CLOSING THE GAP—IMPROVING LAWS PROTECTING WOMEN FROM VIOLENCE WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW Closing the Gap—Improving Laws Protecting Women from Violence by Alena Sakhonchik, Isabel Santagostino Recavarren, and Paula Tavares When she was 12, Chimwemwe married a 17-year-old boy. By exposed to severe partner violence earn 60% less than women the time she was 13 she had dropped out of school and had a who are not exposed.9 baby. In Malawi, where Chimwemwe lives, this is not unusual. About half of the girls are married before they are 18.1 But Violence against women and girls occurs in the home, on the Chimwemwe’s marriage would not be legal today; in 2015 in streets, in schools, and in workplaces, and can involve physi- the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill, the Malawian cal, sexual, psychological, and economic violence.10 It is rooted parliament raised the legal age of marriage to 18. in gender discrimination and results in greater vulnerability of women throughout their lifecycle. Chimwemwe’s story is not unique. Each year 15 million girls around the world are married before they are 18.2 Early mar- riage is often seen as a solution to poverty by families who Protecting Women from Violence: think they will have one less mouth to feed, or where payment What We Measure by a prospective husband to the bride’s family—bride price— can represent a source of income. However, girls who marry Women, Business and the Law examines where economies before they reach 18 are more likely to be exposed to intimate provide legal protection for women and girls in areas such partner violence and sexual abuse than those who marry later.3 as child marriage, domestic violence, and marital rape. It also They also constitute up to 30% of girl dropouts in secondary collects data on remedies, such as the existence and scope of education and tend to have children earlier.4 Child marriage protection orders for victims of domestic violence. further leads to the majority of adolescent pregnancies,5 higher Violence thwarts women’s economic empowerment by limit- rates of maternal and child mortality,6 lower educational at- ing their ability to exercise agency and make choices. Violence tainment, and lower lifetime earnings.7 Conversely, girls who against women and girls both reflects and reinforces inequali- marry later and delay pregnancy are likely to be healthier and ties between women and men. Where a girl can be legally better-educated.8 married before she turns 18, she has less opportunity to make Violence against women and girls can take many forms, from choices about her future. Where a woman suffers abuse from marrying off a girl before she is developmentally ready to direct her husband, her health and psychological well-being are physical or sexual abuse by a partner (box 1.1). Whatever the threatened and her capacity to work and function socially are form of violence, all limit a woman’s opportunities and restrict impaired. If she is not able to work, she is forced into a subor- her full participation in and contribution to society. Violence un- dinate position, both psychologically and economically, and the dermines women’s economic empowerment by affecting their cycle of violence persists. Legal protection is crucial to reduce performance at work, making it more difficult for them to get impunity and open avenues for redress. Yet Women, Business and keep jobs, and blocking access to other financial resources. and the Law finds persisting gaps in laws protecting women In Tanzania, for example, women in formal wage work who are from violence. BOX 1.1    WHAT IS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS? The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” Violence can occur in different phases of a woman’s life. It can start even before birth, with sex-selective abortion; throughout a girl’s childhood, with increased female child mortality, child abuse, female genital mutilation, child marriage and trafficking; and in adulthood, with intimate partner violence, marital rape, and honor killings. Source: United Nations General Assembly 1993; Gennari et al. 2015; UNIFEM 2009. 