female, which leads to dwarfing the female and its role in exchange for the glorification of the male and its role.

As we see that society always gives the right to males to have authority and domination over the female, just as society does not reproach the male from practicing violence against women from a young age and his family encourages him to do so, especially the mother, where the mother encourages male sons to pursue their daughters and gives the mother the authority to males to practice psychological, verbal and physical violence against girls Even if the males grow older, and the family transmits a spirit of subservience and acceptance to the female to accept violence, tolerate it and submit to it, regardless of the negative effects resulting from this treatment towards females.

Society is also witnessing a state of diminishing the role of women in popular folklore, such as popular sayings and proverbs and stories circulated by Egyptians in general, including females themselves, which highlight the rootedness of diminishing the role of women in this societal culture, so that these inheritances give males the right to use violence against women and beating wives such as The wife's saying when her husband beats her, “The shadow of a man and not the shadow of a wall” or “A woman is like a carpet, the more she steps on it, the more its price increases.” ……… etc. The Egyptian drama supports and contributes to reinforcing this negative discrimination against women and makes those who accept all types and patterns of violence against women it is okay.

In addition, there are values and concepts that try to legitimize family violence, and to give those who practice it the right to do so under the justification of discipline or the exercise of the legitimate right, and the society’s negative or rejectionist position against those who decide to rebel against one of his family members (such as a father, husband or brother) Al Akbar), and requests retribution and bring it to justice. In addition to other social, psychological and living considerations in the matter that make dealing with domestic violence cases a different matter and then require a special system that accommodates those matters surrounding it, and special provisions must be drawn up to describe the crime of family violence, define its elements, descriptions and cases, how to report it, protect its victims and prosecute the perpetrators. And prevent them from recurring their crimes, in addition to the existence of precautionary and corrective measures aimed at protecting the family without addressing the rights of the victims. As the Penal Code cannot accommodate all this specificity, its provisions cannot address the crime of domestic violence according to its circumstances and requirements. Although we do not deny the deterrent effects of imprisonment and fines as they are in the Penal Code, they are insufficient in our view, and there are preventive and other precautionary and reform measures that the Family Protection Law must address so that there is a legal and human rights balance between family members regardless of age differences Sex, power, dependency, or need([10]).

  • Figures and statistics about domestic violence in Egypt [11]

Numerous international statistics related to the issue of violence against women have proven that the material imbalance in societies, chronic or semi-chronic unemployment, and economic inflation that is reflected in the standard of living of low-income individuals that cause prices to rise, in addition to cases of idleness, lack of educational discipline and acceptance of corruption, Weak faith in God and wrongly employing the concepts of religion are all matters that contribute to the emergence of violence, and make the phenomenon of violence against women in particular a natural thing, as previous studies have shown that approximately three out of every 4 women are exposed to at least one form of violence from their husbands At any time during their marital life (with a rate of 79.3%) and that more than a third of women (36.7%) who were exposed during their marital life to any form of violence continued to practice violence against them

Research results also showed that nearly a third of women (31.7%) are approximately exposed to only two types of spousal violence, followed by the percentage of women who are subjected to three types of marital violence, at a rate (28.2%), then women who are subjected to one type of violence. (12.3%) Finally, the lowest percentage of women in the field survey sample (7.1%), who are exposed to all forms of marital violence.

Also, the results showed that more than 3 women were subjected to at least one form of physical violence from their husbands (64.3%), and that approximately 3 women out of 5 women were subjected to either a light beating (55.6%) or a moderate beating (57.1%), while Fewer than one out of every 5 women is severely beaten by her husband, and as for women being tortured or attempted to be killed, the percentage for this practice did not exceed 0.75% within Egyptian families. Studies also said that approximately one out of every 15 women is beaten. During pregnancy, the rate of 6.84% decreased

The results of the study showed that the most used form of light hitting was light pushing, which was exposed to 53.8%, followed by shaking with a rate of 38.4% and finally pinching or biting with a rate of 29.1%.

