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Wola Report on the implementation of the Law on Family Violence/2019 Preface As، WOLA (Woman Legal Assistance) organization، from the early beginnings of establishing combating domestic violence rule، we have held the vigilance of the rule with the cooperation of the American (NED) organization due to the significance of the rule to our Kurdish society. Firstly، we focused on the internal parts of the governorates، but after the period of nine years from the day of establishing and spreading several reports; we are going to widen our observation to the lost in thought areas. For that purpose، we have visited numbers of the districts and observed the rules implementation. To know how much rule are taken seriously? And how the rule is? Also we have highlighted all the lumpers and troubles that face the rules implementation in the observing areas. Thus، we have shown the statistics of all the areas we have taken into consideration. Beyond this we fulfilled a census in the region in our report about combating the domestic violence rule and their courts work to know the popularity of the rule after the period of nine years. How much the families got bout the rule? And how much it is partial to popular the rule? Do the sacrifices of domestic violence agreed on the family violence judicial court duties and peaceful groups work? Eventually، we have given enough instructions and suggestion to the concern parties after what we have obtained from that troubles and lumpers; it would be beneficial to solve the troubles in front of the fulfilling the rule or unless shrinking the lumpers. Therefore، the rule is going to regain its value. 1. Sulemaniah Governorate 1. Directorate of Combating Domestic Violence and Peace Committee: Beyond the reports that were shown by the WOLA about the troubles، suggestions and solutions; fortunately، ministry of interior depends on rule (6) of 2009 and regarding their authority have come to conclusion to declare warning No. 4 in February 18th، 2018 by official number (19931) that included several issues and instructions; in first matter and seven part which related to Peace Committee: It is a committee that consists of the Family Advisory Centers to compromise between the disputed families according to matter (5) of the rules of combating domestic violence No. 8 in 2011 that leads by court. Nevertheless، third matter second party covered about Peace Committee department in the following ways: 1. This department’s duty is looking after those people who are sent by the courts to the centers for looking for their troubles and compromising. 2. A committee or more declare that includes three expert in each of (Legal، Social، Psychology، Social Works) field that mostly obtained Bachelor degree or universities teachers. 3. Solving those problems that are sent by the legal service committee، psychological committee، social committee، which the disputed parties demanding advisory without complain. 4. Solving the problems that are sent directly to the advisory sections. 5. The employees and the officers of the advisory committee cannot be a part of the advisory committees except the experts. Furthermore، fifth matter in these instructions، gives more detail about the peace committee works such as: First: Peace Committee in the family advisory center is made up by an official order from directorate. Second: a schedule is going to set by the directorate to the peace committee centers work. Third: the documents of court or police stations and offices are directly sends to the family advisory center/ peace committee to necessary work. Fourth: the peace committee must do necessary work for the problems during one week after the documents has been arrived the center and send its report to the required parties in fifteen days. Fifth: if the report was not sent in fifteen days; the committee will lose all the financial rights of the case. Sixth: a form must be created for the both disputed parties to fill and an optional promissory document will be taken from them after the case was solved. Seventh: those who have been mentioned in sixth، are ones who mentioned in third article in the basic Iraqi court rules by No. 23 in 1971; which are revived and interpreted that the sacrifice’s legal right or his/her legal delegate to complain. (Personal rime rights) Eighth: a database must be prepared to the Family Advisory center to save all the information and peace committee reports، services، related documents and solutions that given to the disputed ones. In Eighth article written: First: the peace committees’ member must have expertise identity which has been permitted by the appealed courts of the area under the instructions. Second: for each report (30، 000) ID given to the expert from the directorate budget. The second article of these instructions covered about the purpose of the instruction: The purpose of these instructions in one hand is to organizing and systemizing Family Advisory Centers works which was declared before the instructions; on the other hand، to activate the centers works and given crucial solution to the complainers and the disputed ones that are sent by the courts; beyond all of these awaking of the violence ritual. 2. Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court The Misdemeanor Court judge of combating family domestic violence declared that he approximately got 124 to 125 cases when he took the job، but now he only has 90 cases. When we asked him about that the court deals with both misdemeanor and violence cases; could it be difficulties to the court? He said that، “actually، it isn’t that much difficult because the cases are not as much as out of control، despite of that we got enough hard working because of the various cases and expertise. However، the head of Sulemaniah Appealed Court Area discussed about having specialized misdemeanor court of family violence and they have got several meetings with WOLA، but lack of judges، employees، and place which all of them must be afforded are denied the process. 3. Family violence Investigation Court The judge of this court covered about that the court implements the combating family domestic violence rules which is rule No. 8 in 2011. The court area includes all the quarters of Sulemany، Qaradagh، and Bakrajo are all governed by one judge. The style of implementations is: In fact the area got many cases and the Judge of appealed court of Sulemany depend this court and he is going to plan for adding extra judges or distribute the court into two independent courts to fulfill the works properly. And all of this are taken into consideration after several endeavoring by the different parties more especially WOLA. They always try to give newest reports and to the Chief and other related parties. In 2018 we have got 4000 cases and for this year 1800 cases left backs to the Arabt Police station which is related Family Violence Investigation court of Sharazur and Bardaqaraman Police Station that related to Family Violence Investigation Court of Chamchamal by an official order from appealed court of Sulemany. The chief decision was the right one because he lacks that overloading on this court. Despite the case we have solved a third of them which are 4000 cases and now we only got 1250 cases for this year. 4. Combating Domestic Violence Rule According to the rule، the family investigation court chief have covered that this rule consists of 10 articles and has many incompletions that we couldn’t talk about all of those lacks، but we can start from the title which is not suitable “combating family from violence” does not hold the core meanings of the rule. Combating means to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse while one reads he or she figures out that the rule means treating the troubles after it has arose. Then he talked about article no. 2 of the rule which covered about some crimes like (For Instance) it is also not flexible because it has already been covered in many other rules and set its sentence. In article no. 2 first part discussed about forced marriage which is already set in personal Iraqi court no. 188 in 1959 article 9 and its sentence has been set; or child marriage which is the same and covered in personal court article 10 parts 5. In article 6 it also labels about that husbands who forces their wives to penetration which also covered in penetration rule and the sentence fixed. In the same article in part seven it covers about female appendectomy which is also a repetition of article 412 Iraqi Investigation rules. And part 10 labels suicide which is the same of 408 of the Iraqi’s; in part 11 labels miscarrying which is another repetition of 417، 418، 419 of Iraqi’s. In twelves talks about family members torturing that already comes in 413، 414، 415 of Iraqi’s. In 13 labels swearing and bad words which also labels in the Iraqi’s in 433 and 434. So، the legislative one must be away from that sort of repetitions of the other rules which all of them have already been labeled. In spite all of these things، in article no. 2 third part first point labels that family domestic violence is personal not (Public Rights) but if we noticed the second part of the same article says that those ones who works in the medical centers، educational centers، and other official ones must try to shrink the crimes and troubles، so it is a public rights. Thus، these two parts of the same articles are against each other. Hawler Governorate 1. Hot Line This line established in October 2018 from all of the governorates of Kurdistan Region، their office located the directorate of woman violence combating which consists of 11 members، three women and eight men; it is online twenty four hours a day. They have two shifts daily and night shift. They answer those people who have problems or personally violated; whether the violation is domestic or outer. The members of this staff instruct those people to solve the problems or set a timetable to visit the advisory center. The principal of Minara Office about the line said that، “line 119 made the works much difficult، the line gets outer family cases، the duty belongs to us and the cases increasing.” As a result of our research for the combating domestic family violence rule، we have got the following results: 1. Most of the domestic violence is because of financial problems. 2. Most of the violence is against woman. 3. The offices that belong to the directorate of woman violence have got several problems like، lack of budget، services، and reasons of transformations. 4. Having several cases at the Hawler centers made an obligatory situation to establishing more centers. 5. The government is completely careless about the cases because solving the problems has a direct impact on the family status. 6. In many related parties view، implementing the family domestic violence may arise many other cases because the rule full of incompletion. Halabja Governorate 1. Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman. From the early beginnings of inauguration of Halabja as a Governorate، WOLA endeavors to establish directorate of woman violence in this new governorate. Having this directorate is necessary for the area، so WOLA continuously on negotiation with the related parties and organizations especially in the festivals or world days like (8th March). As a result، Ministry of interior decided to establish the directorate in January 8th، 2019 by transmitting (Colonel Burhan Ahmed Abdullah) head of directorate of combating violence against woman from Saydsadiq district which belongs to Sulemaniah to Halabje Governorate. After a few weeks from the day of establishment، WOLA arranged a meeting with Colonel Burhan Ahmed Abdullah about the directorate works during that period of time، he said that they were at the beginnings of the work and they faced lack of buildings and there was only an official order without any practical work. Also، the directorate needs several employees that still do not have any dedication about that and the directorate must contain (8) departments with (26) parts، beside of having an office which needs necessary work to be done. The colonel didn’t hide that they need all the related parties to endeavor for the sake of inauguration of this directorate. He also talked about WOLA hard works in this field with the entire official parties like، governor، mayor، and head of human rights office are all cooperating to settle the directorate as soon as possible. 2- Domestic Violence Courts Though in 2015 a decision was issued for Halabja to become a governorate، justice wise the city hasn’t made a progress worth mentioning، for instance، until now none of (Appeals Court، Criminal Court، Domestic Violence Court، Employment Court، Juvenile Court، and Administrative Court، and some other courts) were opened each of which need to exist in the governorates. Regarding this، the organization’s representative interviewed the head of Halabja Court (Fareeq Hamasalih Abdullah) about the justice related works that have been done after the issue of making Halabja a government، he said: “it’s true، each of Appeals Court، Domestic Violence Court، Criminal Court and some others are very necessary to be opened in Halabja Governorate، and the Judicial Council fully supports the issue and is fully convinced that opening these courts is necessary، since based on the Judicial Authority Law of Kurdistan Region there should be Appeals Court and some other courts in each governorate، which don’t exist in Halabja Governorate، and the head of Appeals Court of Sulaimany is making real efforts to open some courts in Halabja. The former Halabja Governor tried very hard regarding this issue، and the current governor is still trying to do that، but as a matter of fact، the main problem as of this moment is lack of a facility، which is a huge challenge for the Governorate; we’re in continuous contact with Halabja Governor about this، even if the facility problem is solved، we will then face the problem of employment، because the number of judges and employees of the Presidency of Appeals Court in Sulaimany Area is only a few، and Halabja governorate belongs to the same court until an appeals court is opened in Halabja”. In his answer to the representative’s question on whether so far any justice related progress actually happen Halabja، the judge said: “though there are continuous efforts، there isn’t any actual progress، but the office of the Attorney General Representative became the office of the Attorney General. Dohuk Governorate 1- Directorate of Combating and Violence against Women and Domestic Violence: This directorate was established in 2013، they have two offices in Dohuk Governorate، (Dohuk Office and Nizarke Office) they have 8 other offices in the districts، in (Akre، Barda Rash، Shekhan، Shangal، Zakho، Simel، Brayaty and Amedi) For this report، we visited Dohuk office and Nizarke office in the city، visited Simel Office In Simel district، and visited Zakho office in Zakho and Shekhan District. 2- Zarke office The manager of Zarke office argued that the Violence Law is a good law to resolve the family issues. Based on his statistics، they receive at least 4 complaints on a daily basis، and the number gets to a maximum of 7 complaints per day. Based on the data from last year and until March they had a high number of complaints، but the numbers decreased for this year so far، and the manager links this to the better economic situation. Regarding the complaints، the manager said that they’re mostly caused by infidelity، bad economy، texting unhealthy relationships on social media، he also mentioned that some SIM cards don’t have proper identifications and documents on their owner، which are used to text other people، and that makes works even more difficult for us because we don’t have enough information about the perpetrator. All types of complaints are made in Nizarke office، even if the defendants are not family members. The manager also said that they don’t have any problems at their office، but the city of Dohuk needs another office so that the problems could be solved. 3- Dohuk Office The Manager of Dohuk office says that Domestic Violence Law is a good possibility for peace in the families، but it also gives an opportunity for women to make a complaint even for the simplest problems. As for this year’s data، the manager said we haven’t prepared the data for this year، but the number of complaints is decreasing. Regarding the types of the complaints، the manager explained that the problems are caused by lack of understanding between the couples، infidelity، lack of family monitoring due to bad economy، and because of educational gap between the couples، in the meaning that men follow the tribal system and are afraid of what people say in a bad way، while the women are more educated، which causes mismatches and lack of understanding between them. The manager of Dohuk office also disclosed that all family related complaints are made at their office by both men and women، and that they try as much as possible to solve the problems at their office without referring them to the court. Garmyan Administration 1- Directorate of Combatting Domestic Violence: The problems and challenges faced by the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan. Even though throughout all our reports we addressed the problems and challenges of the directorate، and presented suitable suggestions and recommendations to solve the problems and conveyed them to the relevant actors، unfortunately most of the problems have not been solved yet، which creates obstacles for the implementation of the law as it is supposed to، the main problems are: 1- Lack of staff: Regarding lack of staff، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “a huge problem for the directorate is lack of staff، especially police officers، no police officers were employed for our directorate for the last five years. 1. Not having a specific facility: 2. Lack of a fixed shelter: 3. Financial problems and lack of budget: 4. Lack of a special Psychiatric Hospital for the victims of violence: 5. Lack of a hot line، which is because of lack of staff and this، is because we don’t have enough employees specified to our directorate to fill the staff gap. 2- Peacebuilding Committee: About the Peacebuilding Committee and the obstacles for their work، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “the committee has four members، two lawyers of Garmyan Court، and the other two are staff of the directorate، one of whom is a psychologist and the other is a social worker who sees the cases that are referred to them by the Court of Domestic Violence، so they mediate and bring about peace between the two sides of the complaint. In the near future، the number of the members will be increased to 9، due to the large number of cases، based on a decision by the Judicial Council، the members will have specialty in psychology، law، sociology، staff of the Ministry of Interior، it’s decided that they will be two complementing committees، and they will be having sessions 2 day a week to see the cases in Garmyan area. A member of the committee said that most of the problems are caused by the bad economy، the number of the problems especially increased after the economic crisis، the economical aspect affected the people’s life and it’s a main cause for the family problems. Most of the cases seen by the committees are (married couples) some of whom are still married and some are separated، some of the common problems are (threats، beating، abuse of communication means، accusations، and infidelity)، fortunately the committee could so far solve 60% of the problems. Another problem for the committee is lack of any financial reward in return for their efforts، they were supposed to be given 30 000 IQD for each session، but so far they weren’t given any money، which is why they submit their resignation every now and then. 3- District of Khanaqin After the closure of Khanaqin Office in 2017، due to the coming of (Hashdy Sha’by) army and the worsened security situation of the area، this problem still continues، and the office has not been opened yet، they haven’t resumed their works. Regarding this issue، the manager of Khanaqin Office said: “ever since the office was closed، we are trying to reopen it، the ministry of interior promised us to solve the problem by designating some police officers for us from the Directorate of Garmian Police، but they، too، don’t have enough police officers، that’s why the problem was not solved and stayed as it is. We think the best solution to reopen the office is to employ police officers specifically for the office، and that we should have investigation authority and be able to follow up with the cases، as of right now، a promise is made to us to solve the problem and reopen the office in the latter way.” “Because the existence of our office affected the awareness level of the people in the area، people are still contacting us for the family problems that happen، so the closure of the office in the area has certainly affected the awareness، education of the people، and the solution and follow up of the cases.” Regarding how they carry out their works and their authority dealing with all those problems، the manager of the office said: “as of right now، we only have two mobile teams in the area of the Alwan IDP camp 1 and 2، and all they can do is follow up and don’t have authority to do anything else.” One of the other problems in the district for the implementation of the law، is not having a specialized court to implement the law، and regarding this، the manager of Khanaqin office said: “the court that are in Khanaqin district are run by the Iraqi Government، not by Kurdistan Government، and they’re not willing to implement a law that is issued in Kurdistan، so if the security of the area is handed over to Peshmarga forces، there is a possibility to establish a specialized court، which will solve the problem. 