DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

DOMESTIC  VIOLENCE  

Definition

 Domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating.

Examples of abuse include:

• name-calling or putdowns
• keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends
• withholding money
• stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job
• actual or threatened physical harm
• sexual assault
• stalking
• intimidation

Violence can be criminal and includes physical assault (hitting, pushing, shoving, etc.), sexual abuse (unwanted or forced sexual activity), and stalking. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuse are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can lead to criminal violence.

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.domesticviolence.org/definition/

What To Do If You Are a Victim of Domestic Violence

1. Call 911 and report the incident. Write down the police report/incident number and keep with your records.

2. If necessary, seek medical attention. Have injuries documented and photographed.

3. Go to a safe place such as a domestic violence shelter.

4. Seek the support of caring people. Tell someone you trust about the abuse. They may be your friend, a family member, a neighbor, a co-worker, or staff members of support agencies. Talk to them in a private, safe place. You do not need to face abuse alone.

5. Have a safety plan. If your partner is abusive, have a plan to protect yourself and your children in case you need to leave quickly. If you are abusive, be honest with yourself, think of the consequences, and get help. Call the Center for Women and Families at (812) 944-6743 or (502) 581-7222, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Domestic Violence Unit at (812) 285-6264, or a local domestic violence shelter for more information.

6. File for a Protective Order that will tell your abuser to stay away.

When you decide to get help, find a support system that works for you. A trusted friend, family member, or professional can help you devise a safety plan and find a safe place for you to stay, if necessary.

If you are a victim of abuse, you are not alone. You have the right to be safe! You are not responsible for violent behavior! No one deserves to be beaten or threatened!

Helpful hints:

When you are asked to appear in court, be on time. Bring all your paperwork. Do not bring your children. Talk directly to the judge, not the respondent. Tell the truth. Be courteous, sincere, and speak clearly. Bring police reports, photos, and affidavits.

You MUST be able to provide a current address for service of the Protective Order on the abuser.

Keep your protective order with you at all times.

For additional information please contact the Center for Women and Families at (812) 944-6743 or (502) 581-7222, or the Domestic Violence Unit of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney at (812) 285-6264.

Important Telephone Numbers

DURING AN EMERGENCY, ALWAYS DIAL 911 OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL POLICE:

Indiana State Police (812) 246-5424 
Clark County Police (812) 283-4471 
Clark County Sheriff (812) 283-4471 
Jeffersonville Police (812) 285-6348 
Clarksville Police (812) 288-7151 
Sellersburg Police (812) 246-4491 
Charlestown Police (812) 256-6345 
Utica Town Marshal (812) 283-5816 
Borden Town Marshal (812) 967-5464 

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/domviol/domvic.htm

STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:IN THE USA,IN SPAIN ,IN  URUGUAY

STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN USA

Fast Facts on Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. ("Violence Against Women, A Majority Staff Report," Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 102nd Congress, October 1992, p.3.)

There are 1,500 shelters for battered women in the United States. There are 3,800 animal shelters. (Schneider, 1990).

Three to four million women in the United States are beaten in their homes each year by their husbands, ex-husbands, or male lovers. ("Women and Violence," Hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, August 29 and December 11, 1990, Senate Hearing 101-939, pt. 1, p. 12.)

One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States. (Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1991).

One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. (Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, “Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey,” 2000; Sara Glazer, "Violence, Against Women" CO Researcher, Congressional Quarterly, Inc., Volume 3, Number 8, February, 1993, p. 171; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000; The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman’s Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women’s Health, 1999).

In 1992, the American Medical Association reported that as many as 1 in 3 women will be assaulted by a domestic partner in her lifetime -- 4 million in any given year. ("When Violence Hits Home." Time. June 4, 1994).

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA.)

85% of domestic violence victims are women. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003)

Police report that between 40% and 60% of the calls they receive, especially on the night shift, are domestic violence disputes. (Carrillo, Roxann "Violence Against Women: An Obstacle to Development," Human Development Report, 1990)

Police are more likely to respond within 5 minutes if an offender is a stranger than if an offender is known to a female victim. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D. "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report." U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice and Statistics. January 1994, p. 9.)

Battering occurs among people of all races, ages, socio-economic classes, religious affiliations, occupations, and educational backgrounds.

A battering incident is rarely an isolated event.

Battering tends to increase and become more violent over time.

Many batterers learned violent behavior growing up in an abusive family.