The results also showed that the most common form of medium beating was the percentage of slapping on the face at the forefront of the rates, as nearly half of the women (46.2%) had been slapped in the face, followed by forceful pushing, which more than a quarter of the sample of women suffered from ( 26.4%), then came hair pulling, fist punching, and throwing objects that could lead to injuries, with comparable rates of 23.3%, 22.7%, and 21.5%, respectively. Then came to the cultivation with a rate of 17.7%, then simple hitting with the hand or something that could hurt at a rate of 15.4%, then came the forms of beating the most insulting to women with lower rates, we find that 11.9% of the sample women had reached the physical humiliation with them to the point of pulling from hair and 7% to the point Ground scuffing and the 5.6% to the point of kicking a foot.

The study also revealed that approximately one out of every 8 women is severely beaten by her husband (12.4). With regard to the rates for forms of torture or attempted murder, we find that small percentages came, and the percentage for any of them did not exceed 2.6%, where these were recorded. The percentage is in the attempt to suffocate as well as the bracing to prevent movement 2.5%, then the attack with a knife or a pistol or another type of weapon 1%, then the torture with a sharp or hot object 0.7%, and finally the attempt to burn with fire or something hot, which only one woman suffered from 0.1%.

Field research and surveys considered that the material causes came on top of the various causes of violence, with a percentage of 41.6% of the total number of women who were subjected to violence, meaning that approximately two out of every 5 women are subjected to violence by their husbands due to material matters. As for the reason that follows the material reasons, we find that the woman herself is responsible for it in the first place, as more than a third of the women who have been practicing violence against them (36.31 TP1T) reported that they had been subjected to violence by their husbands due to their provocation to their husbands (approximately 3 women from All 8 women). Almost a third of the women also admitted that “the husband’s excessive nervousness and agitation” (33.7%) and “the psychological pressure that the husband is exposed to in his work” (32.4%) were among the reasons responsible for receiving some violent behavior from their husbands..Some research also showed that slightly less than half of women (45.6%) are satisfied with crying only when they are beaten by their husbands, followed by women who leave the house (16.3%) and women who have no reaction to the violence they receive (16%), then a decrease appears. Noticeable in the following percentages, where 7.1% of women delegate their command to God and pray to their husbands for guidance, and unlike this behavior, 3.5% women call on their husbands when they are beaten. As for the women who cried out for help, their rate reached 6.2%, then came the quarrel with the husband at a rate of 2.6%, followed by the woman's response to beating a similar rate of 1.2%, then the request for divorce 0.9%, neglecting the house and not preparing food 0.2%

In a study conducted by the National Center for Women, it was mentioned that the urban governorates had made a head start on the level of domestic violence against women (35.2%) out of the total number of female victims at the level of the Republic.

  • Legal and societal gaps that led to domestic violence against women

Egyptian law establishes criminal protection for women in many areas, but there are other areas that need to be strengthened with criminal protection, and the criminal legislator's intervention in specific areas is required in order to protect women from some forms of violence that are still practiced against them. Finally, there are criminal provisions that distinguish between men and women in criminalization and punishment, in violation of the International Convention against Discrimination Against Women and Islamic Sharia itself.

Egyptian law recognizes criminal protection in separate texts for women in many cases, but here are areas and other cases that require criminal and legislative support and protection, where the legislator must issue legislation in order to protect women from some forms of violence that are still practiced against them without any deterrence. The following are some areas that It still needs to do more to change the wrong behavior patterns facing women, through legislative intervention to ensure the necessary protection of women's rights. Whereas, domestic violence is part of the phenomenon of violence against women, and includes physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence that occurs within the family by some of its members who have authority, guardianship, or relationship with the victim. It is most likely that the woman is the victim of violence perpetrated by her husband, father, children or relatives. The law punishes the law for most forms of domestic violence in separate texts. However, there are some forms of domestic violence that are not explicitly covered by the provisions of the law, the most important of which is([12]) :-

