Violence Against Women (VAW) is a worldwide pervasive phenomenon. This submission makes use of a variety of primary and secondary resources; such as legislation, international law instruments, official statistics, books and book chapters, and journal articles. The focus on VAW will be in the Palestinian context, with occasional reference to “honour” crimes where appropriate. The article will commence in covering the main points of convergence and divergence in the literature available on VAW and “honour” crimes. Further, the occurrence and prevalence of VAW – in Palestine – will be situated and analysed within the social, economic and legal dimensions of patriarchy. An in-depth, critical analysis of the impact of colonialism and neo-liberalism/ capitalism will be employed to deconstruct the factors that underpin VAW. Moreover, this section will highlight the persistence of VAW; shedding light on the absence of alternatives, for women survivors of violence and the role of the legal system. For the purposes of critically engaging with VAW, exclusive focus will be dedicated to the treatment of the penal code applied in Palestinian courts of HRV, and crimes in the Palestinian society. The final part of the paper will tackle “law” as a medium to address VAW, highlighting its importance through showcasing the impact of legal reform efforts—a temporal analysis of progress within this parameter will be employed. To further vindicate the need for comprehensive action in pursuance of gender equality, complementary strategies that feed into the “prevent” component of the due diligence standard, as well as the transformative equality concept of the gender mainstreaming model will be presented; including educational reform, economic empowerment, and rehabilitation of perpetrators. Thus, seeking to identify possible answers for the reasons that make legal reform insufficient to eliminate VAW, and thereafter determine necessary strategies to complement legal reform.
2 UN Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ‘General Recommendation No 19’ in ‘Note by the Secretariat, Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies’ (29 July 1994) UN Doc HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1.
3 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (adopted 20 December 1993 UNGA Resolution 48/104) preamble 1.
4 Hilary Charlesworth, Christine Chinkin and Shelley Wright, ‘Feminist Approaches to International Law’ (1991) 85 American Journal of International Law 613, 619.
5 PCBS, Violence in the Palestinian Society Survey (PCBS 2011) >http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/vio_a.htm<.
6 Preeti Misra, Domestic Violence Against Women: Legal Control and Judicial Response (Deep & Deep Publications 2007) 44.
7 Ibid 46.
8 Subhash Chandra Singh, ‘Gender Violence: Some Contextual Issues’ in K Uma Devi (ed.), Violence Against Women: Human Rights Perspective (Serials Publications 2005) 21.
9 Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities in the Services System Provided to Women Survivors of Gender Based Violence in the Gaza Strip Study (Alianza por la Solidaridad 2014), 24.
10 Singh, (n 7) 22.
11 Ibid, 21.
12 Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, (n 8) 28.
13 Singh, (n 7) 21.
14 Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, (n 8) 27
15 Ibid.
16 Ram Ahuja, Violence Against Women (Rawat Publications 2003) 93, 121, 151, 182.
17 Singh (n 7) 25-27.
18 Misra (n 5) 227-251.
19 Ahuja (n 15) 203.
20 Mohammad Mazher Idriss, ‘Honour, Violence, Women and Islam- An Introduction’ in Mohammad Mazher Idriss and Tahir Abbas (eds) (Routledge Taylor and Francis Group 2011) 1; Heidi Safia Mirza and Veena Meetoo, ‘“There Is Nothing ‘Honourable’ about Honour Killings”: Gender, Violence and the Limits of Multiculturalism’ in Mohammad Mazher Idriss and Tahir Abbas (eds), Honour, Violence, Women and Islam (Routledge Taylor and Francis Group 2011) 42; Lynn Welchman and Sarah Hossain, ‘Introduction: “Honour”, Rights and Wrongs’ in Lynn Welchman and Sarah Hossain (eds), ‘Honour’: Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence against Women (Zed Books 2005) 5.
21 Radhika Coomaraswamy, ‘Preface: Violence Against Women and “Crimes of Honour”’ in Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain (eds), ‘Honour’: Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence against Women (Zed Books 2005) xii.
22 Welchman and Hossain (n 19) 2.
23 Coomaraswamy (n 20) xi.
24 Welchman and Hossain (n 19) 8, 11, 13.
25 Coomaraswamy (n 20) xi.
26 UNCHR ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, Yakin Ertürk: Mission to Occupied Palestinian Territory’ (2 February 2005) UN Doc E/CN.4/2005/72/Add.4, 8.
27 Bell Hooks, We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity (Routledge: New York and London 2004) 47.
28 Shadia El Sarraj, ‘Screaming in Silence’ in Marguerite R. Waller and Jennifer Rycenga (eds), Frontline Feminisms: Women, War, and Resistance (Taylor & Francis 2001) 18.
29 Lynn Welchman, ‘Honour and Violence Against Women in a Modern Shar’i Discourse’ (2007) 5 HAWWA 2.
30 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestine Statistical Yearbook 2014 (PCBS 2014) 127.
31 Ibid, 115.
32 Ibid, 127.
33 PCBS, Women and Men in Palestine: Issues and Statistics (PCBS 2014) 58.
34 Jan Pahl, ‘Patterns of Money Management within Marriage’ (1980) 9 Journal of Social Policy 313, 315.
35 Interview with Soraida Abed Hussein, General Director of Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (Ramallah, Palestine, 23 December 2015)
36 PCBS, Violence in the Palestinian Society Survey (PCBS 2011) >http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/vio_a.htm<
37 Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, Right to Life Denied: Killing of Women in Palestine Social Reality and the Law 2011-2012 (Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling 2013) 24.
38 Ibid, 25-26
39 Aida Touma-Sliman, ‘Culture, National Minority, and the State: Working against the “Crime of Honour” within the Palestinian Community in Israel’ in Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain (eds.), ‘Honour’: Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence against Women (Zed Books 2005) 181.
40 2011-2019 National Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women >http://mowa.pna.ps/English%20Part.pdf< 62-63
41 General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers Third Quarterly Report >http://www.palestinecabinet.gov.ps/WebSite/Upload/Documents/gov13_q1.pdf< 37
42 2003 Amended Basic Law
43 Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling Documentation Reports on “Femicide” 2007-2015.
44 MoWA, Feminist CSOs (MoWA 2016) >http://www.mowa.pna.ps/etemplate.aspx?id=34<
45 MoWA, Minister’s Statement (MoWA 2016) <http://www.mowa.pna.ps/etemplate.aspx?id=39>
46 Ministry of Finance, General Budget Law 2014 (Palestinian National Authority 2014) 374.
47 Aruna Rao and David Kelleher, ‘Is There Life After Gender Mainstreaming’ (2010) Gender and Development 57, 60.
48 Despite the importance of all of the legal provisions, the following are the most relevant: CEDAW: articles 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16; GR 12, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25. ICCPR: articles 2, 3, 6, 11, 14, 23, 26; GC 4, 6, 14, 18, 19, 27, 28, 32. ICESCR: articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 13, 15; GC 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22.
1 MA Human Rights Law, SOAS, University of London; Executive Editor of
SOAS Law Journal (Volume 3, Issue 1).
(2017). Violence Against Women in Palestine and Mediocre Accountability. Legal issues Journal, 5 (1), https://www.legalissuesjournal.com/article/05-01-14012017/