4- Kifry Office: Despite of the issues and problems we have shown in our previous reports، based on what the manager of Kifry Office said، till now there are many problems in the way of implementing the law and their works، including: 1. Lack of their own employees 2. Lack of required budget 3. Lack of a specialized court 5- The IDPs and the Combatting Domestic Violence Law: Regarding this، the manager of Kifry Office said that since the IDPs are spread apart and there isn’t a camp to gather them together at one place، we’re only working on the cases that come to us and complain. Most of the IDP’s problems happen due to their bad financial situation، because the men don’t have a job in the camps، which causes them problems. Rapareen Administration 1- Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women The director said that this directorate is crucial، because now people are aware، and they solve their problems through the law and not through the tribal way or the social way of resolving a problem، back in the past، a problem was solved in the social way، it was only solved for a short period of time and restarted again، but a case will be opened for the problem through the law and all statements and evidences will be recorded. About the increase of the problems، he said that the complaints are generally increasing in number، and we cannot say that the number of the problems have increased just based on that، but we can say that the people have a higher level of awareness and they don’t want to resolve their problems in the social traditional way، so they come and make a complaint، then a file will be created، a promissory letter will be signed by the perpetrator، so then if they commit the crime again the file will be reopened again. In November 2018 there were two cases of burn، one passed away، regarding suicide cases through burning themselves، the number has decreased compared to the past years، but cases of suicide through hanging and poisoning has increased. 2- Family Counselling Center and Peace Building Committee: A staff of this center said that the Family Counselling Center has two roles: 1- The center is for those people who have problems and don’t want to make a complaint، so both sides of the problem will be asked to come to the center، they will be talked to separately first and then they will be helped to face each other، and the problem will be solved as much as possible. 2- Peace Building Committee: is for those cases are notified officially by the court، then both sides will be asked to come، they will be talked to، to solve their problem. One of our other roles is meeting the children of separated couples، we take the children، and the parents can come to see them here، even then we still face many problems، so for this year we asked that seeing children shouldn’t be in our center. The staff also said that another activity is conducting some seminars this year with the help of two organizations in the educational facilities such as schools، institutes and universities on the problems of social media، early marriage and how to solve problems. 3- Ranya Office Regarding how they follow up with the cases، the manager of the office said that in the beginning the cases come to us، they will be investigated with by the manager of the office، then the service department of the office will be notified، from which proper legal and social guidance will be provided by social workers، then the case will be referred to the Police of Arrest and Transfer so the statement of the complaintive will be taken and legal actions will be taken later. Regarding the high number of the complaints، the manager said that despite of the many shortcomings such as lack of employees، running cost، lack of shelter and cars، our cases increase every day، the manager also said that only during this year، more than 350 cases were received، the number of problems has hugely increased to the extent that 40 cases were received in only one month، which is all because: the use of drugs، Peshmarga families، lack of education and awareness، and lack of trust between couples. Poll In this report we have achieved a poll in the whole areas of Kurdistan Region about Combating Family Violence to know how much the people aware of the rule or how much they know about the family violence court. When they refuged to the courts how much the judges and the employees are helpful to solve the problems? In this poll، both genders with all various ages were taken apart of it. As a result of this poll we can disclose that how much we in need with more effort، and plans with the related parties to generalize the rule… Poll Result Total Participants 506 Persons Participant Age 15-26 26-60 214 292 Participant Gender Female Male 361 145 Participant Job Students Employees Housewife Worker 103 94 210 99 Participant Place Governorate District 376 130 Q/ how much do you have information about the combating woman violence rule? None Average most 275 162 69 %54.34 %32.01 %13.63 Through this poll we come to that conclusion that there isn’t enough information about the rule among the people of the various places. Most of them they do not have any information about it، and a few of them have a little about the rule. So، we must take this issue seriously because it is a crucial rule and everyone must have enough information about it. However، the poll was held in among those people who visited the courts. Thus، all of these results show the careless work of the related parties. It is a necessary to all of the centers and parts to generalize and spread enough information about this rule until each individual will gain that much of information about this rule. Q/ how much do you have information about family violence court? None Average most 270 169 67 %53.35 %33.39 %13.24 As a result، we come to that conclusion as same as the rule that how they don’t have information about the rule they also do not have any information about the court. So، spreading information about the rule has a direct effect on this part. Q/ how much do you have information about the peace committee? And do you believe that they could solve problems? None Average most 167 197 133 %34.78 %38.73 %26.28 In this way، we could realize that peace committee was able to aware much enough about their roles among the society، but still the rate is not that much. So، the members of the committee and all of the parts must help them to implement their deeds successfully by paving the ground through services. At that time they will have that effect on the families to be strong and rebuild them as good as they want. Q/ you have faced which sort of violence? Psychology Body sex 296 184 38 %7.50 %36.36 %7.50 We come to that conclusion that most of the sacrifices were got psychological assault by the families like swearing and ignoring. So، it must be taken seriously too aware of the sacrifices psychology. Q/ how much the judge and the employees help you to simplify and solve the problem? None Average most 117 269 120 %23.12 %53.16 %23.71 Fortunately، this poll shows that the judges and the employees are a good helping hand for the disputed and sacrifices، but still we need more cooperation from them. Q/ did you hold a secret investigation? Yes No 256 248 %49.01 %50.59 According to the combating family violence rule، family investigations must be held secretly، but as we see there isn’t taken that much seriously and this has many reasons like، not having a specialized court for the family troubles so all refers to the crime court، at that time the number of the cases are increases and confliction happens. Beyond of lacking particular place، at that time several cases investigate in the same place so the secrets are going to be disclosed. Q/ who has made violence against you? Husband Wife Brother Sister others 250 24 45 49 138 %49.40 %4.74 %8.8 %9.6 %27.27 As a result، we can see that most of that violence held by male gender against their wives. So we must try to aware males through courses and various activities among the society. Q/ how long your case remains at court? 1-3 months 3-6 months 6-1 year 149 93 113 %29.44 %18.37 %22.33 As we see، the cases take a long period of time at the courts، and sometimes some of the cases were abolished by the complainer because of remaining unsolved in the courts. These things mostly happen because of lacking judges and employees. So، related parts must take it seriously and try to dedicate more judges to the courts. Statistics 1. Al-Sulemaniah Governorate Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 2031 2039 Family Violence Court Investigation 2017 2018 7113 5298 Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court 2017 2018 427 301 West Office 2017 2018 1556 1804 Hawler Governorate Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 2909 3691 Family Violence Court Investigation 2017 2018 4029 6537 Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court 2017 2018 196 281 Duhok Governorate Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 2324 2620 Family Violence Court Investigation 2017 2018 4098 5336 Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court 2017 2018 368 565 Halabje Governorate Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 38 67 Saydsadiq Office 2017 2018 110 114 Garmian Administration Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 902 1137 Kalar Office 2017 2018 520 633 Peace Committee 2017 2018 101 146 Kifry Office 2017 2018 194 144 Kifry Peace Committee 2017 2018 14 6 Raparin Administration Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman 2017 2018 545 582 Marriage and divorce statistics in Kurdistan region courts Case Sort Hawler Al-Sulemany Duhok Total marriage 15025 13836 10902 39763 divorce 3598 4085 1509 9192 Second marriage 36 48 5 89 The WOLA Cases Statistics in 2019، that set volunteer judge Case Sort Number All kinds of divorce 57 On expense 14 Child observer 5 Nursery 2 Compliance 2 Total case 80 Legal Advisory 108 Total cases and legal advisory 188 Reasons Financial Family interfere Disagreement Betrayal Violence Leaving 2- Domestic Violence Courts Though in 2015 a decision was issued for Halabja to become a governorate، justice wise the city hasn’t made a progress worth mentioning، for instance، until now none of (Appeals Court، Criminal Court، Domestic Violence Court، Employment Court، Juvenile Court، and Administrative Court، and some other courts) were opened each of which need to exist in the governorates. Regarding this، the organization’s representative interviewed the head of Halabja Court (Fareeq Hamasalih Abdullah) about the justice related works that have been done after the issue of making Halabja a government، he said: “it’s true، each of Appeals Court، Domestic Violence Court، Criminal Court and some others are very necessary to be opened in Halabja Governorate، and the Judicial Council fully supports the issue and is fully convinced that opening these courts is necessary، since based on the Judicial Authority Law of Kurdistan Region there should be Appeals Court and some other courts in each governorate، which don’t exist in Halabja Governorate، and the head of Appeals Court of Sulaimany is making real efforts to open some courts in Halabja. The former Halabja Governor tried very hard regarding this issue، and the current governor is still trying to do that، but as a matter of fact، the main problem as of this moment is lack of a facility، which is a huge challenge for the Governorate; we’re in continuous contact with Halabja Governor about this، even if the facility problem is solved، we will then face the problem of employment، because the number of judges and employees of the Presidency of Appeals Court in Sulaimany Area is only a few، and Halabja governorate belongs to the same court until an appeals court is opened in Halabja”. In his answer to the representative’s question on whether so far any justice related progress actually happened n Halabja، the judge said: “though there are continuous efforts، there isn’t any actual progress، but the office of the Attorney General Representative became the office of the Attorney General. Dohuk Governorate 4- Directorate of Combating and Violence against Women and Domestic Violence: This directorate was established in 2013، they have two offices in Dohuk Governorate، (Dohuk Office and Nizarke Office) they have 8 other offices in the districts، in (Akre، Barda Rash، Shekhan، Shangal، Zakho، Simel، Brayaty and Amedi) For this report، we visited Dohuk office and Nizarke office in the city، visited Simel Office in Simel district، and visited Zakho office in Zakho and Shekhan District. 