25% - 45% of all women who are battered are battered during pregnancy.

Domestic violence does not end immediately with separation. Over 70% of the women injured in domestic violence cases are injured after separation.

1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men have been stalked in their lifetime. (Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. (1998). “Stalking in America.” National Institute for Justice)

One in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. (U.S. Department of Justice, “Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women,” November 1998)

Nearly 7.8 million women have been raped by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA.)

Witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next. (Frieze, I.H., Browne, A. (1989) Violence in Marriage. In L.E. Ohlin & M. H. Tonry, Family Violence. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Break the Cycle. (2006). Startling Statistics)

Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults. (Strauss, Gelles, and Smith, “Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence” in 8,145 Families. Transaction Publishers 1990)

Children who witness violence at home display emotional and behavioral disturbances as diverse as withdrawal, low self-esteem, nightmares, self-blame and aggression against peers, family members and property. (Peled, Inat, Jaffe, Peter G & Edleson, Jeffery L. (Eds) Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1995.)

30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. (Edelson, J.L. (1999). “The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering.” Violence Against Women. 5:134-154)

The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services.

Victims of intimate partner violence lost almost 8 million days of paid work because of the violence perpetrated against them by current or former husbands, boyfriends and dates. This loss is the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and almost 5.6 million days of household productivity as a result of violence. (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA.)

There are 16,800 homicides and $2.2 million (medically treated) injuries due to intimate partner violence annually, which costs $37 billion. (The Cost of Violence in the United States. 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA.)

One in ten calls made to alert police of domestic violence is placed by a child in the home. One of every three abused children becomes an adult abuser or victim.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in a national survey that 34 percent of adults in the United States had witnessed a man beating his wife or girlfriend, and that 14 percent of women report that they have experienced violence from a husband or boyfriend. More than 1 million women seek medical assistance each year for injuries caused by battering. (Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS); Horton, 1995. "Family and Intimate Violence")

The average prison sentence of men who kill their women partners is 2 to 6 years. Women who kill their partners are, on average, sentenced to 15 years. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1989)

Women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence, men for approximately 15%. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003)

Between 600,000 and 6 million women are victims of domestic violence each year, and between 100,000 and 6 million men, depending on the type of survey used to obtain the data. (Rennison, C. (2003, Feb). Intimate partner violence. Us. Dpt. of Justice/Office of Justice Programs. NXJ 197838. Straus, M. & Gelles, R. (1990). Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick, N.J.; Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence. National Institute of Justice, NCJ 181867)

Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995)

People with lower annual income (below $25K) are at a 3-times higher risk of intimate partner violence than people with higher annual income (over $50K). (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)

On average between 1993 and 2004, residents of urban areas experienced highest level of nonfatal intimate partner violence. Residents in suburban and rural areas were equally likely to experience such violence, about 20% less than those in urban areas. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)

Nearly three out of four (74%) of Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence. 30% of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year. (Allstate Foundation National Poll on Domestic Violence, 2006. Lieberman Research Inc., Tracking Survey conducted for The Advertising Council and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, July – October 1996)

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/domviol/facts.htm

STATISTIC OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SPAIN

Domestic violence in Spain 50% of women don’t testify

In early October, a gypsy in Benejúzar, Alicante, shot his wife in the head before turning the gun on himself, committing suicide.

Domestic violence in Spain 50% of women don’t testify 





Domestic violence in Spain every year, almost 700 men who are accused of abuse are acquitted in Malaga Province because their partners are afraid to testify against them. Article 416 of the Criminal Procedure Rules dating from the 19 century says that women are not obliged to testify against their partners, and approximately 50 per cent of women exercise this right.


Last year alone in Malaga there were 3,046 trials for abuse of which 799 were acquittals and in 85 per cent of cases, because the victims failed to testify.