1 Closing the Gap—Improving Laws Protecting Women from Violence Women, Business and the Law Violence against Girls Starts Early: Child In a handful of economies the legal age of marriage is set at 15 and under, or is not legally defined. Where the law does not Marriage define the age of marriage, girls can potentially be married at A girl who is married before reaching the age of majority loses any age if their guardians allow it. For example, in Sudan girls the ability to make decisions before she can legally make them can get married at puberty with their guardians’ consent and in for herself. In Afghanistan, where the age of majority is 18, the Islamic Republic of Iran girls can get married when they turn girls can get married at 16, or as early as 15 with their father’s 13. This was not always the case, however. In 1974, the Iranian consent. Marrying a girl before she is capable of consenting Family Protection Act raised the age of marriage from 15 to and has not yet achieved the necessary physical, emotional, 18, but following the Revolution, Iranian women witnessed a or mental maturity, can have negative consequences, including reversal in legal protections and the age of marriage was set early pregnancy and abuse. at puberty. More recently, in 2000, the Iranian Parliament at- tempted to raise the age of marriage for girls to 15, but the bill According to Women, Business and the Law data, the legal age was struck down. In 2002, a new provision was finally approved of marriage for girls is under 18 in 12 economies, compared setting the age of marriage for girls at 13.11 with only 5 for boys. And 17 economies have a different legal age of marriage for boys than for girls. Where this is the case, Even where the legal age of marriage is 18 or above, girls are allowed to get married at a younger age (figure 1.1). nearly 3 out of 4 economies allow girls to be married ear- lier with parental or judicial consent or in case of pregnancy FIGURE 1.1 WHERE GIRLS CAN GET MARRIED AT A YOUNGER AGE THAN BOYS China 22 20 Liberia 21 18 India 21 18 21 Congo, Rep. 18 21 Burundi 18 21 Bangladesh 18 Vietnam 20 18 Uzbekistan 18 17 Syrian Arab Republic 18 17 18 Qatar 16 18 Mali 16 Malaysia 18 16 Bahrain 18 15 Afghanistan 18 16 Kuwait 17 15 West Bank and Gaza 16 15 Iran, Islamic Rep. 15 13 What is the legal age of marriage for boys? What is the legal age of marriage for girls? Source: Women, Business and the Law database. Women, Business and the Law 2 (figure 1.2). In Burkina Faso and Paraguay, for example, the FEMALE ENROLLMENT IN FIGURE 1.3 legal age of marriage is set at 18 or above, but a girl can be SECONDARY EDUCATION IS married earlier with judicial consent. HIGHER WHERE THE LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR GIRLS IS 18 The most common exception allowing girls younger than 18 YEARS OR OLDER to marry is with parental consent. This means that girls can become child brides if their parents so decide. In such cases, girls may have very little say—if any—about when they marry. Enrollment in secondary education, female (% gross ) In fact, girls younger than 18 can marry with their parents’ 83% consent in over half of the economies where the legal age of 69% marriage is 18 or above. Ecuador and El Salvador, for example, both set the legal age of marriage at 18, but a girl can be mar- ried at 12 with parental consent (map 1.1). Similarly, in several states in the United States, the legal age of marriage is 18, but a girl can get married as young as 14 with her parents’ consent and court authorization.12 Malawi, where girls can get married at 15–3 years below the Legal age of Legal age of legal age of marriage—if their parents consent, is among marriage for girls marriage for girls the 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriages, 9 is less than 18 is 18 or older of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa.13 In Niger, Chad, and the Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Development Indicators Central African Republic, over 65% of girls under 18 are mar- databases. ried. In Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Note: The difference in the percentages illustrated is statistically significant at the 5% level after controlling for 2014 GNI per capita. The regression analysis and South Sudan, this is the case for about 50% of girls.14 is based on 115 economies for which data are available; the results are statistically significant even after controlling for the proportion of seats held In general, where the legal age for them to marry is 18 or older by women in national parliaments (2014). This statistical relationship should (figure 1.3), more girls are enrolled in secondary school. In not be interpreted as causal. Sub-Saharan Africa, each year of early marriage reduces the probability of a girl completing secondary school by about 4 percentage points.15 Lower education rates due to child mar- riage may also affect a woman’s ability to get a job (figure 1.4). FIGURE 1.4 THE FEMALE EMPLOYMENT-TO- FIGURE 1.2 EVEN WHERE THE LEGAL AGE OF POPULATION RATIO IS HIGHER MARRIAGE IS 18 OR HIGHER, MOST WHERE THE LEGAL AGE OF ECONOMIES HAVE EXCEPTIONS MARRIAGE FOR GIRLS IS 18 YEARS ALLOWING GIRLS TO MARRY OR OLDER EARLIER Employment to population ratio, female (15+) LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR GIRLS IS 18 OR HIGHER 50% (158 economies) 29% EXCEPTIONS TO LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE (139 economies) Legal age of Legal age of marriage for girls marriage for girls is less than 18 is 18 or older Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Development