Indicator 4: Existence of comprehensive law criminalizing all forms of VAWG including harmful practices such as FGM, early and forced marriage, honour crimes

VAWG is a phenomenon that persists in both the private and the public sphere. It affects women of all categories, in their personal and social statuses. Due to the complexity of this issue and how widespread it is, international and regional documents on combating violence against women recommend the adoption of comprehensive laws to combat it, including a definition on VAWG, and the criminalisation of all its forms, regardless of the context in which it occurs and of the nature of the relationship between the aggressor and the victim.

Special protection must be granted to women under circumstances that could increase their vulnerability as victims: their age (young or old), a disability or illness, an asylum or immigration situation, whether legal or illegal, a detention or imprisonment, or a state of war⁸.
Only Tunisia and Morocco have such comprehensive laws on eliminating VAWG. Still there are many forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized in most of the countries included in this index such as: marital rape, early marriage⁹, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance, “honour” crimes, sexual harassment¹⁰ in the work place. While sexual harassment is criminalized under penal code in all countries, sexual harassment specifically in the workplace is prohibited under the labour law only in Morocco and Jordan. In December 2020, Lebanon adopted a special law prohibiting sexual harassment in workplace.

⁸_{Silvia Suteu, Salsabil Klibi, and Ibrahim Draji, ABC for a Gender Sensitive Legislation, EuroMed Feminist Initiative, Paris 2020.}
⁹_{Please refer to indicator No. 13 for more information on early marriage.}
¹⁰_{Please refer to indicator No. 12 for more information on sexual harassment in public and private spaces.}

Countries

Algeria

There is no comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of VAWG. The amendments to the penal code (2015) introduced violence against women as a particular form of violence aimed specifically against women and girls, and committed in both private and public space. The penal code criminalizes some forms of VAWG, as rape, sexual harassment in the public space and in the workplace, as well as economic violence identified as deprivation of woman’s own goods, salary and lodging. FGM is not legally prohibited but is believed not to be practiced in Algeria.

Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, early marriage, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance, “honour” crimes. Sexual harassment in the workplace is not addressed in the labour law.

Egypt

There is no comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of VAWG. Some forms are criminalized under different laws. Sexual harassment in the public space and in the workplace, rape and FGM are criminalized under the penal code.

Jordan

There is no comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of VAWG. Some forms are criminalized under the penal code such as sexual harassment and rape. Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited under the labour law. FGM is not legally prohibited but it is believed not be practiced in Jordan. Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, early marriage, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance, “honour” crimes.

Lebanon

There is no comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of VAWG. Some forms are criminalized under the penal code such as sexual harassment in the public space and rape. A special law prohibiting sexual harassment in workplace was adopted in December 2020. FGM is not legally prohibited but it is believed not to be practiced in Lebanon.

Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, early marriage, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance.

Morocco

There is a law on combating VAWG (Law on Combating Violence against Women of 2018). The law covers physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence, economic violence, but does not explicitly criminalize marital rape. Some forms of VAWG are criminalized under different laws. Sexual harassment and rape are criminalized under the penal code. Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited under the labour law. FGM is not legally prohibited but it is believed not to be practiced in Morocco.

Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance, “honour” crimes.

Palestine

There is no comprehensive law that criminalizes all forms of VAWG. Some forms are criminalized under the penal code such as sexual harassment in the public space and rape. FGM is not legally prohibited but is believed not to be practiced in Palestine.

Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, early marriage, polygamy, inequality between men and women in inheritance. Sexual harassment in the workplace is not addressed in the labour law.

Tunisia

There is a comprehensive law on combating VAWG (Law on Eliminating Violence against Women of 2017). Article 3 criminalizes sexual violence, whatever the perpetrator’s relation to the victim is, meaning that marital rape would be included, but it does not explicitly criminalize marital rape.

Some forms of VAWG are criminalized under different laws. Rape and FGM are criminalized under the penal code. Penal code also criminalizes sexual harassment in general, whether it is committed in public, private, or workplace.

Polygamy is criminalized under the personal status code. Other forms of VAWG that are not comprehensively criminalized include: marital rape, early marriage, inequality between men and women in inheritance, sexual harassment in the workplace.

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2020 Regional Index on VAWG