Murder on the doorstep: Domestic violence in Spain


It’s astonishing how many women are brutally abused by a supposed loved one. Jane Plunkett takes an in-depth look at violence against females in the home. AFTER repeatedly stabbing his girlfriend, a Spaniard from the Cordoba region cut off her head, put it in a plastic bag that he carried to a pub, and then drank with friends!
In early October, a gypsy in Benejúzar, Alicante, shot his wife in the head before turning the gun on himself, committing suicide. And just two weeks ago, a Ukrainian was arrested in Malaga for viciously assaulting his wife and threatening to kill her in front of police witnesses.
Domestic violence has long been a serious issue in Spain.
But the subject was projected further into the limelight last month when Miguel Lorente from the central government’s Domestic Violence Ministry made the chilling statement that “right now, up to 20 men could be thinking about killing their wives.”
Lorente said his claim was based on hard facts, with Spain averaging five domestic violence victims a month. He also noted a recent steep rise in copy-cat killings, including a woman killed with hammer blows by her partner from Guinea-Bissau in September.
Five days later a Spaniard in La Coruña killed his wife, from whom he was separated, also with a hammer.
“It is not unreasonable to assume the existence of a group of men who harbour thoughts of murder,” Lorente said.
Six years ago Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero – now the nation’s Prime Minister - described Spain's domestic violence record as the nation’s "worst shame" and an "unacceptable evil". In the same year his party passed the first law of its kind in Europe, specifically cracking down on gender-based violence.
In 2008 the same government also passed a measure ensuring that all men served with a restraining order be fitted with electronic tags.
But has this been enough?
In 2004 the statistics showed one woman dying weekly in Spain at the hands of her partner. But so far this year – with two months almost remaining - 55 women have already lost their lives through gender-based violence. So has anything changed?
Womensphere, a website analyzing female issues, reports that progress has been slow despite special courts created since 2005 to deal with violence against women.
More men are being prosecuted and convicted and more complaints are being filed, but in general short-staffed courts are snowed under with cases, so prosecutions can drag on for years, according to Womensphere.
Forty-four year-old Teresa is President of Resurgir de Nuevo (Rise Again), an organisation for women that campaigns against violence and offers advice to abuse victims.
Teresa set up the association after an abusive relationship. “My husband was from Asturias, but we separated and I have a restraining order on him.
“He would get very violent and hit me, even in public. He kicked me in the stomach when I was five months pregnant. I was so scared during that time my weight dropped to 41 kilos. I still find it difficult to talk about.”
Teresa from Cordoba believes violence against women is a power trip for certain types of men. “It’s a macho sort of aggression common among insecure men in Spain,” she says.
Experts say that a report stating that very few domestic violence complaints are actually by victims as they are reluctant to publicise their situation is reflective of the situation in Spain.
Between April and June this year, the Court for Violence Against Women in Cordoba processed 282 abuse complaints, of which only 33 - just 11per cent - were submitted by the victims.
Teresa says there is many reasons victims keep their lips sealed despite government campaigns.
“It’s a vicious circle,” she says.
“They might stay with vicious partners because they have no financial independence or anywhere to go. They might stay for the sake of the children. Or as is often the case in Spain, the subject is somewhat taboo and they are afraid or ashamed to speak out.”
Teresa also believes government campaigns are not doing enough to change things.
“A few wall posters aren’t going to do anything. It’s a quick-fix solution. We need to confront this matter head on. We need to start educating people.
“We need to educate people in schools and in the home that aggression and violence is never OK.”

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/comments/domestic_violence_in_spain_50_of_women_dont_testify/

STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN URUGUAY

Uruguay: Domestic violence, including information on protection and support services available to victims (2007-2010)

According to a report by the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women's Rights (Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer, CLADEM), 20 women and girls were murdered as the result of domestic violence during the first quarter of 2010 (28 June 2010).

A 2010 report by Uruguay's National Observatory on Violence and Crime (Observatorio Nacional Sobre Violencia Y Criminalidad) of the Ministry of Interior (Ministerio del Interior) indicates that, between November 2009 and October 2010, 35 women were murdered and 20 were the victims of attempted murders in domestic violence cases (Uruguay Nov. 2010). The statistics also show that reported cases of domestic violence have been increasing since the Ministry began keeping records in 2005 with a total of 11, 255 cases between January and September 2010 (ibid.).

Legislation

In 1995, domestic violence officially became a crime when it became part of the penal code (World Bank Apr. 2009, 2; Assistant Professor 30 Nov. 2010). Also, in 1996, Uruguay ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (World Bank Apr. 2009, 2). The Convention of Belém do Pará, as it became known, adopted the definition of gender-based violence provided in the 1993 United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and included “physical, sexual or psychological violence ‘that occurs within the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal relationship’” (ibid.).

In 2002, Uruguay passed legislation that addresses the issue of domestic violence with Law No. 17514, which provides measures for the prevention, early detection, treatment and eradication of domestic violence (Uruguay 2002).