5- Zarke office The manager of Zarke office argued that the Violence Law is a good law to resolve the family issues. Based on his statistics، they receive at least 4 complaints on a daily basis، and the number gets to a maximum of 7 complaints per day. Based on the data from last year and until March they had a high number of complaints، but the numbers decreased for this year so far، and the manager links this to the better economic situation. Regarding the complaints، the manager said that they’re mostly caused by infidelity، bad economy، texting unhealthy relationships on social media، he also mentioned that some SIM cards don’t have proper identifications and documents on their owner، which are used to text other people، and that makes works even more difficult for us because we don’t have enough information about the perpetrator. All types of complaints are made in Nizarke office، even if the defendants are not family members. The manager also said that they don’t have any problems at their office، but the city of Dohuk needs another office so that the problems could be solved. 6- Dohuk Office The Manager of Dohuk office says that Domestic Violence Law is a good possibility for peace in the families، but it also gives an opportunity for women to make a complaint even for the simplest problems. As for this year’s data، the manager said we haven’t prepared the data for this year، but the number of complaints is decreasing. Regarding the types of the complaints، the manager explained that the problems are caused by lack of understanding between the couples، infidelity، lack of family monitoring due to bad economy، and because of educational gap between the couples، in the meaning that men follow the tribal system and are afraid of what people say in a bad way، while the women are more educated، which causes mismatches and lack of understanding between them. The manager of Dohuk office also disclosed that all family related complaints are made at their office by both men and women، and that they try as much as possible to solve the problems at their office without referring them to the court. Garmyan Administration 2- Directorate of Combatting Domestic Violence: The problems and challenges faced by the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan. Even though throughout all our reports we addressed the problems and challenges of the directorate، and presented suitable suggestions and recommendations to solve the problems and conveyed them to the relevant actors، unfortunately most of the problems have not been solved yet، which creates obstacles for the implementation of the law as it is supposed to، the main problems are: 2- Lack of staff: Regarding lack of staff، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “a huge problem for the directorate is lack of staff، especially police officers; no police officers were employed for our directorate for the last five years. 6. Not having a specific facility: 7. Lack of a fixed shelter: 8. Financial problems and lack of budget: 9. Lack of a special Psychiatric Hospital for the victims of violence: 10. Lack of a hot line، which is because of lack of staff and this، is because we don’t have enough employees specified to our directorate to fill the staff gap. 2- Peacebuilding Committee: About the Peacebuilding Committee and the obstacles for their work، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “the committee has four members، two lawyers of Garmyan Court، and the other two are staff of the directorate، one of whom is a psychologist and the other is a social worker who sees the cases that are referred to them by the Court of Domestic Violence، so they mediate and bring about peace between the two sides of the complaint. In the near future، the number of the members will be increased to 9، due to the large number of cases، based on a decision by the Judicial Council، the members will have specialty in psychology، law، sociology، staff of the Ministry of Interior، it’s decided that they will be two complementing committees، and they will be having sessions 2 day a week to see the cases in Garmyan area. A member of the committee said that most of the problems are caused by the bad economy، the number of the problems especially increased after the economic crisis، the economical aspect affected the people’s life and it’s a main cause for the family problems. Most of the cases seen by the committees are (married couples) some of whom are still married and some are separated، some of the common problems are (threats، beating، abuse of communication means، accusations، and infidelity)، fortunately the committee could so far solve 60% of the problems. Another problem for the committee is lack of any financial reward in return for their efforts، they were supposed to be given 30 000 IQD for each session، but so far they weren’t given any money، which is why they submit their resignation every now and then. 3- District of Khanaqin After the closure of Khanaqin Office in 2017، due to the coming of (Hashdy Sha’by) army and the worsened security situation of the area، this problem still continues، and the office has not been opened yet، they haven’t resumed their works. Regarding this issue، the manager of Khanaqin Office said: “ever since the office was closed، we are trying to reopen it، the ministry of interior promised us to solve the problem by designating some police officers for us from the Directorate of Garmian Police، but they، too، don’t have enough police officers، that’s why the problem was not solved and stayed as it is. We think the best solution to reopen the office is to employ police officers specifically for the office، and that we should have investigation authority and be able to follow up with the cases، as of right now، a promise is made to us to solve the problem and reopen the office in the latter way.” “Because the existence of our office affected the awareness level of the people in the area، people are still contacting us for the family problems that happen، so the closure of the office in the area has certainly affected the awareness، education of the people، and the solution and follow up of the cases.” Regarding how they carry out their works and their authority dealing with all those problems، the manager of the office said: “as of right now، we only have two mobile teams in the area of the Alwan IDP camp 1 and 2، and all they can do is follow up and don’t have authority to do anything else.” One of the other problems in the district for the implementation of the law، is not having a specialized court to implement the law، and regarding this، the manager of Khanaqin office said: “the court that are in Khanaqin district are run by the Iraqi Government، not by Kurdistan Government، and they’re not willing to implement a law that is issued in Kurdistan، so if the security of the area is handed over to Peshmarga forces، there is a possibility to establish a specialized court، which will solve the problem. 4- Kifry Office: Despite of the issues and problems we have shown in our previous reports، based on what the manager of Kifry Office said، till now there are many problems in the way of implementing the law and their works، including: 4. Lack of their own employees 5. Lack of required budget 6. Lack of a specialized court 5- The IDPs and the Combatting Domestic Violence Law: Regarding this، the manager of Kifry Office said that since the IDPs are spread apart and there isn’t a camp to gather them together at one place، we’re only working on the cases that come to us and complain. Most of the IDP’s problems happen due to their bad financial situation، because the men don’t have a job in the camps، which causes them problems. Rapareen Administration 3- Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women The director said that this directorate is crucial، because now people are aware، and they solve their problems through the law and not through the tribal way or the social way of resolving a problem، back in the past، a problem was solved in the social way، it was only solved for a short period of time and restarted again، but a case will be opened for the problem through the law and all statements and evidences will be recorded. About the increase of the problems، he said that the complaints are generally increasing in number، and we cannot say that the number of the problems have increased just based on that، but we can say that the people have a higher level of awareness and they don’t want to resolve their problems in the social traditional way، so they come and make a complaint، then a file will be created، a promissory letter will be signed by the perpetrator، so then if they commit the crime again the file will be reopened again. In November 2018 there were two cases of burn، one passed away، regarding suicide cases through burning themselves، the number has decreased compared to the past years، but cases of suicide through hanging and poisoning has increased. 4- Family Counselling Center and Peace Building Committee: A staff of this center said that the Family Counselling Center has two roles: 4- The center is for those people who have problems and don’t want to make a complaint، so both sides of the problem will be asked to come to the center، they will be talked to separately first and then they will be helped to face each other، and the problem will be solved as much as possible. 5- Peace Building Committee: is for those cases are notified officially by the court، then both sides will be asked to come، they will be talked to، to solve their problem. One of our other roles is meeting the children of separated couples، we take the children، and the parents can come to see them here، even then we still face many problems، so for this year we asked that seeing children shouldn’t be in our center. The staff also said that another activity is conducting some seminars this year with the help of two organizations in the educational facilities such as schools، institutes and universities on the problems of social media، early marriage and how to solve problems. 6- Ranya Office Regarding how they follow up with the cases، the manager of the office said that in the beginning the cases come to us، they will be investigated with by the manager of the office، then the service department of the office will be notified، from which proper legal and social guidance will be provided by social workers، then the case will be referred to the Police of Arrest and Transfer so the statement of the complaintive will be taken and legal actions will be taken later. Regarding the high number of the complaints، the manager said that despite of the many shortcomings such as lack of employees، running cost، lack of shelter and cars، our cases increase every day، the manager also said that only during this year، more than 350 cases were received، the number of problems has hugely increased to the extent that 40 cases were received in only one month، which is all because: the use of drugs، Peshmarga families، lack of education and awareness، and lack of trust between couples. Vie View: 5795 ‌ 6/16/2019 1:49:43 PM

