Government Lobbying

Creating further change within the legal system and government to combat violence against women is vitally important. Great progress is being made, but more is needed to not only better fund existing government services available to victims of violence against women, particularly services available through the Office of Combating Violence Against Women (OCVAW), but to continue to set legal precedent for offenders who commit violence. If the DCVAW has increased resource funding, more women will be helped.

The budget of the Kurdistan Regional Government is stretched thin as many initiatives need funding, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has made several important changes to the law to combat violence against women, such as the 2011 Anti-Domestic Violence Law Number Eight, the 2008 amendments to the personal status law which prohibit a man from marrying a second wife unless the first wife agrees to the union, and the 2002 amendments to penal code that classify ‘honor’ killings as murder. Additionally, the KRG founded the DCVAW (subsequently, the OCVAW, as well) in 2007. While it is impossible to quantify the literal percentage of women who experience violence in the KRI, reporting of cases of violence against women has only increased since the DCVAW was instituted eight years ago – a powerful example of the growing success of the OCVAW presence. We lobby for expanded funding for the OCVAW, expanded legal rights for women, and further expansion of VAW-related laws to prosecute offenders.

We personally witnessed the OCVAW call to action for an emergency case of VAW, as we arrived to interview CPT Ropak Huseen (the first female police Captain at the OCVAW Semel). CPT Huseen shared with us that the only way for the OCVAW to receive expanded funding from the KRG, is for the demonstrated need to increase. But the only way to achieve that is for many more women to know about and feel confident in their legal rights, and then come forth to report their cases. Sadly, the knowledge of and confidence in existing services remains extremely case-by-case dependent. Many women believe there are none, lack the emotional support to move forth with a police report or case in the courts, or lack the financial ability to live outside the abusive home.