Efforts Against Domestic Violence Increasing

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000622

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EAID PREF MG
SUBJECT: Efforts Against Domestic Violence Increasing

Summary
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1. Mongolia is increasing efforts to combat an epidemic of domestic
violence which affects perhaps a third of all women. As well as a
2004 law, a draft national action plan will be submitted in
September, and the Supreme Court may clarify some remaining legal
issues in coming months. While public and law enforcement awareness
of domestic violence and the new law remain inadequate, awareness
campaigns are improving matters. The number of shelters for women
has increased, but remain inadequate and are overburdened in
Ulaanbaatar. Funding is a problem, both for the shelters and
awareness campaigns. While problems still abound, the new law is
universally regarded as having made things better; all 37 cases
prosecuted under the law so far this year resulted in convictions.
The U.S. has helped combat this problem, through grants to The Asia
Foundation, as well as a role in establishing one of the country's
few shelters. End summary.

An Epidemic of Domestic Violence
--------------


2. While there is no recent rigorous study, observers believe that
as much as one-third of Mongolia's female population experiences
domestic violence. Since Mongolia's democratic revolution in 1990,
economic and societal changes have created new stresses on families,
including loss of jobs, and greatly increased alcoholism. Some
statistics show that more than 60 percent of family abuse cases are
related to alcohol abuse. Responding to this epidemic, in May 2004,
the Mongolian Parliament passed its first law against domestic
violence. The law was put into effect on January 1, 2005. The law
provides a general outline for protection and prevention measures
against domestic violence to be taken by the state, NGOs, and
citizens.

National Action Plan Coming
--------------


3. As envisioned in the 2004 law, a committee composed of
government and NGO representatives have drafted a national action
plan against domestic violence, and intend to submit it in
September. The plan will elaborate on the provisions of the
original law and add a fiscal section that will demand state subsidy
of women's shelters in the country. Some missing clauses in the
2004 law, including procedural standards relating to victim support,
are to be incorporated into the plan. Committee members told emboff
that they are optimistic the plan will be approved.

Further Legal Changes Necessary
--------------


4. Ms. Oyuntsetseg, director of the Mongolian Women's Lawyers
Association (MWLA),told emboff that the law is crucial for the
definitions that it provides, but is inadequate in developing an
established enforcement protocol. Provisions in the Criminal
Procedural Law, Civil Law, Law on Crime Prevention and other
associated acts are at variance with the new law against domestic
violence, which complicates legal enforcement. Ms. Oyuntsetseg
identified three main steps to effective implementation: Supreme
Court ratification of an interpretation of the law; Parliament
ratification of a national action plan; and amendments to
contradictory articles in related laws. An NCAV official complained
to emboff that Parliament's male majority creates a variety of
obstacles to correcting legal problems (note: only 5 of 76 MPs are
female; under a new electoral law passed last December, 30% of
parties' parliamentary candidates in the 2008 elections must be
women).


5. A committee of NGOs dedicated to gender issues wrote an intended
interpretation of the law that they submitted along with the
original legislative proposal. This initial interpretation has been
reviewed by the justices of the Supreme Court who are currently
drafting an official version that they expect to introduce within
the next year.

Awareness a Problem...
--------------


6. Inadequate awareness among the public and law enforcement
officials both about domestic abuse and the new law remains a
problem. Ms. Oyuntsetseg of the MWLA distinguished between the
obstacles faced in the poorer, more isolated areas and populated
districts. She claimed that the courts and the general public of
urban regions understand the harms and legal ramifications of
physical abuse but do not grasp the more ambiguous notion of
psychological abuse. The poorer, rural populations disregard both
physical and psychological abuse.


7. Ms. Kherlen of The Asia Foundation (TAF) told emboff that the
greatest hindrance in affecting change to be the lack of
understanding among the state and local police. She agreed with the
enforcement issues that Ms. Oyuntsetseg identified in the smaller
soums, but claimed problems still persist even among urban
enforcement bodies. She believed that judges are at times still
using the older laws, a sign that while the many organized training
sessions are helpful, the large numbers of untrained judges and
police render current activities insufficient.

But Awareness Campaigns Paying Off
--------------


8. Education-based efforts have been most successful at motivating
change. These involve both public awareness campaigns and organized
trainings. NCAV, the Mongolia Women Farmers Association (MWFA),and
the "Open Door" Family Development Center (FDC) work together to
train police, government officials, judges, military personnel, and
select individuals on the local, community level. The Coalition of
Women's NGOs, a core group of organizations dedicated to gender
issues, established an annual 16-day campaign focused on training
and educating the public. Since 1995, these campaigns have been
instrumental in increasing awareness, particularly in the city.