Wola Report on the implementation of the Law on Family Violence/2019

Preface

As، WOLA (Woman Legal Assistance) organization، from the early beginnings of establishing combating domestic violence rule، we have held the vigilance of the rule with the cooperation of the American (NED) organization due to the significance of the rule to our Kurdish society. Firstly، we focused on the internal parts of the governorates، but after the period of nine years from the day of establishing and spreading several reports; we are going to widen our observation to the lost in thought areas. For that purpose، we have visited numbers of the districts and observed the rules implementation. To know how much rule are taken seriously? And how the rule is?

Also we have highlighted all the lumpers and troubles that face the rules implementation in the observing areas. Thus، we have shown the statistics of all the areas we have taken into consideration. Beyond this we fulfilled a census in the region in our report about combating the domestic violence rule and their courts work to know the popularity of the rule after the period of nine years. How much the families got bout the rule? And how much it is partial to popular the rule? Do the sacrifices of domestic violence agreed on the family violence judicial court duties and peaceful groups work?

Eventually، we have given enough instructions and suggestion to the concern parties after what we have obtained from that troubles and lumpers; it would be beneficial to solve the troubles in front of the fulfilling the rule or unless shrinking the lumpers. Therefore، the rule is going to regain its value.

1. Sulemaniah Governorate

1. Directorate of Combating Domestic Violence and Peace Committee:

Beyond the reports that were shown by the WOLA about the troubles، suggestions and solutions; fortunately، ministry of interior depends on rule (6) of 2009 and regarding their authority have come to conclusion to declare warning No. 4 in February 18th، 2018 by official number (19931) that included several issues and instructions; in first matter and seven part which related to Peace Committee: It is a committee that consists of the Family Advisory Centers to compromise between the disputed families according to matter (5) of the rules of combating domestic violence No. 8 in 2011 that leads by court.

Nevertheless، third matter second party covered about Peace Committee department in the following ways:

1. This department’s duty is looking after those people who are sent by the courts to the centers for looking for their troubles and compromising.

2. A committee or more declare that includes three expert in each of (Legal، Social، Psychology، Social Works) field that mostly obtained Bachelor degree or universities teachers.

3. Solving those problems that are sent by the legal service committee، psychological committee، social committee، which the disputed parties demanding advisory without complain.

4. Solving the problems that are sent directly to the advisory sections.

5. The employees and the officers of the advisory committee cannot be a part of the advisory committees except the experts.

Furthermore، fifth matter in these instructions، gives more detail about the peace committee works such as:

First: Peace Committee in the family advisory center is made up by an official order from directorate.

Second: a schedule is going to set by the directorate to the peace committee centers work.

Third: the documents of court or police stations and offices are directly sends to the family advisory center/ peace committee to necessary work.

Fourth: the peace committee must do necessary work for the problems during one week after the documents has been arrived the center and send its report to the required parties in fifteen days.

Fifth: if the report was not sent in fifteen days; the committee will lose all the financial rights of the case.

Sixth: a form must be created for the both disputed parties to fill and an optional promissory document will be taken from them after the case was solved.

Seventh: those who have been mentioned in sixth، are ones who mentioned in third article in the basic Iraqi court rules by No. 23 in 1971; which are revived and interpreted that the sacrifice’s legal right or his/her legal delegate to complain. (Personal rime rights)

Eighth: a database must be prepared to the Family Advisory center to save all the information and peace committee reports، services، related documents and solutions that given to the disputed ones.

In Eighth article written:

First: the peace committees’ member must have expertise identity which has been permitted by the appealed courts of the area under the instructions.

Second: for each report (30، 000) ID given to the expert from the directorate budget.

The second article of these instructions covered about the purpose of the instruction:

The purpose of these instructions in one hand is to organizing and systemizing Family Advisory Centers works which was declared before the instructions; on the other hand، to activate the centers works and given crucial solution to the complainers and the disputed ones that are sent by the courts; beyond all of these awaking of the violence ritual.

2. Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court

The Misdemeanor Court judge of combating family domestic violence declared that he approximately got 124 to 125 cases when he took the job، but now he only has 90 cases. When we asked him about that the court deals with both misdemeanor and violence cases; could it be difficulties to the court?

He said that، “actually، it isn’t that much difficult because the cases are not as much as out of control، despite of that we got enough hard working because of the various cases and expertise.

However، the head of Sulemaniah Appealed Court Area discussed about having specialized misdemeanor court of family violence and they have got several meetings with WOLA، but lack of judges، employees، and place which all of them must be afforded are denied the process.

3. Family violence Investigation Court

The judge of this court covered about that the court implements the combating family domestic violence rules which is rule No. 8 in 2011. The court area includes all the quarters of Sulemany، Qaradagh، and Bakrajo are all governed by one judge.

The style of implementations is:

In fact the area got many cases and the Judge of appealed court of Sulemany depend this court and he is going to plan for adding extra judges or distribute the court into two independent courts to fulfill the works properly. And all of this are taken into consideration after several endeavoring by the different parties more especially WOLA. They always try to give newest reports and to the Chief and other related parties. In 2018 we have got 4000 cases and for this year 1800 cases left backs to the Arabt Police station which is related Family Violence Investigation court of Sharazur and Bardaqaraman Police Station that related to Family Violence Investigation Court of Chamchamal by an official order from appealed court of Sulemany. The chief decision was the right one because he lacks that overloading on this court. Despite the case we have solved a third of them which are 4000 cases and now we only got 1250 cases for this year.