Indicators databases. NO PENALTIES Note: The difference in the percentages illustrated is statistically significant at the 5% FOR ENTERING level after controlling for 2014 GNI per capita. The regression analysis is based on INTO OR 156 economies for which data are available; the results are statistically significant at AUTHORIZING the 10% level after controlling for the proportion of seats held by women in national CHILD MARRIAGE parliaments (2014) and female enrollment in secondary education (2012). This (63 economies) statistical relationship should not be interpreted as causal. Note: Even where there are exceptions to the legal age of marriage, the female employment-to-population ratio is still higher where the legal age of marriage for girls is 18 or older. Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 3 Closing the Gap—Improving Laws Protecting Women from Violence Women, Business and the Law MAP 1.1    AGE AT WHICH GIRLS CAN GET MARRIED WITH PARENTAL CONSENT This map was produced by the Map Design Unit of The World Bank. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of The World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. IBRD 42342 | AUGUST 2016 Budget, Performance Review & Strategic Planning General Services Printing & Multimedia Age of Marriage for Girls with Parental Consent 18 and more 16 or 17 15 and under No data Note: The age of marriage for girls with parental consent is the age at which a girl can get married with parental consent or the legally established age if the law does not establish a lower age with parental consent. Source: World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law database, available at wbl.worldbank.org. There are also economic gains to eliminating child marriage. prohibited or not subject to annulment. However, some econo- In Niger, where the gross domestic product is approximately mies have measures in place to ensure that girls are protected $8.17 billion, eliminating child marriage could lead to estimated from being forced into early marriage, such as prohibiting mar- benefits of more than $25 billion over the next 15 years by re- riage under a certain age. Other economies have additional ducing population growth and increasing educational outcomes safeguards, such as allowing for annulment of marriages that for girls.16 Yet globally over 700 million women alive today were violate the age requirement. married as children, and approximately 142 million girls will be married by the end of the decade.17 The Civil Code of Cambodia, for example, allows either spouse, their parents, or a public prosecutor to annul a marriage when In many places, once a girl is wed it becomes very difficult for one spouse is below the legal age. Similarly, a marriage in her to leave the marriage (box 1.2). In Trinidad and Tobago, for Switzerland can be annulled if one of the spouses is a minor, and example, there are no legal grounds for invalidating child mar- in India, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act allows the court riages and in Mauritania a minor can be married with parental to issue an injunction prohibiting a child marriage and void mar- consent at any age, with no annulment option. In nearly 20% of riages involving a child. In Panama the law protects the assets economies examined, marriage under the legal age is either not of married children until they reach the age of 18. Almost half of BOX 1.2    HARMFUL PRACTICES: EARLY AND FORCED MARRIAGE—A CASE FROM SOUTH AFRICA A common practice in South Africa, the Ukuthwala, is the custom of abducting girls for the purpose of marriage, sometimes with permission of their family. A criminal case in 2014 brought the practice to light again, involving a 28-year-old man who abducted and subsequently abused a 14-year-old girl after paying bride price to her family. Under the South African Marriage Act of 1961, a girl can be married at 15 with parental consent. However, the South African Sexual Offenses Act criminalizes marital rape. While the man could not face penalties for child marriage, he was declared guilty of rape, human trafficking, and assault, in the first ukuthwala-based conviction in the region. The High Court of South Africa ruled that the man used unlawful sexual coercion to subdue an under-age girl who did not consent to the marriage. The case shows progress in curtailing such practices, but highlights the need to remove exceptions to the legal age of marriage, pass comprehensive legislation protecting girls from early marriage, and criminalize rape within marriage. Source: Jezile v. S and Others 2014. Women, Business and the Law 4 the economies covered have some form of sanction—generally spouses if one of them has already filed for divorce, separa- a fine or imprisonment—for those who perform, authorize, or tion, or a protection order. In Antigua and Barbuda, a man only enter into a marriage