9. There are progressively more awareness projects targeting rural
districts. TAF is funding a joint project with NCAV and the MWFA
that is directed at four predetermined urban and rural regions. It
will provide a more extensive account of abuse trends throughout the
country and will promote understanding on a local level through
radio broadcasting, written documents, public involvement, police
training and the development of 'multidisciplinary teams.' These
teams are composed of social, medical, educational and legal
representatives who learn to function independently of NCAV and thus
serve as a local base for future programs and community support. Of
current total of the three teams, two were established with NCAV
help.


10. NCAV is the primary organization involved in providing services
to abuse victims and coordinating organization between local
governments, NGOs, and independent groups. They have continued to
build new branches and gain a greater presence in local communities.
The increased awareness regarding legal rights has generated a
greater number of people using the available counseling and
protection services. Ms. Munkhsaruul of NCAV told emboff that the
frequency of domestic violence has not declined significantly, but
said that more women are asking for psychological support and legal
advice in person and through the NCAV hot line. She estimates NCAV
works with seven new women everyday. Men are also beginning to call
to report potential abuse cases both on their own part and on the
part of neighbors. In the last 18 months, 155 women received legal
counseling and 245 received psychological counseling from NCAV.

Women's Shelters
--------------


11. There are four independently operating women's shelters in the
country, two of which have been established within past two years.
The locations are kept hidden so women must generally approach the
police in order to contact a shelter. The one shelter located in
Ulaanbaatar -- which has a population of one million -- is set up to
hold 20 women and is reported to be filled consistently. The
shelters located outside the city range in size, with room for 6 to
20 beds but these do not regularly reach their maximum capacity.
The number of women fluctuates seasonally with few women looking for
help during the summer months. They prefer to look to friends and
relatives for support and lodging. During the winter months, women
will travel as far as 200 miles for the safe and warm shelter
environment. However, many women remain unfamiliar with the
resources available.


12. NCAV estimates that one woman enters a shelter daily and, while
on paper shelters demand women leave after a period of 2-3 weeks,
they typically spend up to three months. Coupled with the fact that
all children under the age of 13 must accompany their mothers, the
overcrowding is quickly becoming a more serious issue. NCAV is
beginning to turn their attention to the children of families with
abusive members. They have established protection and counseling
services similar to ones provide for abused adults and are in the
process of constructing a shelter specifically for the children of
abused mothers. There is a recognized demand to provide the women
with vocational training but this has yet to happen on a consistent
basis. Women often return to their abusive husbands for financial
reasons.

Funding a Problem
--------------


13. Funding remains the most limiting factor for continued activism
in both the city and countryside. Despite the success of many
programs, NCAV has been unable to expand their monetary resources in
the past few years. NGOs continue to rely upon donor bodies and
collaborative efforts to support projects on a proposal-to-proposal
basis. The lack of funding hinders the geographical range of NGO
activity, and contributes to inadequate awareness.


14. Ms. Kherlen told emboff that the lack of collaboration among
NGOs is a hindrance to the fight against domestic violence. She
believed there is too much reliance upon donor bodies to formulate
the projects. TAF is hoping to work with new NGOs to expand their
current partner base and through that base, promote more
collaboration and project creativity. A similar effort is being
headed by Ms. Amgalan of the "Open Door" Family Development Center.

Signs of Progress
--------------


15. The responses to the efficacy of the law have been varied, and
more pronounced in wealthier and more educated areas. All
interviewed for this report agreed that the passage of the new law
is indicative of an increasing awareness and interest in the cause.
MWLA's Ms. Oyuntsetseg commented that positive legal changes are due
both to the new law and to NCAV's training seminars for officials,
and said that these changes have facilitated both civil and criminal
law cases. One sign of progress: All 37 domestic violence cases
that were brought to court this year were tried successfully.

The U.S. Role
--------------


16. Using EPF money, the Embassy has provided a two-year grant of
$172,000 to The Asia Foundation, which is playing a leading role in
promoting coordination among NGOs and government ministries. This
funding will continue through April 2008 but there is no definite
follow-up grant at present. Using $25,000 from the monetized
proceeds of wheat donated by USDA, two Peace Corps volunteers in one
aimag helped NCAV establish a shelter in 2005; the Ambassador helped
inaugurate the shelter.

Slutz