4. Combating Domestic Violence Rule

According to the rule، the family investigation court chief have covered that this rule consists of 10 articles and has many incompletions that we couldn’t talk about all of those lacks، but we can start from the title which is not suitable “combating family from violence” does not hold the core meanings of the rule. Combating means to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse while one reads he or she figures out that the rule means treating the troubles after it has arose.

Then he talked about article no. 2 of the rule which covered about some crimes like (For Instance) it is also not flexible because it has already been covered in many other rules and set its sentence. In article no. 2 first part discussed about forced marriage which is already set in personal Iraqi court no. 188 in 1959 article 9 and its sentence has been set; or child marriage which is the same and covered in personal court article 10 parts 5.

In article 6 it also labels about that husbands who forces their wives to penetration which also covered in penetration rule and the sentence fixed. In the same article in part seven it covers about female appendectomy which is also a repetition of article 412 Iraqi Investigation rules. And part 10 labels suicide which is the same of 408 of the Iraqi’s; in part 11 labels miscarrying which is another repetition of 417، 418، 419 of Iraqi’s. In twelves talks about family members torturing that already comes in 413، 414، 415 of Iraqi’s. In 13 labels swearing and bad words which also labels in the Iraqi’s in 433 and 434. So، the legislative one must be away from that sort of repetitions of the other rules which all of them have already been labeled. In spite all of these things، in article no. 2 third part first point labels that family domestic violence is personal not (Public Rights) but if we noticed the second part of the same article says that those ones who works in the medical centers، educational centers، and other official ones must try to shrink the crimes and troubles، so it is a public rights. Thus، these two parts of the same articles are against each other.

Hawler Governorate

1. Hot Line

This line established in October 2018 from all of the governorates of Kurdistan Region، their office located the directorate of woman violence combating which consists of 11 members، three women and eight men; it is online twenty four hours a day. They have two shifts daily and night shift. They answer those people who have problems or personally violated; whether the violation is domestic or outer. The members of this staff instruct those people to solve the problems or set a timetable to visit the advisory center.

The principal of Minara Office about the line said that، “line 119 made the works much difficult، the line gets outer family cases، the duty belongs to us and the cases increasing.”

As a result of our research for the combating domestic family violence rule، we have got the following results:

1. Most of the domestic violence is because of financial problems.

2. Most of the violence is against woman.

3. The offices that belong to the directorate of woman violence have got several problems like، lack of budget، services، and reasons of transformations.

4. Having several cases at the Hawler centers made an obligatory situation to establishing more centers.

5. The government is completely careless about the cases because solving the problems has a direct impact on the family status.

6. In many related parties view، implementing the family domestic violence may arise many other cases because the rule full of incompletion.

Halabja Governorate

1. Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman.

From the early beginnings of inauguration of Halabja as a Governorate، WOLA endeavors to establish directorate of woman violence in this new governorate. Having this directorate is necessary for the area، so WOLA continuously on negotiation with the related parties and organizations especially in the festivals or world days like (8th March). As a result، Ministry of interior decided to establish the directorate in January 8th، 2019 by transmitting (Colonel Burhan Ahmed Abdullah) head of directorate of combating violence against woman from Saydsadiq district which belongs to Sulemaniah to Halabje Governorate. After a few weeks from the day of establishment، WOLA arranged a meeting with Colonel Burhan Ahmed Abdullah about the directorate works during that period of time، he said that they were at the beginnings of the work and they faced lack of buildings and there was only an official order without any practical work. Also، the directorate needs several employees that still do not have any dedication about that and the directorate must contain (8) departments with (26) parts، beside of having an office which needs necessary work to be done. The colonel didn’t hide that they need all the related parties to endeavor for the sake of inauguration of this directorate. He also talked about WOLA hard works in this field with the entire official parties like، governor، mayor، and head of human rights office are all cooperating to settle the directorate as soon as possible.

2- Domestic Violence Courts

Though in 2015 a decision was issued for Halabja to become a governorate، justice wise the city hasn’t made a progress worth mentioning، for instance، until now none of (Appeals Court، Criminal Court، Domestic Violence Court، Employment Court، Juvenile Court، and Administrative Court، and some other courts) were opened each of which need to exist in the governorates. Regarding this، the organization’s representative interviewed the head of Halabja Court (Fareeq Hamasalih Abdullah) about the justice related works that have been done after the issue of making Halabja a government، he said: “it’s true، each of Appeals Court، Domestic Violence Court، Criminal Court and some others are very necessary to be opened in Halabja Governorate، and the Judicial Council fully supports the issue and is fully convinced that opening these courts is necessary، since based on the Judicial Authority Law of Kurdistan Region there should be Appeals Court and some other courts in each governorate، which don’t exist in Halabja Governorate، and the head of Appeals Court of Sulaimany is making real efforts to open some courts in Halabja. The former Halabja Governor tried very hard regarding this issue، and the current governor is still trying to do that، but as a matter of fact، the main problem as of this moment is lack of a facility، which is a huge challenge for the Governorate; we’re in continuous contact with Halabja Governor about this، even if the facility problem is solved، we will then face the problem of employment، because the number of judges and employees of the Presidency of Appeals Court in Sulaimany Area is only a few، and Halabja governorate belongs to the same court until an appeals court is opened in Halabja”. In his answer to the representative’s question on whether so far any justice related progress actually happen Halabja، the judge said: “though there are continuous efforts، there isn’t any actual progress، but the office of the Attorney General Representative became the office of the Attorney General.

Dohuk Governorate

1- Directorate of Combating and Violence against Women and Domestic Violence:

This directorate was established in 2013، they have two offices in Dohuk Governorate، (Dohuk Office and Nizarke Office) they have 8 other offices in the districts، in (Akre، Barda Rash، Shekhan، Shangal، Zakho، Simel، Brayaty and Amedi)

For this report، we visited Dohuk office and Nizarke office in the city، visited Simel Office In Simel district، and visited Zakho office in Zakho and Shekhan District.

2- Zarke office

The manager of Zarke office argued that the Violence Law is a good law to resolve the family issues.

Based on his statistics، they receive at least 4 complaints on a daily basis، and the number gets to a maximum of 7 complaints per day. Based on the data from last year and until March they had a high number of complaints، but the numbers decreased for this year so far، and the manager links this to the better economic situation.

Regarding the complaints، the manager said that they’re mostly caused by infidelity، bad economy، texting unhealthy relationships on social media، he also mentioned that some SIM cards don’t have proper identifications and documents on their owner، which are used to text other people، and that makes works even more difficult for us because we don’t have enough information about the perpetrator.

All types of complaints are made in Nizarke office، even if the defendants are not family members.

The manager also said that they don’t have any problems at their office، but the city of Dohuk needs another office so that the problems could be solved.

3- Dohuk Office

The Manager of Dohuk office says that Domestic Violence Law is a good possibility for peace in the families، but it also gives an opportunity for women to make a complaint even for the simplest problems.

As for this year’s data، the manager said we haven’t prepared the data for this year، but the number of complaints is decreasing.

Regarding the types of the complaints، the manager explained that the problems are caused by lack of understanding between the couples، infidelity، lack of family monitoring due to bad economy، and because of educational gap between the couples، in the meaning that men follow the tribal system and are afraid of what people say in a bad way، while the women are more educated، which causes mismatches and lack of understanding between them.

The manager of Dohuk office also disclosed that all family related complaints are made at their office by both men and women، and that they try as much as possible to solve the problems at their office without referring them to the court.

Garmyan Administration

1- Directorate of Combatting Domestic Violence:

The problems and challenges faced by the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan.