In spite of these measures, however, a University of Iowa assistant professor who specializes in Latin American politics, and has given conference presentations on women's issues in Uruguay, claims that the penal code, Law No. 17514, and “the accompanying National Action Plan Against Domestic Violence (2004 - 2010) have been largely rhetorical" (Assistant Professor 30 Nov. 2010). The Assistant Professor explained, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, that the legislation does not clarify "whether sexual crimes committed within the state of matrimony are acts of violence" (ibid.).

Similarly, a lawyer at non-profit Women's Union House (Casa de la Mujer de la Union), a centre in Montevideo, Uruguay, that helps women of all ages achieve their potential (Casa de la Mujern.d.), said in correspondence with the Research Directorate, that the wording in the penal code does not [translation] "facilitate its application" and does not apply to the majority of domestic violence cases (ibid. 29 Nov. 2010).

State protection

According to Uruguay’s report to the UN on its application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, ratification of the 2002 domestic violence law has led to the development of the following actions:

1. Creation of four specialized courts in the Department of Montevideo.
2. Night courts throughout the country to deal with emergency situations.
3. Creation of the National Advisory Council against Domestic Violence, comprising a representative of the Ministry of Social Development, the National Women’s Institute (chair), the judiciary, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Institute for Children and Juveniles, the National Public Education Administration, the Congress of Mayors, and three representatives of civil society from the Uruguayan Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
4. Preparation by the National Advisory Council against Domestic Violence of a National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence 2004-2010, approved by executive decree of 10 June 2004, which is now being implemented with training for operators of the public system, assistance to victims, and mainstreaming the gender focus in government departments.
5. Establishment of departmental commissions for combating domestic violence in 11 municipal governments; the remaining eight will be installed in the course of 2007.
6. Training for operators of the public system, with an emphasis on the judicial, police and health systems, headed by the National Women’s Institute through the project for “strengthening justice institutions in relation to gender for equitable development.”
7. The National Programme for Women’s Health and Gender (PNSMG) of the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) is coordinating efforts to have health authorities, institutions and personnel address domestic violence as a public health problem, using a participatory methodology to develop a protocol for the health teams in dealing with domestic violence. Some of these steps have been taken in coordination with the National Women’s Institute.
8. The MSP has published a manual of procedures for providing first aid to victims of domestic violence.
9. The MSP is conducting awareness and training activities with health authorities and personnel on dealing with situations of domestic violence against women.
10. Regulations to the law on domestic violence against women have been issued for the health sector by presidential decree (2006) making it mandatory for health institutions to include services for female victims of domestic violence, consistent with the guidelines in the manual of procedures. With entry into force of that decree, a special form is now used, with questions on the possible existence of domestic violence and guidelines for health personnel, which the health teams are required to apply, adding data to the clinical history of females over the age of 15.
11. The MSP is providing support and advice to health institutions for implementing legislation on domestic violence.
12. A plan has been designed for disseminating and implementing legislation through the PNSMG of the MSP. This initiative includes public and private institutions providing health services.
13. The Ministry of the Interior and the National Women’s Institute are coordinating efforts to have police officers deal more effectively with situations of domestic violence and to make this issue a priority in public safety policies. Activities have included a special session on “public safety and domestic violence” involving chiefs and deputies from all the police stations of Montevideo, a survey of the status of specialized units for dealing with domestic violence throughout the country, with priority to recognizing their position within the departmental structure, premises, equipment, number of officers assigned, officer training, regional workshops for managers of the specialized units with the participation of police officers and departmental chiefs, substantial progress in recording statistics on domestic violence from the “Crime Observatory.” (Uruguay 21 June 2007, 10-11)

On the other hand, the Assistant Professor maintains that “though a number of positive measures have been put in place,” government policies related to domestic violence are still not being fully implemented (Assistant Professor 30 Nov. 2010). For example, "there exists no oversight system, nor a sanctioning system, such that mishandling, or outright ignoring, of the measures receives no state sanction or response" (ibid.). Moreover,

[c]onstant revictimization in the state responses of police, judiciary and health officials combines with very infrequent penalization of major aggressors. Prevention and interdisciplinary diagnostic teams are not actually put in place in most cases of domestic violence; in those cases where the aggressor is punished, it is very infrequent that victims are notified in advance of the aggressor's release from custody, as the law requires. There is almost no state money dedicated to domestic violence, which means that the majority of training for judges, police officials, health and social workers, and the like, comes from the non-profit sector, which is unable to perform this work on the broad scale needed for true eradication of domestic violence …

[T]here is no institutional policy that defines the objectives, responsibilities, and good practices of police personnel, much less supervision of compliance. As a consequence, police management is uneven, depending primarily on the functionaries who happen to be in place at a given time. The number of denouncements received in police headquarters does not equal the number of investigations initiated, reaffirming the point about uneven training and improper handling. Similarly, there is very little coordination between the police and judiciary. In many domestic violence cases the judicial response is very fragmented. In each part of the judicial process, at the emergency level, the family court level, specialty court, and penal court, different judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys are present, making coordination difficult. (ibid.)