in violation of the law. commits the offense of rape with a woman who is not his wife. While the marital rape exemption concept existed in most When Inequality Extends into the economies worldwide at one point, it began—and is still preva- Bedroom: Marital Rape lent—in common law economies (box 1.3). In South Asia, in half the economies women can file complaints against their Historically the concept of rape within a marriage was viewed husbands for rape, either through explicit provisions criminal- as a contradiction. Marriage carried an assumption of a wife’s izing marital rape or under general criminal law. In Sri Lanka, implied consent to sexual intercourse.18 Until relatively recently however, marital rape is only recognized as a crime when the explicit marital rape exemptions—where under criminal stat- spouses are judicially separated. India criminalizes marital rape utes husbands could not be charged with raping their wives— only when the wife is younger than 15, and Bangladesh does so existed in laws around the world. Then, countries began to elim- only if the wife is younger than 13. inate marital rape exemptions, starting with Poland (1931),19 Czechoslovakia (1950), Denmark (1960), Sweden (1965), and While the law has evolved around the world and marital rape Norway (1971). In the United States, marital rape was crimi- exemptions have progressively been removed, implementation nalized in 1975,20 and the United Kingdom stopped treating can still be complicated by culture. Courts today still struggle marriage as a defense to rape in 1991.21 Some countries have with interpreting the law in conjunction with cultural norms since taken a step further and adopted affirmative provisions and values. And examples persist where women continue to criminalizing rape within marriage. be victims of dominance by their husbands within marriage (box 1.4). Women, Business and the Law examines whether the law explicitly criminalizes rape within marriage, whether husbands can be legally prosecuted for rape by their wives under general criminal law, and whether the law exempts the perpetrator of FIGURE 1.5 MARITAL RAPE LAWS, BY rape from charges if he subsequently marries the victim. PERCENTAGE OF ECONOMIES IN A REGION About 40% of the economies studied explicitly criminalize mari- tal rape; such provisions are more common in Latin America Europe & Central Asia 48 52 and the Caribbean and in OECD high-income economies (figure High Income: 1.5). In other regions, most economies do not have such provi- OECD 53 47 sions. In the Middle East and North Africa only Malta criminal- Sub-Saharan izes marital rape, increasing the penalties when rape is commit- Africa 27 56 ted by a spouse. Latin America & Caribbean 59 19 Despite progress, marital rape exemptions persist (table 1.1). In East Asia & Paci c 44 28 about 1 of every 7 economies covered, women who are raped by their husbands cannot pursue criminal charges. Middle East & 5 58 North Africa Marital rape exemptions have been removed in all the econo- South Asia 38 13 mies examined in Europe and Central Asia and in OECD high- income economies. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 7 of the Caribbean economies still maintain the marital rape exemption. Marital rape criminalized Wife can file a complaint Barbados and Belize, for example, only recognize rape between Source: Women, Business and the Law database. TABLE 1.1 WHERE MARITAL RAPE EXEMPTIONS PERSIST Region Economies East Asia & Pacific Brunei Darussalam; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Myanmar; Singapore Latin America & Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Jamaica; St. Lucia Middle East & North Africa Iran, Islamic Rep.; Jordan; Lebanon; Oman; Syrian Arab Republic; West Bank and Gaza South Asia Bangladesh; India; Sri Lanka Sub-Saharan Africa Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; South Sudan; Tanzania Source: Women, Business and the Law database. 5 Closing the Gap—Improving Laws Protecting Women from Violence Women, Business and the Law BOX 1.3    COMMON LAW MARITAL RAPE EXEMPTIONS IN MORE THAN ONE-THIRD OF THE 46 STILL PREVALENT COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES EXAMINED HUSBANDS CANNOT BE PENALIZED FOR Rape is a legally recognized crime across the world. However, when it RAPING THEIR WIVES involves husband and wife, criminal codes still have different approaches to addressing it as a sexual offense, largely due to historical and cultural views. Is the husband exempt from facing criminal penalties for rape? Historically, a man could not be prosecuted for raping his wife. The common law “marital rape exemption” dates back to 1736, when English jurist Yes 35% Matthew Hale upheld that “a husband cannot be guilty of rape committed by 16 himself against his lawful wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract, the wife [has] given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract.” 30 This English common law concept became enshrined in criminal codes worldwide. The United States Model Penal Code, drafted in the 1950s, for example, maintained that “retaining the spousal exclusion avoids [an] No 65% unwarranted intrusion of the penal law into the life of the family.” Only recently—in 1979—did court cases begin to challenge the concept and make the way for change. While many countries have since reformed their Commonwealth Countries laws to remove the exemption to make it possible for a wife to prosecute her Source: Women, Business and the Law database. husband for rape, the English common law concept still holds true in 35% of the 46 Commonwealth countries examined. Source: Pracher 1981; Rothman 2015. In some economies, subsequent marriage can also be a defense 2 states in India found that girls who were married before they to rape. If the perpetrator marries the victim after a rape has were 18 were twice as likely to report being beaten, slapped, taken place, rape charges are automatically dropped or mitigat- or threatened by their husbands than girls who married later.24 ed. Women, Business and the Law finds this to be the case in Such violence can also affect their children. Children who wit- 11 economies: Angola, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Equatorial ness violence between adults in the home often show the same Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, behavioral and psychological disturbances as children who are and West Bank and Gaza. Where the custom of paying bride themselves abused and are at increased risk of becoming ag- price exists, rape can be used as a way to get a wife without gressors or victims in adulthood.25 paying it, especially where rape charges are dropped after mar- riage. In the majority of cases, rape for the purpose of bride Up to the 20th century, in many countries the law allowed hus- capture is experienced by girls under 18.22 bands to use violence to enforce authority over their wives. Starting in the late 19th century, the husband’s legal ability to physically discipline his wife was slowly removed. For example, Violence in the Home: Domestic Violence in 1878, the United Kingdom Matrimonial Causes Act made it legal for women who experienced violence within a marriage to Women who marry before they are 18 have a 22% higher get separation orders, and by the end of the 1870s, most United chance of experiencing intimate partner violence.23 A study in States courts had rejected the right of husbands to physically BOX 1.4    BEYOND THE LAW: ISSUES OF IMPLEMENTATION In a marital rape case in Argentina in 2013, the Court, taking into account the cultural background of the spouses, found the accused not guilty of sexually assaulting his wife. The Court considered, in support of the decision, that in their culture and country, women are commonly abused and are expected to have sexual intercourse with their husbands. In a case in Nicaragua in 2011, the Supreme Court reduced the husband’s penalty for marital rape, based on the fact that he was drunk when the offense was committed and for considering that the victim cooperated in the execution of the crime. Nonetheless, greater equality in society can also affect judicial decisions in setting precedent toward progress. In 2013, the High Court of the Solomon Islands struck down the marital rape exemption based on constitutional equality provisions. Sources: Buenos Aires 2013; Farinton 2011; Regina v Gua 2012. Women, Business and the Law 6 chastise their wives.26 In the 1970s, specific laws against do- time. The latter come into effect after a full hearing, with the mestic violence began to appear, and in the 1990s this move- abuser present, when the court determines whether an interim ment gained strength worldwide, largely driven by international protection order should be extended. and regional human rights conventions and campaigns.27 Orders of protection constitute a warning to the perpetrator, Globally, the most common form of violence women experience and the violation of a protection order is normally followed by is from an intimate partner.28 Almost one-third of women who arrest and may be treated as either a misdemeanor or a felony. have been in an intimate relationship have experienced physical The law has been found to be a stronger deterrent when viola- or sexual violence, and intimate partners commit as many as tion is treated as felonious.30 38% of all murders of women.29 Protection orders are among the more effective legal remedies Laws on domestic violence help women take action to prevent, available to prevent violence.31 One study found that in 50% of stop, and punish aggressors for abuse. Women, Business and the cases abusers did not violate protection orders, and among the Law finds that having laws that address domestic violence those who did, the severity of the violence was reduced.32 is associated with lower mortality rates for adult women (figure Victim fears of future harm also were found to have decreased 1.6) and children under the age of 5 (figure 1.7). 