Women and girls subjected to domestic violence in Iraqi Kurdistan face "daunting obstacles” when seeking state protection, Amnesty International reported, accusing authorities of failing to prosecute abusers.
The London-based rights group released a report on Wednesday highlighting that gender-based violence in the autonomous northern region is "perpetuated by a criminal justice system that fuels impunity.”
Authorities are "failing to ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence, including harrowing cases of murder, rape, beatings, and burning, are held to account,” Amnesty stated.
The protection framework for victims is described as "exhausted and underfunded,” revealing a lack of political will to prosecute abusers.
Aya Majzoub, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, emphasized that "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 and allow perpetrators to go unpunished.
Meanwhile, survivors seeking refuge in shelters face prison-like conditions, compelling them to return to situations of horrendous abuse.”
Amnesty revealed that state prosecutors "rarely if ever” initiate criminal cases against abusers.
Instead, women and girls must file criminal complaints against their aggressors, often facing reprisals, threats, and intimidation from the abusers or their families, pressuring them to drop the charges.
The legal system is described as "slow and lengthy,” with judges often showing "bias” toward the male abuser and pushing to keep families together rather than ensuring the protection of women.
Amnesty quoted a caseworker stating, "Women do not want to go to court because they will be asked, ‘What did you do for him to do that to you?’ Victims should not be asked what they did to provoke being beaten, stabbed, or shot.”
Amnesty called on authorities to "urgently end impunity for domestic violence” and conduct "effective” investigations into domestic violence cases.
It also urged for increased funding for survivors and improved living conditions in shelters.
The report is based on exhaustive research, including interviews with 15 women survivors of domestic violence, aid workers, and government officials, as well as visits to shelters for abused women.
Amnesty cited official figures indicating that at least 30 women were killed in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2023 and 40 in the previous year, though NGO workers suggest the numbers are higher.