According to a report in Human Rights Brief, “a student-run publication at American University Washington College of Law” (Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law n.d.), due to lack of enforcement,

[c]ourt-ordered measures to protect victims are only issued in approximately 6% of cases. Moreover, the majority of perpetrators who violate the court-ordered measures are not subject to legal repercussions. (Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law 29 Oct. 2010)

A regional and local women’s organization also report that, under the penal code, domestic violence is not prosecuted as such by the Uruguayan courts, but rather as a crime of assault (CLADEM 28 June 2010; Casa de la Mujer 29 Nov. 2010).

According to a report on Uruguay by a special rapporteur to the UN’s Human Rights Council, women who have filed complaints of domestic violence risk being re-victimized by their aggressors due to "a lack of awareness, sensitivity or prejudices on the part of police and judicial personnel" (UN 21 Dec. 2009, 17). As an example, the Human Rights Brief indicates that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) learned of a case where a woman sought judicial protection from a stalker, who was sending her a rose and a written death threat every day (Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law 29 Oct. 2010). She was turned away by the judge, who stated, "‘You are receiving letters and roses everyday---isn't that what women want?’" (ibid.).

According to Susan Franceschet, associate professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, perpetrators of domestic violence in Latin America are infrequently prosecuted because "most laws place considerable emphasis on keeping families together, rather than punishing abusers with prison sentences" (Jan. 2008). This statement is corroborated by the Assistant Professor, who explained that, in Uruguay, "victims are routinely counseled to simply confront or negotiate with their aggressors to restore domestic tranquility" (30 Nov. 2010).

Support services

According to an article in the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais, there is a telephone hotline that is available to women 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in the capital city, Montevideo (El Pais 23Mar. 2010).

The CLADEM reports that there are five shelters available to women who are victims of domestic violence, but their priority is women with children and those who are underage (CLADEM 28 June 2010). The CLADEM also states that women who do not fit the priority profile are sometimes [translation] "directed by the system to homeless shelters" (ibid.).

According to the UN’s special rapporteur, Uruguay lacks the infrastructure to support women and rehabilitate their agressors in cases of domestic violence (UN 21 Dec. 2009, 17). The Assistant Professor corroborates this by stating that, although there are services available, they are limited because they are primarily based in Montevideo, effectively giving little to no access to women in rural areas (Assistant Professor 30 Nov. 2010). The Assistant Professor elaborated:

[W]hile there is a number of civil society organizations dedicated to the issue of domestic violence, these organizations are small in number, and limited in resource. ... [B]ecause they rely so heavily on donor funding, some of the organizations themselves are quite precarious. Moreover, not all of these organizations work directly with the public. Many are advocacy organizations dedicated to securing greater state monitoring and enforcement of domestic violence legislation. (ibid.)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City. 30 November 2010. Correspondence.

Casa de la Mujer de la Union, Montevideo, Uruguay. 29 November 2010. Correspondence from a lawyer.

_____. N.d. “Mision.” <http://www.casadelamujer.org.uy/nosotras.htm>> [Accessed 7 Dec. 2010]

Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law (WCL). 29 October 2010. Ebony Wade. "Femicide and Domestic Violence in Uruguay." Human Rights Brief. [Accessed 22 Nov. 2010]

_____. N.d. “About.” [Accessed 7 Dec. 2010]

Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer (CLADEM). 28 June 2010. "CLADEM Uruguay: Informe MESECVI 2010." <http://www.cladem.org/index.php?option=com_rokdownloads&view=file&task=download&id=1303%3Auruguay-informe-mesecvi-2010&Itemid=115> [Accessed 22 Nov. 2010]

Franceschet, Susan. January 2008. "The Politics of Domestic Violence Policy in Latin America." Technical Paper No. TP-08001. (University of Calgary) <http://www.ucalgary.ca/files/iapr/iapr-tp-08001_0.pdf> [Accessed 29 Nov. 2010]