6 months after a protection order was issued.33 Women, Business and the Law examines whether victims of Legal Remedies for Victims of Violence: domestic violence can obtain protection orders. The data also Protection Orders capture whether protection orders can have perpetrators re- moved from the home and stop them from approaching or Protection orders, which are normally made available in codes contacting the victim. of civil and criminal procedure, can apply to different types of crimes. However, most domestic violence laws contain specific Protection orders limit an abuser’s behavior. Common mea- sections on orders to protect the victims. These are usually of 2 sures available through protection orders are removing the types, interim and long-term. The former are issued when there perpetrator from the shared home, prohibiting the perpetrator is an immediate threat of harm and usually last for only a short from approaching the home, and prohibiting contact with the FIGURE 1.6 WHERE LEGISLATION FIGURE 1.7 WHERE LEGISLATION SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, MORTALITY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UNDER-5 RATES OF ADULT FEMALES ARE MORTALITY RATES ARE LOWER LOWER Mortality rate of adult females (per 1,000 female adults) Mortality rate under 5 (per 1,000 live births) 53 215 146 26 Yes No Yes No Is there legislation that specifcally addresses domestic violence? Is there legislation that specifcally addresses domestic violence? Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Development Indicators databases. Source: Women, Business and the Law and World Development Indicators databases. Note: The negative relationship between the mortality rate of adult females (per 1,000 female adults) (data Note: The negative relationship between under-5 mortality rate under the age of 5 (per 1,000 live births; data for 2013) and laws that specifically address domestic violence is statistically significant at the 1% level for 2013) and laws that specifically address domestic violence is statistically significant at the 1% level after after controlling for 2014 GNI per capita. The regression analysis is based on 133 economies for which data controlling for 2014 GNI per capita. The regression analysis is based on 168 economies for which data are are available; the regression results are statistically significant at the 10% level even after controlling for available; the results are still statistically significant at the 5% level even after controlling for the proportion of the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (2014) and female enrollment in secondary seats held by women in national parliaments (2014) and female enrollment in secondary education (2012). education (2012). This statistical relationship should not be interpreted as causal. The statistical relationship should not be interpreted as causal. 7 Closing the Gap—Improving Laws Protecting Women from Violence Women, Business and the Law BOX 1.5    PROTECTING VICTIMS FROM ECONOMIC VIOLENCE Economic abuse is a particularly prevalent form of domestic violence, and financial and economic constraints compel many women to remain in abusive relationships. Because perpetrators may use financial vulnerability to control their victims, protection orders evicting partners but leaving the victim without financial recourse are neither adequate nor effective. A disproportionate number of complaints are withdrawn because of economic dependency. Moreover, when victims are economically dependent or there is a child involved, it is more likely that protection orders will be breached by both parties if the issues are not addressed. Protection orders should provide for monetary relief, including financial assistance to the survivor in the form at least of payment of medical costs and shelter fees. The perpetrator’s financial obligations should also include monetary compensation and mortgage, rent, insurance, alimony and child support to ensure the victim’s economic security. Sources: Smythe and Artz 2005; United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs 2010. person protected. In nearly 3 out of 4 economies covered by Code to expand the grounds of liability for domestic crimes, in- Women, Business and the Law, orders of protection are avail- cluding rape, to spouses and other family members. Moreover, able for victims of domestic violence, but the content and type it reformed the Law on the Elimination of Domestic Violence of order vary widely. to provide for removal of the perpetrator from the home. In its new penal code, Mozambique has amended Article 400, Protection orders can be used to remove the perpetrator