 | | Map source: Human Rights Watch |
last updated October 12, 2006
Contributed by: Marie Vavroňová and Mgr. Martina Hronová (ROSA)
The Czech Republic
Population of women: 5,235,000 / 10,234,092
Life expectancy of women/men at birth: 79.4 / 72.6
Unemployment of women/men: 9.9/ 7.0
Adult economic activity rates of women/men: 62.2/ 78
Adult illiteracy for women: N/A
Average first -wedding age of women/men: 28/30
Number of divorces per year: 33,060
(The Czech Statistical Office, 2005) www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/2083/final.pdf
The Czech Republic as an independent state became a member of UN on 19th January 1993 and has continued in its enforcement of obligations arising from conventions obligatory for the Czechoslovak Republic, including the protection of human rights. On 1st May 2004 the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union.
Domestic violence. Domestic violence is defined as any abusive behavior done in an effort to gain power and control over an adult, who is in a close relationship (spouse, partner) to the perpetrator. Domestic violence against women is considered a serious problem and the fact that it is unacceptable has been declared in international law regulations which have been adopted by the Czech Republic. A research study in 2003 found that in the Czech Republic, 38% of women have some experience with different forms of violence during their lives. (Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 2003) http://www.soc.cas.cz/en/
The European Union is interested in the phenomenon of domestic violence, but there have not been any acts of secondary law declared by the EU. No measures in the field of domestic violence have been adopted which would be mandatory for member states of the EU.
No coordination of measures, which would be aimed especially at the needs of victims of domestic violence, has been ensured in the Czech Republic. The adoption of the amendment of act No.140/1961 of the Criminal Code could be considered a partial success (1.6.2004) as it included §215 a) Abuse of person living in the same residence. On 1.7.2004, through act No. 283/2004, a new duty was inserted into the Criminal Code. This new duty commands all authorities active in a criminal procedure to give sufferers or witnesses who are endangered by an accused who is at liberty an opportunity to ask for information about the accused (for example if the accused was released from prison). These partial changes were focused only on the criminological viewpoint in finding a solution for the problem of domestic violence, and did not take into account a gender view of this problem, or an interdisciplinary approach. As of January 1st 2007, a new act “Expulsion of Perpetrator” should be valid. This excludes the perpetrator of domestic violence from the flat or house for a period of 10 days. This act should be a part of Police Law.
The Government of the Czech Republic admitted domestic violence was a form of violation of women’s human rights in a reaction to critics of the Commission of CEDAW http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cedw.htm, by publishing the Report of the Czech Republic about the fulfilment of the Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and by introducing Government Decree No. 236 from 8. 4. 1998 “Priorities and Procedures for Promoting of Gender Equality”. The task of combating violence against women becomes a part of “Priorities and Procedures for Promoting of Gender Equality” on an annual basis.
The problem of domestic violence was addressed by NGOs: ROSA, proFem, Gender Studies, La Strada and Elektra in 1995. They established a Coordinated Circle for prevention of violence against women. Other significant activity was a Campaign on violence against women by 10 NGOs in 2003 and 2004 (ROSA was a coordinator of that campaign). NGOs interested in the problem of domestic violence decided on a cooperative basis to establish a campaign for the Coalition of Organisations against Domestic Violence (KOORDONA). Another coalition of organizations is the Alliance of Domestic Violence organized by Bílý kruh bezpečí (White Circle of Safety).
Gender equality. The Czech Government has been interested in gender equality since 1997 when it began to assert the Beijing platform of action http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/e5dplw.htm#one . This obligation was confirmed in the 23rd session of United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2000. In 1998, the Council of Government for Equal Opportunities for Men and Women was established as an advisory authority of the Czech Government. The Council’s agenda includes monitoring the fulfilment of the obligations implicit for the Czech Republic in Declaration on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW) http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/21.htm . This Council has no enforcement powers.
Gender equality is ensured by the Constitution of the Czech Republic. A large number of laws prohibiting gender discrimination arise from the Constitution (e.g. Labour law, which prohibits any discrimination based on gender). When it became a member of the EU, the Czech Republic attempted to enact a special antidiscrimination law, where gender equality is specified.. The antidiscrimination law was rejected by the Czech Parliament. Persons who feel they have been harmed in the field of equal opportunities can ask the Czech Ombudsman for help.
Rape. According to updated § 241 of the Criminal Code, rape is a crime committed on both women and men. Also, certain other practices than sexual intercourse by perpetrators are also considered rape. The aim of updating of the Criminal Code was to supersede an unacceptable advantage of perpetrators who commit a rape crime in a way other than sexual intercourse, and to prosecute rape regardless the sex of the victim.
