Map source: Human Rights Watch

Population of women: 601,000/1,308,000
Life expectancy of women (at birth): 78.7 yrs.
School life expectancy for women: 15 yrs
Adult illiteracy for women: 0.2%
Unemployment of women: 9.7%
Adult economic activity rate: 52%
Source: U.N. Statistics Division, Social Indicators, updated 12 July 2004 (Some statistics provided may be from previous years and other sources as cited by the U.N. Statistics Division)

last updated August 16, 2004

In its 2002 concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urged Estonia "to place high priority on comprehensive measures to address violence against women in the family and in society, and to recognize that such violence, including domestic violence, constitutes a violation of the human rights of women under the Convention." According to Women 2000 - An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, "the most common form of violence against women is domestic violence, which often goes unrecognized and is accepted as part of the order of things." The report explains further that the main reasons that women in Estonia are unable to escape domestic violence are economic dependency and a lack of available shelters. The Penal Code does not explicitly criminalize domestic violence. However, Articles 120-122 may be used to punish acts of violence, including threats (Article 120), physical abuse (Article 121) and torture (Article 122). They are punishable by a maximum sentence of one year, three years, and five years, respectively.

Rape is punished by Articles 141 to 145 of the Penal Code. Article 141(1) punishes "[s]exual intercourse with a person against his or her will by using force or taking advantage of a situation in which the person is not capable of initiating resistance or comprehending the situation" by a prison sentence between one to five years. If specific aggravating factors are present, the sentence increases to a term between six to fifteen years' imprisonment (Article 141(2)). Article 143 also punishes "[s]exual intercourse with a person against his or her will by taking advantage of the dependency of the victim from the offender but without using force or outside a situation where the person was not capable of initiating resistance or comprehending the situation" by up to three years' imprisonment.

Human trafficking remains a problem in Estonia. Estonia is classified as a Tier 2 Watch country in the 2004 U.S. Department of State Trafficking Report. According to the U.S. Department of State, Estonia is primarily a country of origin for trafficking to Western Europe and Nordic countries. While no reliable data is available, some NGOs estimate there to be 500 trafficking victims per year. Although trafficking is not defined as such in the Estonian legislation, several provisions were introduced into the Penal Code in 2002, which may be used to prosecute the crime. Articles 258 and 259 punish the crossing of and the unlawful transport of aliens across state borders and the temporary control line. Punishments range to a maximum sentence of twelve years' imprisonment. Article 133 punishes enslavement by one to five years' imprisonment; the punishment increases to a term of three to twelve years if committed against a minor or against two or more individuals. Abduction, child stealing and the sale or purchase of children are all punishable under Articles 134, 172 and 173. Article 136 punishes the unlawful deprivation of liberty by a fine or a prison sentence up to five years, depending on the circumstances. In addition, the Penal Code punishes various activities relating to prostitution, including inducing minors to engage in prostitution (Article 175), aiding prostitution that involves minors (Article 176) and pimping (Article 268). The Crime Victims Compensation Act of 2003 expanded the victim support system and raised the amount of compensation available to victims from the government. The U.S. Department of State noted that the government was preparing to prosecute the first trafficking case in Estonia, but as of April 2004, the trial had not yet begun. There have also been regional efforts by the government. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania established a joint agreement on witness protection, and the ten Baltic Sea States have agreed on a regional witness protection program.The Ministry of Social Affairs, along with the Nordic Council of Ministers, has launched a preventative program against trafficking to improve public awareness and international cooperation.

Compiled from:

Women 2000 - An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation, 2000. 

Annual Report on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Union 2002, Commission of the European Communities, 2003.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Concluding Observations: Estonia, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, 2002.

2003 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Estonia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 February 2004.

2004 Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Department of State, June 2004.