Laws prioritise protection of ‘family unity’ over justice, while impunity for ‘honour killings’ remains widespread

One teenage girl had her ears cut off by her brother because she was using social media

‘They are teaching men how to get away with rape and murder’ - director of a shelter describing over-lenient judges

‘Survivors of domestic violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are being failed at every turn’ - Aya Majzoub

The authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are failing to ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence are held to account, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

Despite some positive legislative steps taken by the authorities to combat domestic violence, Amnesty’s 44-page report - Daunting and Dire: impunity, underfunded institutions undermine protection of women and girls from domestic violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - shows how in practice survivors face significant obstacles in accessing protection and justice.

The report - based on interviews with 57 people, including 15 women survivors of domestic violence, government officials and various staff at shelters, as well as visits to three out of the four state-run shelters - details the numerous obstacles survivors face in accessing justice. 

The director of one shelter described to Amnesty the case of a teenage girl whose “brother had cut off both her ears and shaved off all her hair” because she was using social media. The director said the judge told the shelter they should encourage the girl’s family to take her back, while her brother - for his part - was never arrested (see below for further details). 

While no comprehensive statistics on gender-based violence are available, government officials have reported that at least 30 women were killed in in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq last year aand 44 in 2022. NGO workers told Amnesty that the real numbers are likely to be much higher. In 2022, the the Directorate for Combating Violence Against Women and the Family received 15,896 complaints of domestic violence.

Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Middle East Deputy Director, said:

“This report is a call to the authorities to urgently end impunity for domestic violence.

“Survivors of domestic violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are being failed at every turn. 

“From the moment they escape abusive situations, these women and girls repeatedly encounter daunting obstacles in seeking protection and justice that leave them at risk. 

“Survivors seeking refuge in shelters face prison-like conditions which in some cases compel women and girls to return to situations of horrendous abuse.

“The increasing reports of domestic violence in Kurdistan Region of Iraq should serve as a wake-up call that the current system is failing women and girls.”

Girl had ears cut off

“A girl was brought to us last year. Her brother had cut off both her ears and shaved off all her hair. She was under 16 or 17. This was apparently because she was using social media. That was the entire reason. His family helped him flee to Kirkuk.  That’s not very far. The judge called me saying we should encourage the family to take her back since the brother could not be arrested. I was livid. I ended up speaking to media and political leaders about this and filed a complaint against the judge. The girl’s family took her back, but the brother was never arrested” - in-person interview with the director of a temporary shelter in the Garmiyan region on 9 September 2023.

Prioritisation of ‘family unity’

Lengthy court proceedings, wide discretionary powers for judges who show bias towards abusers and prioritise the protection of “family unity” over the protection of women, as well as humiliation during court proceedings all powerfully disincentivise women from seeking justice and lead to many dropping charges and then re-entering abusive situations. The only safeguard courts require when survivors drop charges is that the abuser - or survivor’s family who may be the ones threatening the survivor - sign a "pledge of no harm" - a discretionary measure requested by judges which is not legally binding. Social workers told Amnesty that there have been numerous cases where women and girls have been killed after such pledges were signed. In one case, the bodies of two sisters, aged 17 and 19, were found in September 2020, around a month after they left a shelter. The father had signed a “no harm” pledge after the girls were convinced by family members to drop the charges against him. 

Survivors and social workers also described to Amnesty how gender stereotypes and a victim-blaming culture mean women are reluctant to go to court and risk being humiliated. A caseworker recounted to Amnesty how one judge told a woman who became pregnant after she was raped by her brother, “If you were such a well-behaved girl this wouldn’t have happened to you”. Her family then convinced her to drop the charges. In some cases, shelter directors explained, judges appeared to show leniency towards married men who committed crimes against family members other than their spouse or children in order to preserve their family’s unity. The director of a shelter described how in the case of a 16-year-old girl raped by her 26-year-old cousin, the judge changed the charge from rape of a minor - which carries a 15-year prison sentence - to a charge of adultery because “the man was married” and “had a family to look after”. “They are teaching men how to get away with rape and murder”, the shelter director said. 

Shortfalls in law on domestic violence

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s 2011 Domestic Violence Law prioritises the protection of “family unity” over justice and the protection of survivors, laying out penalties for offenders that are not commensurate with the gravity of the crimes committed. Most tellingly, the law mandates a reconciliation process between the survivor and her abuser before a judge decides whether to refer the case for trial. Mandatory reconciliation processes are at odds with a survivor-centred approach to domestic and gender-based violence. Under the law, acts of domestic violence - including bodily injury and marital rape - are considered misdemeanours and therefore can only incur a maximum penalty of three years in jail. While the law does grant judges the discretion to make use of harsher penalties, Amnesty found that a lack of clear directives in a context of entrenched gender-based stereotypes means that judges rarely impose penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crimes being committed. 

One lawyer said: 

“[I recall] the case of a woman who was beaten severely by her husband and she brought charges three times and each time the judge would fine the husband something nominal. She ended up going to court three times, each time bearing the same bruises.” 

Impunity for “honour killings” also remains widespread despite a 2002 amendment to the penal code to remove “honour” as a mitigating circumstance in cases of murder or other serious crimes against women. 

Underfunded and inadequate protection mechanisms

Amnesty also found that the protection and reporting mechanisms set up by the state are woefully underfunded and under-resourced, seriously impairing institutions’ ability to support women and girls subjected to domestic violence. These institutions include the Directorate for Combating Violence Against Women and the Family and shelters run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The three shelters Amnesty visited were in disrepair, overcrowded, understaffed and not adequately equipped for survivors’ needs. Women and girls require a court order to enter and leave the shelters, which can only be granted if they file a criminal complaint against their abuser. This requirement in effect excludes survivors who choose not to file complaints, including for fear of reprisals. Once in the shelters, the women and girls’ freedom of movement and access to phones and the internet are severely restricted. Amnesty believes that these restrictions on freedom of movement and communication are disproportionate and amount to an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. 

One Directorate for Combating Violence Against Women and the Family investigator told Amnesty:

“The lives of women and girls who enter shelters essentially come to a stop … I look at women who turn up with wounds, bruised eyes and know that even if I do everything, after she leaves this office 90% of the time she will be back to what sent her here in the first place.”