Even though throughout all our reports we addressed the problems and challenges of the directorate، and presented suitable suggestions and recommendations to solve the problems and conveyed them to the relevant actors، unfortunately most of the problems have not been solved yet، which creates obstacles for the implementation of the law as it is supposed to، the main problems are:

1- Lack of staff:

Regarding lack of staff، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “a huge problem for the directorate is lack of staff، especially police officers، no police officers were employed for our directorate for the last five years.

1. Not having a specific facility:

2. Lack of a fixed shelter:

3. Financial problems and lack of budget:

4. Lack of a special Psychiatric Hospital for the victims of violence:

5. Lack of a hot line، which is because of lack of staff and this، is because we don’t have enough employees specified to our directorate to fill the staff gap.

2- Peacebuilding Committee:

About the Peacebuilding Committee and the obstacles for their work، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “the committee has four members، two lawyers of Garmyan Court، and the other two are staff of the directorate، one of whom is a psychologist and the other is a social worker who sees the cases that are referred to them by the Court of Domestic Violence، so they mediate and bring about peace between the two sides of the complaint. In the near future، the number of the members will be increased to 9، due to the large number of cases، based on a decision by the Judicial Council، the members will have specialty in psychology، law، sociology، staff of the Ministry of Interior، it’s decided that they will be two complementing committees، and they will be having sessions 2 day a week to see the cases in Garmyan area. A member of the committee said that most of the problems are caused by the bad economy، the number of the problems especially increased after the economic crisis، the economical aspect affected the people’s life and it’s a main cause for the family problems. Most of the cases seen by the committees are (married couples) some of whom are still married and some are separated، some of the common problems are (threats، beating، abuse of communication means، accusations، and infidelity)، fortunately the committee could so far solve 60% of the problems. Another problem for the committee is lack of any financial reward in return for their efforts، they were supposed to be given 30 000 IQD for each session، but so far they weren’t given any money، which is why they submit their resignation every now and then.

3- District of Khanaqin

After the closure of Khanaqin Office in 2017، due to the coming of (Hashdy Sha’by) army and the worsened security situation of the area، this problem still continues، and the office has not been opened yet، they haven’t resumed their works. Regarding this issue، the manager of Khanaqin Office said: “ever since the office was closed، we are trying to reopen it، the ministry of interior promised us to solve the problem by designating some police officers for us from the Directorate of Garmian Police، but they، too، don’t have enough police officers، that’s why the problem was not solved and stayed as it is. We think the best solution to reopen the office is to employ police officers specifically for the office، and that we should have investigation authority and be able to follow up with the cases، as of right now، a promise is made to us to solve the problem and reopen the office in the latter way.”

“Because the existence of our office affected the awareness level of the people in the area، people are still contacting us for the family problems that happen، so the closure of the office in the area has certainly affected the awareness، education of the people، and the solution and follow up of the cases.”

Regarding how they carry out their works and their authority dealing with all those problems، the manager of the office said: “as of right now، we only have two mobile teams in the area of the Alwan IDP camp 1 and 2، and all they can do is follow up and don’t have authority to do anything else.”

One of the other problems in the district for the implementation of the law، is not having a specialized court to implement the law، and regarding this، the manager of Khanaqin office said: “the court that are in Khanaqin district are run by the Iraqi Government، not by Kurdistan Government، and they’re not willing to implement a law that is issued in Kurdistan، so if the security of the area is handed over to Peshmarga forces، there is a possibility to establish a specialized court، which will solve the problem.

4- Kifry Office:

Despite of the issues and problems we have shown in our previous reports، based on what the manager of Kifry Office said، till now there are many problems in the way of implementing the law and their works، including:

1. Lack of their own employees

2. Lack of required budget

3. Lack of a specialized court

5- The IDPs and the Combatting Domestic Violence Law:

Regarding this، the manager of Kifry Office said that since the IDPs are spread apart and there isn’t a camp to gather them together at one place، we’re only working on the cases that come to us and complain.

Most of the IDP’s problems happen due to their bad financial situation، because the men don’t have a job in the camps، which causes them problems.

Rapareen Administration

1- Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women

The director said that this directorate is crucial، because now people are aware، and they solve their problems through the law and not through the tribal way or the social way of resolving a problem، back in the past، a problem was solved in the social way، it was only solved for a short period of time and restarted again، but a case will be opened for the problem through the law and all statements and evidences will be recorded.

About the increase of the problems، he said that the complaints are generally increasing in number، and we cannot say that the number of the problems have increased just based on that، but we can say that the people have a higher level of awareness and they don’t want to resolve their problems in the social traditional way، so they come and make a complaint، then a file will be created، a promissory letter will be signed by the perpetrator، so then if they commit the crime again the file will be reopened again. In November 2018 there were two cases of burn، one passed away، regarding suicide cases through burning themselves، the number has decreased compared to the past years، but cases of suicide through hanging and poisoning has increased.

2- Family Counselling Center and Peace Building Committee:

A staff of this center said that the Family Counselling Center has two roles:

1- The center is for those people who have problems and don’t want to make a complaint، so both sides of the problem will be asked to come to the center، they will be talked to separately first and then they will be helped to face each other، and the problem will be solved as much as possible.

2- Peace Building Committee: is for those cases are notified officially by the court، then both sides will be asked to come، they will be talked to، to solve their problem. One of our other roles is meeting the children of separated couples، we take the children، and the parents can come to see them here، even then we still face many problems، so for this year we asked that seeing children shouldn’t be in our center. The staff also said that another activity is conducting some seminars this year with the help of two organizations in the educational facilities such as schools، institutes and universities on the problems of social media، early marriage and how to solve problems.

3- Ranya Office

Regarding how they follow up with the cases، the manager of the office said that in the beginning the cases come to us، they will be investigated with by the manager of the office، then the service department of the office will be notified، from which proper legal and social guidance will be provided by social workers، then the case will be referred to the Police of Arrest and Transfer so the statement of the complaintive will be taken and legal actions will be taken later.

Regarding the high number of the complaints، the manager said that despite of the many shortcomings such as lack of employees، running cost، lack of shelter and cars، our cases increase every day، the manager also said that only during this year، more than 350 cases were received، the number of problems has hugely increased to the extent that 40 cases were received in only one month، which is all because: the use of drugs، Peshmarga families، lack of education and awareness، and lack of trust between couples.

Poll

In this report we have achieved a poll in the whole areas of Kurdistan Region about Combating Family Violence to know how much the people aware of the rule or how much they know about the family violence court. When they refuged to the courts how much the judges and the employees are helpful to solve the problems? In this poll، both genders with all various ages were taken apart of it. As a result of this poll we can disclose that how much we in need with more effort، and plans with the related parties to generalize the rule…

Poll Result

Total Participants 506 Persons

Participant Age 15-26 26-60

214 292

Participant Gender Female Male

361 145

Participant Job Students Employees Housewife Worker

103 94 210 99

Participant Place Governorate District

376 130

Q/ how much do you have information about the combating woman violence rule?

None Average most

275 162 69

%54.34 %32.01 %13.63

Through this poll we come to that conclusion that there isn’t enough information about the rule among the people of the various places. Most of them they do not have any information about it، and a few of them have a little about the rule. So، we must take this issue seriously because it is a crucial rule and everyone must have enough information about it. However، the poll was held in among those people who visited the courts. Thus، all of these results show the careless work of the related parties. It is a necessary to all of the centers and parts to generalize and spread enough information about this rule until each individual will gain that much of information about this rule.

Q/ how much do you have information about family violence court?

None Average most

270 169 67

%53.35 %33.39 %13.24

As a result، we come to that conclusion as same as the rule that how they don’t have information about the rule they also do not have any information about the court. So، spreading information about the rule has a direct effect on this part.