El Pais [Montevideo]. 23 March 2010. Déborah Friedmann. "Violencia doméstica: llegan 17 llamadas por día al 0800." <http://www.elpais.com.uy/100323/pciuda-478291/ciudades/Violencia-domestica-llegan-17-llamadas-por-dia-al-0800/> [Accessed 25 Nov.2010]

United Nations (UN). 21 December 2009. Human Rights Council (HRC). Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Uruguay, Manfred Nowak. Addendum. Mission to Uruguay. (HRC/13/39/Add.2) <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A-HRC-13-39-Add2.pdf> [Accessed 22 Nov. 2010]

Uruguay. November 2010. Ministerio del Interior. "Observatorio Nacional Sobre Violencia Y Criminalidad Uruguay." <http://www.minterior.gub.uy/images/stories/violenciadomestica2010.pdf> [Accessed 29 Nov.2010]

_____. 21 June 2007. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Combined Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Periodic Reports of States Parties. Uruguay. (CEDAW/C/URY/7) (Official Document System of the United Nations) <http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/408/93/PDF/N0740893.pdf?OpenElement> [Accessed 23 Nov.2010]

_____. 2002. Ley No. 17.514 Violencia Doméstica. <http://www.parlamento.gub.uy/leyes/AccesoTextoLey.asp?Ley=17514&Anchor=> [Accessed 22Nov. 2010]

World Bank. April 2009. Jonna Lundwall, Teresa Genta Fons and Milena Sanchez de Boado. "Domestic Violence IS a Public Affair." En Breve. No. 141. <http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLACREGTOPPOVANA/Resources/EnBreve_Domestic _Violence_UY_FINAL_design.pdf> [Accessed 23 Nov. 2010]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: An associate professor of political science at the Univeristy of Calgary, Alberta was unable to provide information for this Response. Attempts to contact the program coordinator of international litigation at the Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Women's Rights (CLADEM - Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer ), and a representative at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: Actualidad.com, El Commercio [Lima], Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS Surveys), Diario El Pueblo [Arequipa], Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (Inmujeres) - Uruguay, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin American Government Report Archive (LAGRA), La Republica [Montevideo], United Nations (UN) Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - Refworld, UN Secretary General's database on violence against women.

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4e4a2dc32.html

 LIST OF INSTITUCIONS TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN URUGUAY 

*Asociación Civil Arcoiris (Civil Association Arcoiris). Service to minors. Cnel. Muñoz 3993 – 215 1418

*Asociación Civil Bethania (Civil Association Bethania). Misiones 1264 – 916 7923

*Asociación Nacional para el Beneficio de la Niñez Maltratada (National Association for the Welfare of Mistreated Children, ANIMA), Hospital Pereira Rossell. Blvr. Artigas 1550 – 708 7741 int. 246

*Atención a la Mujer Víctima de Violencia (Service to Women Victims of Domestic Violence, Montevideo Municipal Government, IMM) 401 4177 (Zonales 8, 12 y 17)

*Casa de la Mujer de la Unión (Women's House of La Unión). Serrato 2613 – 506 0601

*Centro de Asistencia a las Víctimas de Violencia Familiar (Assistance Centre for Victims of Family Violence, Ministry of the Interior). Paraguay 1190 - 901 9907

*Centro de Asistencia a la Mujer Maltratada (Assistance Centre for Mistreated Women, CONAMU). Centro Materno Infantil Hospital Maciel. 25 de Mayo 183 – 915 8431

*Centro de Asistencia y Apoyo al Varón en Situación de Crisis "Renacer"(Assistence and Support Centre.for Men in Crisis Situations) Miguel del Corro 1474 – 403 4984

*Comisaría de la Mujer (Women's Police Station). San José 1126 – 908 5580 / 901 5458

*Consultorio de la Facultad de Derecho (Advice Bureau of the Faculty of Law). 18 de Julio 1824 – 400 3055

*Defensoría de Oficio de Familia y Menores (Ombudsman for the Family and Minors). Soriano 1230 – 908 7869 / 900 3903

*Instituto Mujer y Sociedad, IMS (Institute of Women and Society). Blanes 1231 – 409 3631

*Mujer Ahora (Women Now). 400 9641

*PLEMUU. Servicio de asistencia psicológica (Psychological Assistance Service). 401 7470 (10 Nov. 2000).

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,45a5fb512,45a5fb6e2,3df4bec04,0,,,URY.html