  • The text of the Penal Code, which says that (there is no crime if the act takes place in the use of a right established according to the law), opens the door for accepting some forms of domestic violence as part of the agreed upon norms or of the rights that religion has prescribed for the husband to discipline his wife if she breaks his obedience Or the right of parents to discipline their children.
  • Depriving women of inheritance, and requiring legislative intervention to amend the inheritance law by adding a new article penalizing whoever deprives one of the legal heirs, male or female, of his legal right to inheritance.
  • Beating wives severely, causing severe injuries under the guise of the right to discipline that the husband practices against his wife. We have seen that the Egyptian law does not exclude wife beating from the criminalization domain, but often this matter is not dealt with in the departments except in those cases that lead to the permanent disability of the wife.
  • Female circumcision and we have seen that the law despite the criminalization of female circumcision in 2008 according to Article 242 of the Penal Code, but Article 61 of the same law stipulated in Article 242 in cases of the existing exemption, which permits harmful acts in cases of necessity to protect oneself or others, This leads to a legal loophole used to justify circumcision as a medical necessity, which makes circumcision medically permissible.
  • Forcing girls into early marriage, which is behavior committed by family members that is not explicitly punished by law.
  • Wife rape, and falls within the scope of the felony of rape in the Egyptian Penal Code, because the provisions for rape punish “from a female reality without her consent” without discrimination according to the relationship between the male and the female. Accordingly, the text includes in its current formulation the rape of his wife by a husband if he committed her without her free consent, because there is no differentiation between forced sexual intercourse that occurs on the wife of her husband or forced sexual practice that occurs by a man on a woman other than his wife. Some may believe that there are opinions in Islamic jurisprudence that allow a husband to have intercourse with his wife without her consent, but the law did not take these views when it drafted Article 267 of the Penal Code. If the legislator wanted to adopt these views, the text would have reflected that by saying “From the reality of a female except for his wife without her consent, he shall be punished ...”, but he did not do so, which indicates the tendency of the law to consider the act of a wife unwillingly on her behalf as a crime of rape, which is consistent with the humanity and dignity of the woman Her human rights are respected.
  • In addition to the legal issue regulated by the provisions of the penal code, the Sharia courts release the wife in the event it is proven that she has been harmed by the husband and violence is a form of harm. If this legal ruling is a woman’s right, the wife often suffers from difficulty in upholding this right, as she is obligated to prove it through medical reports that prove the occurrence of violence against her or witnesses who testify to her exposure to it, and since cases of domestic violence fall mostly behind Closed doors, the wife is unable to prove the harm she is exposed to and her right is lost in the maze of unfair legal procedures([13]).
  • Article 60 of the Penal Code is one of the articles that protect from punishment in cases of domestic violence, as the perpetrator of violence grants clemency if he proves that what he committed was in good faith. Therefore, this article can be used to justify domestic violence as the husband's right to discipline his wife and to justify honor killings.
  • Existing efforts to protect and rehabilitate the victims of violence 
  • During the previous years, the Ministry of Social Solidarity established nine shelters for battered women, which are under the full supervision of the ministry. Nevertheless, this number is very few and limited, and the workers in these shelters are not sufficiently trained to rehabilitate the victims of family or gender-based violence.
  • Despite the Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, overseeing these shelters, they are constantly suffering from a lack of resources and services, as the ministry assigns the task of operating to some civil society organizations that receive funds in this regard, and despite the ministry assigns the task of operating to These organizations, but in most cases, none of them are allowed to establish shelters for battered women due to their complex security situations.
  • Among the efforts provided by some women's organizations are services and awareness programs, as well as providing legal and psychological support to battered women, but these services do not meet the need for the state to have real institutions to build an effective system to provide services to battered women.
  • In January 2014, the National Council for Women launched an intensive awareness-raising initiative to eliminate violence against women under the title “Break the barrier of humiliation… Your right to live in safety”, in cooperation with the United Nations Fund for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, with the aim of providing a general cultural and social environment against the practices of violence against woman .
  • At the end of 2014, the National Council for Women announced the National Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women, which relied on a number of indicators to measure the impact of its implementation, represented by working to reduce the percentage of women subjected to violence by 50% and reducing the percentage of those exposed to the process of circumcision and the risks associated with it by 50%. Reducing the percentage of married girls under the age of 18 by half, and working on amending laws, legislations, and policies relating to crimes of violence against women, and issuing a comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of violence against women. The strategy includes 4 main axes: prevention, protection, interventions, and legal prosecution. The first axis, “Prevention,” focuses on developing public awareness, correcting religious discourse and changing popular culture through awareness-raising, education and training programs, analyzing the phenomenon from the social and economic aspect, to develop programs and plans to deal with the origin and roots of the problem, and empower women to avoid violence. As for the second axis, “protection,” it is based on working to activate and develop legislation and laws against violence against women in light of the constitution, and to issue integrated legislation that deals with all forms of violence directed against women and girls to ensure their elimination. The third axis includes “interventions”, working to provide health and psychological support and counseling services for women who have been battered, developing treatment and rehabilitation programs for perpetrators of violence, providing adequate hosting centers for women who have been battered, in addition to providing economic support for battered women. As for the fourth axis “legal prosecution”, it includes setting up a mechanism for preventive measures to protect women who are victims of violence, and the extent to which this is appropriate to international conventions in order to identify the actual executive position, and to allocate special departments to consider cases of violence against women in order to quickly adjudicate them, provided that the Family Prosecution investigates crimes violence against Woman.
  • The council also held workshops targeting mosque preachers, preachers and church priests, and a number of religious scholars with scientific and popular credibility lectured, to urge the need to develop religious discourse in mosques and churches to combat all forms of violence against women.
  • The State's National Council for Women also sensitized school students to the harms of violence and its consequences, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, under the title “I am not reflecting ... my sister and I protect her”, with the aim of changing school students ’thinking and attitudes towards violence against women as disgraceful behavior.
  • On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior has created a special department for dealing with violence against women, and it follows the human rights and community communications sector in the ministry. The unit includes male officers, as well as a group of female police officers, among whom are specialists in the field of psychiatry, to deal with the victim and assist her in submitting her complaints without embarrassment. This is in addition to announcing the allocation of hotlines to receive secret reports.
  • The establishment of a “psychological counseling room” by the Ministry of Justice, which was recently created in the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
  • Establishing a medical guide by the Ministry of Health and Population to deal with abused women and circulating it in all hospitals and health facilities and training cadres of service providers to use it so that all public hospitals are covered in stages until the end of 2017