from which had been in place since 1886 and allowed charges to be the home in almost two-thirds of the economies covered, and dropped if a rapist married his victim. And Belarus, Lebanon, the perpetrator’s contact with the victim can be minimized or Papua New Guinea, and Tonga adopted new laws on domestic forbidden in more than half of those economies. Albania’s Law violence that provide for protection orders. on Measures against Violence in Family Relations, for example, allows for ordering the perpetrator to leave the common home While there has clearly been progress, major gaps still need to and cover rental costs for the victim. And Ghana’s Domestic be addressed. That Malawi and 8 other economies have raised Violence Act allows the court to issue an order that the perpe- the marital age shows movement in a positive direction. The trator vacate the matrimonial home. adoption in the past 2 years of new domestic violence laws in some economies and more comprehensive provisions in Vietnam’s Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, others worldwide is also a telling indication of progress. But however, establishes as a pre-condition to issuing protection more is needed. Among the priorities of the new Sustainable orders that the perpetrators and the victims of domestic vio- Development Goals (SDGs) are “eliminating all forms of violence lence have different residences34—a requirement that victims against women and girls in the public and private spheres” and unable to leave the shared home cannot meet (box 1.5). “eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage,” which recognize the need for enhanced legal protec- tion for girls and women worldwide. International and regional Legal Protection of Women from Violence commitments and instruments pave the way for change. And is Improving while the existence of more and better laws is a critical first step, better enforcement of the law is necessary to ensure Countries are increasingly protecting girls and women from protection for women. Only when women and girls are fully violence. For example, between 2013 and 2015, Kenya, protected from violence will they be able to enjoy the same Luxembourg, Nicaragua, and Uruguay all raised the age of autonomy, freedom, and opportunities as men. marriage for girls. Tonga’s 2013 Family Protection Act explic- itly criminalizes marital rape. Georgia has amended its Criminal Women, Business and the Law 8 Notes References 1. Human Rights Watch 2014. Ateng, Ajak John. “Violation of Women Rights in South Sudan,” Liliir Education Project. Accessed June 17, 2016. http://www. 2. UNICEF 2014. liliireducationproject.org/2012/04/11/april-2012-%E2%80%93- 3. ICRW and The World Bank 2015. violation-of-women-rights-in-south-sudan. 4. UNICEF 2014. Bott S., A. Guedes, M. Goodwin, J.A. Mendoza. (2012). Violence 5. UNICEF 2014; Girls not Brides n.d. Against Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: A com- 6. UNICEF 2014. parative analysis of population-based data from 12 countries. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization. 7. ICRW and World Bank. 2015. Buenos Aires Decision TOC No. 16 of Buenos Aires, 23 March 2013. 8. UNICEF and the UN Population Fund 2013. http://www2.womenslinkworldwide.org/wlw/sitio/docs_ 9. Klugman et al. 2014. postulacion/5358d7ba5d455_gjo_PGJ2014_casoviolcionpartesus- 10. UNIFEM 2009. costumbres_es.pdf. 11. Iran Wire 2015. Christopher, T. Benitez, MD, Dale E. McNiel, PhD, and Renée L. Binder, MD. 2010. “Do Protection Orders Protect?” Journal of the 12. Women, Business and the Law’s methodology examines American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online. 2010. applicable laws in the main business city of the economy in https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228350.pdf. question. In federal economies both federal legislation and state level laws may be applicable. New York is the main business Farinton Antonio Reyes Larios v. 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The data utilized are current as of April 2015. Any reforms occurring after this date will be covered in the next round of data collection for the Women, Business and the Law report. The note carries the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank Group, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank Group or the governments they represent. For more information visit wbl.worldbank.org. For media inquiry, please contact: Indira Chand | Phone: +1 (202) 458-0434 | Email: ichand@worldbank.org Women, Business and the Law 10 The World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law examines laws and regulations affecting women’s prospects as entrepreneurs and employees across 173 economies. Its goal is to inform policy discussions on how to remove legal restrictions on women and promote research on how to improve women’s economic inclusion. wbl.worldbank.org