Algeria scored 30.7 out of 100 points in the 2021 Regional Index on VAWG. Algeria has made major steps toward combating VAWG in the last decades. Algeria ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), but still maintains reservations to several articles of CEDAW (2, 15, and 16).
The last positive legal changes were made in 2020 in which the Constitution was amended to include specific provisions on women’s rights and gender equality. Article 68 provides that the State is obliged to guarantee equality between women and men in the labour market, and to encourage appointing women in leadership positions in public departments, administrations and institutions. A number of measures focused on combating gender inequality have been enacted, including an amendment of the family law and increasing the quotas for women in the election lists to the People's National Assembly and municipalities to become 30%.
Algeria launched the National Strategy on Combating Violence Against Women in 2007. The strategy called for creating special units to help victims of violence find longer-term shelters.
Specialised services are provided to women victims of VAWG in 2 State-run shelters. There are cooperation mechanisms between police, hospitals, and other government institutions for referring VAWG cases. The cooperation is arranged by the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Affairs and includes the institutional information system on violence against women that was created to consolidate and exchange all data related to women and girls who are victims of VAWG. The same Ministry leads the national awareness-raising campaigns on combating VAWG.
For more information, please download Algeria National Report