fourth Axis : The legal and legal framework to confront domestic violence

  • The Egyptian Constitution and Law 

The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 stipulated equality (Articles 11 and 53), non-discrimination and equal opportunity (Article 9). Article 11 of the constitution is the only article that explicitly refers to violence against women: “… The state is obligated to protect women against all forms of violence, and guarantees empowering women to reconcile family duties with work requirements. It is also committed to providing care and protection for motherhood, childhood, breadwinning women, the elderly, and women in greatest need.“

  • International charters and treaties
  • Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979 and entered into force in 1981, which is the result of thirty years of efforts and actions undertaken by the Center for Women in the United Nations to improve the conditions of women and spread their rights. The preamble of the convention also affirmed the principle of equal rights between men and women and the necessity to achieve this principle for the sake of the growth and prosperity of society and the family, and affirmed in Article (6) of the Convention that the states party to it must take all appropriate measures, including legislation to combat some form of violence against Women is the trafficking of women and the exploitation of the prostitution of women.
  • The Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Article 1, which defines the meaning of violence, which states: “Violence against women means any act of violence based on gender that results in or is likely to result in physical or psychological harm or suffering to women, including the threat to commit such An act, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether it inflicts it on public or private life ”.
  • The Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Article 2, which states that violence against women must include: acts of physical, sexual and psychological violence that occur within the family, including beatings and sexual assaults against female children in the family, dowry-related violence, and rape within the framework of a marital relationship Female genital mutilation (circumcision), and other traditional practices harmful to women, inside or outside the marital relationship.
  • Egypt's voluntary commitments to the universal periodic review