Q/ how much do you have information about the peace committee? And do you believe that they could solve problems?

None Average most

167 197 133

%34.78 %38.73 %26.28

In this way، we could realize that peace committee was able to aware much enough about their roles among the society، but still the rate is not that much. So، the members of the committee and all of the parts must help them to implement their deeds successfully by paving the ground through services. At that time they will have that effect on the families to be strong and rebuild them as good as they want.

Q/ you have faced which sort of violence?

Psychology Body sex

296 184 38

%7.50 %36.36 %7.50

We come to that conclusion that most of the sacrifices were got psychological assault by the families like swearing and ignoring. So، it must be taken seriously too aware of the sacrifices psychology.

Q/ how much the judge and the employees help you to simplify and solve the problem?

None Average most

117 269 120

%23.12 %53.16 %23.71

Fortunately، this poll shows that the judges and the employees are a good helping hand for the disputed and sacrifices، but still we need more cooperation from them.

Q/ did you hold a secret investigation?

Yes No

256 248

%49.01 %50.59

According to the combating family violence rule، family investigations must be held secretly، but as we see there isn’t taken that much seriously and this has many reasons like، not having a specialized court for the family troubles so all refers to the crime court، at that time the number of the cases are increases and confliction happens. Beyond of lacking particular place، at that time several cases investigate in the same place so the secrets are going to be disclosed.

Q/ who has made violence against you?

Husband Wife Brother Sister others

250 24 45 49 138

%49.40 %4.74 %8.8 %9.6 %27.27

As a result، we can see that most of that violence held by male gender against their wives. So we must try to aware males through courses and various activities among the society.

Q/ how long your case remains at court?

1-3 months 3-6 months 6-1 year

149 93 113

%29.44 %18.37 %22.33

As we see، the cases take a long period of time at the courts، and sometimes some of the cases were abolished by the complainer because of remaining unsolved in the courts. These things mostly happen because of lacking judges and employees. So، related parts must take it seriously and try to dedicate more judges to the courts.

Statistics

1. Al-Sulemaniah Governorate

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

2031 2039

Family Violence Court Investigation

2017 2018

7113 5298

Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court

2017 2018

427 301

West Office

2017 2018

1556 1804

Hawler Governorate

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

2909 3691

Family Violence Court Investigation

2017 2018

4029 6537

Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court

2017 2018

196 281

Duhok Governorate

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

2324 2620

Family Violence Court Investigation

2017 2018

4098 5336

Family Misdemeanor and Violence Court

2017 2018

368 565

Halabje Governorate

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

38 67

Saydsadiq Office

2017 2018

110 114

Garmian Administration

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

902 1137

Kalar Office

2017 2018

520 633

Peace Committee

2017 2018

101 146

Kifry Office

2017 2018

194 144

Kifry Peace Committee

2017 2018

14 6

Raparin Administration

Directorate of Combating Violence against Woman

2017 2018

545 582

Marriage and divorce statistics in Kurdistan region courts

Case Sort Hawler Al-Sulemany Duhok Total

marriage 15025 13836 10902 39763

divorce 3598 4085 1509 9192

Second marriage 36 48 5 89

The WOLA Cases Statistics in 2019، that set volunteer judge

Case Sort Number

All kinds of divorce 57

On expense 14

Child observer 5

Nursery 2

Compliance 2

Total case 80

Legal Advisory 108

Total cases and legal advisory 188

Reasons

Financial

Family interfere

Disagreement

Betrayal

Violence

Leaving

2- Domestic Violence Courts

Though in 2015 a decision was issued for Halabja to become a governorate، justice wise the city hasn’t made a progress worth mentioning، for instance، until now none of (Appeals Court، Criminal Court، Domestic Violence Court، Employment Court، Juvenile Court، and Administrative Court، and some other courts) were opened each of which need to exist in the governorates. Regarding this، the organization’s representative interviewed the head of Halabja Court (Fareeq Hamasalih Abdullah) about the justice related works that have been done after the issue of making Halabja a government، he said: “it’s true، each of Appeals Court، Domestic Violence Court، Criminal Court and some others are very necessary to be opened in Halabja Governorate، and the Judicial Council fully supports the issue and is fully convinced that opening these courts is necessary، since based on the Judicial Authority Law of Kurdistan Region there should be Appeals Court and some other courts in each governorate، which don’t exist in Halabja Governorate، and the head of Appeals Court of Sulaimany is making real efforts to open some courts in Halabja. The former Halabja Governor tried very hard regarding this issue، and the current governor is still trying to do that، but as a matter of fact، the main problem as of this moment is lack of a facility، which is a huge challenge for the Governorate; we’re in continuous contact with Halabja Governor about this، even if the facility problem is solved، we will then face the problem of employment، because the number of judges and employees of the Presidency of Appeals Court in Sulaimany Area is only a few، and Halabja governorate belongs to the same court until an appeals court is opened in Halabja”. In his answer to the representative’s question on whether so far any justice related progress actually happened n Halabja، the judge said: “though there are continuous efforts، there isn’t any actual progress، but the office of the Attorney General Representative became the office of the Attorney General.

Dohuk Governorate

4- Directorate of Combating and Violence against Women and Domestic Violence:

For this report، we visited Dohuk office and Nizarke office in the city، visited Simel Office in Simel district، and visited Zakho office in Zakho and Shekhan District.

5- Zarke office

The manager of Zarke office argued that the Violence Law is a good law to resolve the family issues.

All types of complaints are made in Nizarke office، even if the defendants are not family members.

The manager also said that they don’t have any problems at their office، but the city of Dohuk needs another office so that the problems could be solved.

6- Dohuk Office

As for this year’s data، the manager said we haven’t prepared the data for this year، but the number of complaints is decreasing.

Garmyan Administration

2- Directorate of Combatting Domestic Violence:

The problems and challenges faced by the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan.

2- Lack of staff:

Regarding lack of staff، the Director of the Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women/Garmyan said: “a huge problem for the directorate is lack of staff، especially police officers; no police officers were employed for our directorate for the last five years.

6. Not having a specific facility:

7. Lack of a fixed shelter:

8. Financial problems and lack of budget:

9. Lack of a special Psychiatric Hospital for the victims of violence:

10. Lack of a hot line، which is because of lack of staff and this، is because we don’t have enough employees specified to our directorate to fill the staff gap.

2- Peacebuilding Committee:

3- District of Khanaqin

4- Kifry Office:

4. Lack of their own employees

5. Lack of required budget

6. Lack of a specialized court

5- The IDPs and the Combatting Domestic Violence Law:

Most of the IDP’s problems happen due to their bad financial situation، because the men don’t have a job in the camps، which causes them problems.

Rapareen Administration

3- Directorate of Combatting Violence against Women

4- Family Counselling Center and Peace Building Committee:

A staff of this center said that the Family Counselling Center has two roles:

4- The center is for those people who have problems and don’t want to make a complaint، so both sides of the problem will be asked to come to the center، they will be talked to separately first and then they will be helped to face each other، and the problem will be solved as much as possible.

5- Peace Building Committee: is for those cases are notified officially by the court، then both sides will be asked to come، they will be talked to، to solve their problem. One of our other roles is meeting the children of separated couples، we take the children، and the parents can come to see them here، even then we still face many problems، so for this year we asked that seeing children shouldn’t be in our center. The staff also said that another activity is conducting some seminars this year with the help of two organizations in the educational facilities such as schools، institutes and universities on the problems of social media، early marriage and how to solve problems.

6- Ranya Office

Vie

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6/16/2019 1:49:43 PM

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2023 A Report for Monitoring the Implementation of the Domestic Violence Law

Article

Gallery

Public Session event

Public Hearing Session in the area of sirwan

View Our report on the follow-up to the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act of 2019 was presented at the press conference with the help of the (NED) American INGO

Participation of lawyers in a capacity building workshop organized by UN Women