More and more women are being turned away by the justice system in Iraqi Kurdistan, said in a report released on Wednesday. 

“[Authorities] are failing to ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence, including harrowing cases of murder, rape, beatings and burning, are held to account,” Amnesty’s report said of officials in Iraqi Kurdistan.

” region of Iraq are being failed at every turn,” said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Violence continues to kill more Iraqi women

 are felt not just in the  region, but across Iraq.

At least 30 women were killed in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2023 and 40 the previous year, but NGO workers have said the numbers are higher as many women are afraid of reporting their abusers.

Out of nearly 14,000 complaints filed in all of Iraq during the first four months of 2024, the majority of which were filed by women or concerned crimes against women, only about 100 cases led to criminal convictions, the federal government’s Interior Ministry said.

At least 3,000 alleged perpetrators have been released on bail and nearly 4,500 “reconciliation” processes were recorded, the ministry said.

Women facing violence ‘rarely’ receive justice

Women and girls subjected to in Iraqi Kurdistan face “daunting obstacles” when they seek state protection, Amnesty said. The rights group accused the local authorities of failing to prosecute the abusers.

“Gender-based violence in the autonomous northern region is being perpetuated by a criminal justice system that fuels impunity,” the London-based group said, adding that state prosecutors “rarely, if ever,” initiate criminal cases against abusers. 

From the very moment they escape their tormentors, the women and girls repeatedly face challenges in seeking protection and justice, Majzoub said.

Filing criminal complaints against aggressors leads to the women “frequently facing reprisals, threats and intimidation,” Amnesty reported, adding that women face maltreatment from not only their abusers but also their families, who often pressure them to drop the charges.

Law mandates reconciliation between survivor and abuser 

is an autonomous region in and borders Syria, Iran and Turkey. In 2011, it criminalized domestic violence as part of an effort to present the region as a place of relative stability and progress.

However, “under the law, acts of domestic violence are considered misdemeanors and therefore can only incur a maximum penalty of three years in prison,” Amnesty said.

The Iraqi-Kurdish Domestic Violence Law “mandates a reconciliation process between the survivor and her abuser before a judge decides whether to refer the case for trial,” Amnesty reported. 

Judges often favor the male defendant and push to keep the family together rather than ensure the protection of women, Amnesty said.

“Women do not want to go to court because they will be asked, ‘What did you do for him to do that to you?’” said a caseworker interviewed by Amnesty. 

Shelters protect but take away liberty

“Victims should not be asked what they did to provoke being beaten, stabbed or shot,” the caseworker said.

Amnesty is calling upon the authorities to offer more support for the suffering women and girls. They demand protective shelters for the women.

“Once in the shelters, the women and girls’ freedom of movement and access to phones and the internet are severely restricted,” which amounts to “an arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” the report said.

sp/sms (AFP, Amnesty International)