Egypt was subjected to the universal periodic review in 2014 and 300 recommendations were made to it from multiple countries, including a number of recommendations that demanded Egypt to work at the legislative level and the level of rehabilitation, training and integration of women victims and their carers, some of which were fully accepted by Egypt and others partially, the text of which was: -

First, recommendations that have been fully accepted

  • Recommendation No. 76-76 “Compliance with international human rights law by amending, adopting and effectively implementing legislation in order to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls and criminalize all forms of violence against them, and to ensure a speedy investigation into all cases of sexual violence and sexual harassment faced by female protesters and human rights defenders. Human beings, and the perpetrators brought to justice ”(Finland);
  • Recommendation No. 166-83 “Strengthening legislative and administrative measures relating to discrimination and violence against women” (Botswana);
  • Recommendation No. 166-99 “Make more efforts to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women, and ensure the strengthening of their empowerment, representation and renaissance in all sectors, in compliance with the new constitution” (Republic of Korea);
  • Recommendation No. 166-144 “Provide guarantees that cases of violence against women are effectively investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted” (Russian Federation);
  • Recommendation No. 166-146 “Establish measures to effectively address discrimination and violence against women and girls” (Sierra Leone);
  • Recommendation No. 166-147 “Continue to ensure the effective implementation of measures such as the establishment of hotlines and care centers for victims of violence, as well as the imposition of more severe penalties for perpetrators of violence against women and, if necessary, the development of more practical policies to prevent all forms of violence against women and support victims These violations ”(Singapore);
  • Recommendation No. 166-148 “Adopt comprehensive measures to address violence against women, including a law criminalizing all forms of violence against women” (Slovenia);
  • Recommendation No. 166-150 “Ensure effective accountability for perpetrators of violence against women” (Sri Lanka);
  • Recommendation No. 166-151 “Continue to intensify efforts aimed at promoting gender equality, combating sexual harassment and gender-based violence through comprehensive legislative reform and the adoption of a national strategy, and recognition of the importance of the work and competence of NGOs in this field” (Sweden);
  • Recommendation No. 166-152 “Continue efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women” (Ukraine);
  • Recommendation No. 166-153 “Completing the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women and developing a reasonable and clear implementation plan, and inviting the Special Rapporteur on the issue of violence against women, its causes and consequences to visit Egypt” (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland);
  • Recommendation No. 166-155 “Adopt a comprehensive national strategy to combat all forms of violence against women, including women’s rights defenders, at the public and domestic levels, particularly sexual harassment” (Brazil);
  • Recommendation No. 166-156 “Adoption of a bill to combat violence against women” (Central African Republic);
  • Recommendation No. 166-157 “Continue efforts to combat sexual harassment and sexual violence against women, including by increasing the number of specialized police units and personnel” (Côte d'Ivoire);
  • Recommendation No. 166-158 “Strengthen its efforts to combat violence against women and achieve greater equality between women and men” (Democratic People's Republic of Korea);
  • Recommendation No. 166-160 “Implementation of the Egyptian Strategy to Combat Violence against Women” (France);
  • Recommendation No. 166-162 “Adopt comprehensive measures to address violence against women and girls, including the criminalization of all forms of violence against women” (Ghana);
  • Recommendation No. 166-163 “Intensify its efforts to prevent violence against women, protect survivors and prosecute perpetrators” (Iceland);
  • Recommendation No. 166-164 “Amend the Penal Code and other national laws to criminalize all forms of violence against women, domestic violence and rape in particular, and apply the laws in practice” (Lithuania);
  • Recommendation No. 166-165 “Strengthen measures aimed at combating violence against women effectively” (Mali);
  • Recommendation No. 166-166 “Take the necessary steps to develop legislative and enforcement measures designed to eliminate all forms of violence against women, including sexual violence against women participating in protests and demonstrations” (Montenegro);

 

 