Sexual harassment is a continuous problem in the field of employment. According to 2005 research led by the Gender and Sociology team of the Sociological Institute of the Czech Academy of Science, with support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, sexual harassment of women occurs most frequently from co-workers with a marked use of power. Sexual harassment is behavior which the victim feels is annoying and obtrusive. The definition of the sexual harassment was enacted by the Czech legislature in a new Labour law (No. 46/2004 in 2004), in connection with entering the European Union. Fundamental changes effected by this new law iare the legal regulation of the term of sexual harassment and taking into account this type of discrimination in labor-law relationships. Because the definition of sexual harassment as a discriminated behavior falls according to Civil law, the burden of proof is carried by the accused, who has to prove his/her innocence. In Czech society, sexual harassment is often perceived as an overestimated problem which occurs in private relationships between individuals rather than in the public sphere within the general conception of gender expectations. One- quarter of the working respondents of this research (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2006020607) have personally or implicitly experienced sexual harassment. Women faced sexual harassment 28% more frequently than men. Men who were superior to women in the ranks of employment were the initiators of sexual harassment. In these cases, the sexual harassment included: sexually oriented comments (10,9%), unwanted bodily contact (16 %), asking for a date without victim’s interest (21,2 %), sexual proposals (22,6 %) and even assault (30 %).
Trafficking in people. Trafficking in people for purposes of sexual exploitation is understood as hiring, detaining, transporting or delivering a person for the purpose of sexual industry. Trafficking in people is considered a serious violation of the human rights of victims. It affects human dignity, freedom of movement, the right of privacy and self-determination and contradicts principles stated in all significant international documents concerning human rights. These include especially Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html , Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) http://www.echr.coe.int/Convention/webConvenENG.pdf , International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm , Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/21.htm , Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) http://193.194.138.190/html/menu2/6/crc/treaties/crc.htm a The 2nd Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2000). That is why nearly all international organizations and institutions are highly interested in the issue of trafficking in people. The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/a_res_55/res5525e.pdf adopted in Palermo, Italy on 13th December in 2000, could be considered a significant achievement in the combating of trafficking. This Convention is accompanied by a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/trafficking.html, which was signed by the Czech Republic on 10th December in 2002.
The Czech Republic was originally a source country but it has been changed to a transit and target country for victims of trafficking in people. Sexual industry makes up a substantial part of illegal world economics – according to the Czech Sociological Institute (2003) the total revenue of money in the field of prostitution is 8. 7 million CZK. The main condition for the existence of the sexual industry is trafficking in people. An amendatory act of Criminal Code No. 573/2004 could be considered a most significant change in Czech law. It which has been valid since the 1st November 2004, and has taken the place of § 232a) Trafficking in people for the purpose of sexual intercourse. According to this amendatory act, culpability was also expanded in trafficking in people for purposes different from sexual exploitation; it extends to slavery, servitude, forced labour and other forms of exploitation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic cooperates with NGOs under the National Strategy of Combating Trafficking in People on the Model of support and protection of victims of trafficking in people for the purpose of sexual exploitation (http://www.strada.cz/download/files/jine_dokumenty/narodni%20strategie%20boje%20proti%20obchodu%20s%20lidmi.doc ). One of the first projects realized in combating against trafficking in women in the Czech Republic was the project PHARE – Empowerment Combating Trafficking in People, which was financed by the European Commission in 2003. Another important step in support of combating trafficking in people was the establishment of the Program of Support and Protection of victims of trafficking in people. This Program was established by the Department for Prevention of Criminality of Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic within the Strategy for Prevention of Criminality for years 2004 – 2007 http://www.mmo.cz/soc/spkmo04.html .
Authors: Marie Vavroňová. Mgr. Martina Hronová (ROSA)
Translation: Mgr. Dana Pokorná (ROSA)
Stínová zpráva v oblasti rovného zacházení a rovných příležitostí žen a mužů, 2006, kolektiv autorů, Gender Studies, www.feminismus.cz/download/GS_stin.pdf
JUDr. Jiřina Voňková, Mgr. Markéta Huňková a kol., Domácí násilí v českém právu z pohledu žen, proFem, 2004
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Alena Křížková, Zuzana Uhde, Genderové bariéry: příklad sexuálního obtěžování , Sociologický ústav AV ČR, 2005, http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2006020607
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Stínová zpráva v oblasti rovného zacházení a rovných příležitostí žen a mužů, 2006, kolektiv autorů, Gender Studies, www.feminismus.cz/download/GS_stin.pdf | 