Tunisia

The law on eliminating violence against women includes provisions requiring the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training to take all necessary measures to prevent and combat violence against women in educational institutions (Article 7). Article 39 stipulates that everyone entrusted with the protection of women from violence, including judicial police officers, representatives of child protection services, health workers, women and family affairs, social affairs, education and others, should respond immediately to every request for assistance or protection submitted by the victim directly.

There are no gender sensitive manuals for teachers.

There are specific regulations to protect children from sexual exploitation in the law on anti-trafficking (2016), the penal code, and the law on child protection (1995). Article 20 of the latter declares that sexual exploitation of a child whether it’s a boy or a girl constitutes one of the difficult situations which threaten the health of the child and her/his physical or psychological integrity. The law stipulates for the creation of a child protection officer, responsible for preventive intervention mission in all cases where it turns out that the child’s health or physical or psychological integrity is threatened or exposed to danger. The deadlines for public prosecution of sexual crimes committed against children start when the child comes of age and becomes an adult and not from the day the crime was committed.

Article 227 of the penal code considers consent as absent in the crime of rape if the victim is less than 16 years old. Also incest committed against a child is punishable by life imprisonment and the same penalty if a child under 16 years old is raped.

There are no regulations and procedures that specifically address VAWG in the youth centres, clubs, and stadiums. The law on eliminating violence against women criminalises harassment in the public space (Article 17), which may apply to these spaces, i.e., youth centres, clubs and stadiums.

Article 24 of law on combating violence against women requires forming special units in each police district to receive complaints from women victims of violence in general. However, these units have not been created yet, because the law does not provide for the establishment of specialized units to receive domestic violence complaints. There is no specific directorate unit affiliated to the police that deals with domestic violence.

Specialized services are provided to women victims of VAWG in 6 shelters, operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood, and Elderly.

The psychosocial counselling is provided to women victims of VAWG in the service centers of the Ministry of Social Affairs, in the regional offices of the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Elderly, in shelters, listening, counseling and reception centers as well as hospitals and hot-lines as the 1899 Green Line set up by the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Elderly.

Legal counselling is provided by Ministry of Justice.

There are no specialized public services to women of marginalized groups victims of VAWG.

According to a decree issued in August 2020, the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Elderly has allocated public funding to 6 shelters run by associations under the supervision of the Ministry.

There are no regular and recent public statistics to measure the rate of all forms of VAWG including the rate of unreported violence. The Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and the Elderly, publishs statistics on VAWG. However, these statistics do not cover all forms and rates of VAWG.

There are partial statistics in terms of type, not in terms of severity and frequency.