Secondly, recommendations that were partially accepted

  • Recommendation No. 166-145 “Intensify efforts aimed at ensuring gender equality and eliminating sexual and gender-based violence, including by considering the development of a national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)” (Rwanda);
  • Recommendation No. 166-159 “Take legislative and enforcement measures to eliminate all forms of violence against women, including the withdrawal of Egypt's reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women” (Estonia);
  • Recommendation No. 166-161 “Criminalize domestic violence against women and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” (Germany);

Fifth Axis: Recommendations

 

Recommendations at the legislative level

  • Adoption of legislation that considers violence against women within the family a crime punishable by law, with all the consequences it entails, with the aim of reducing violent crimes against women within the family.
  • Amending Article 60 of the Egyptian Penal Code to read “the provisions of the Penal Code shall apply to every act committed in good faith pursuant to a right determined under Sharia law in the event that the act deserves treatment over 21 days.”

 

Recommendations related to training and rehabilitation (with civil society organizations)

  • Monitoring cases of domestic violence through civil society organizations, analyzing them and extracting results in order to deal with them in scientific and practical ways with the aim of finding real solutions to eliminate the phenomenon of domestic violence.
  • Establish centers to take care of battered women, publish their locations, and allocate a hotline to receive calls from turbines by reaching them in order not to leave them on the street for long periods.
  • Dependence on comprehensive human development to formulate a human being capable of knowledge, production, harmony, coexistence and continuous development
  • Creating comprehensive programs and projects that work in all areas of economic and cultural development
  • Training women to implement safety plans inside and outside the home with a view to the prior elimination of violence.
  • Work to establish units within the civil organizations to provide legal services to the victims of violence
  • Working on using advanced means of communication to educate families and introduce them to domestic violence through short messages.
  • Training religious figures and elites on the importance of spreading the values of tolerance, security and peace among family members
  • Work to correct the customs and traditions according to which we find bullying, violence, forced marriage, and male bias at the expense of females.

Recommendations at the level of state institutions

  • Providing safe places for women and children to go to to feel safe, even for a short time, and they can be followed up there by specialists.
  • Strengthening religious faith, correct education, and emphasizing the culture of dialogue and consultation within the family.
  • Allocate websites to provide family counseling.
  • Work to reduce unemployment and its money from negative effects.
  • Require those who are about to marry to undergo training courses on raising children, and marital and family relations.
  • Qualifying married couples and providing them with decision-making and problem-solving skills.
  • Holding training courses for parents on controlling physical, psychological and verbal emotions.
  • Creating centers for those affected by domestic violence to take care of their cases and to protect and rehabilitate them.
  • Clarify laws and penalties for individuals who use violence against children.
  • The necessity of having psychologists and social counselors to take care of family affairs.
  • Communicating with various family centers around the world to exchange experiences and energies.

[1]- Cairo Journal of Social Service issued by the Higher Institute of Social Service  

[2]–  organisation Global health | Violence against women

[3]Zoya Rouhana, Violence against women and its impact on family cohesion

[4]Tarif, violence in the Egyptian family

[5]- A working paper presented by Dar Al Tarbiah for Girls / Sharjah in the Regional Arab Conference for Family Protection.

[6]Marital violence and its health effects, a study of the World Health Organization

[7]Tarif Shawky, Violence in the Egyptian Family.

[8]Zoya Rouhana: Violence against women and its effect on family cohesion.

[9]Sabri Morsi Al-Feki, Islamic Solutions to Family Problems, Dar Ibn Al-Jawzi

[10]- Legal problems and the position of Sharia on domestic violence d. Abdul Rahman Conference on Domestic Violence: Causes and Solutions

[11]Violence against women in Egyptian society - Institute of Statistical Studies and Research - Department of Population and Vital Statistics, Cairo University

[12]– Fighting Egyptian Law on Violence and Discrimination Against Women - Published Article by Dr. Fattouh El-Shazly - Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Alexandria University

[13]- Legal problems and the position of Sharia on domestic violence d. Abdul Rahman Conference on Domestic Violence: Causes and Solutions

Short link: https://maatpeace.org/en/7vpt

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