Gender-based violence in general

Section 126 of Chapter 171 of the Criminal Code of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines makes it a criminal offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who is considered mentally incapacitated. This refers to a woman who has been formally detained under the Mental Health Act or who, based on the evidence of two medical practitioners, is found to be suffering from serious mental illness, a psychopathic disorder, or significant intellectual impairment. The offence carries a penalty of up to fifteen years’ imprisonment.

The plaintiffs challenged sections of the Tasmanian Criminal Code criminalizing homosexual conduct. The plaintiffs alleged that the challenged sections violated provisions of the Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act of 1994. The case revolved around whether the plaintiffs brought the action prematurely (i.e., whether the plaintiffs had “sufficient interest” to bring the action before the Court).

This case concerns an application for review of a decision made by the Immigration and Refugee Board, which had determined a family applying for protection, a mother and two minor children, did not have a “well-founded fear of persecution” and were not persons in need of protection. The family expressed fear of domestic violence upon a return to Mexico.

The appellant was convicted of trafficking in human beings because he intentionally, for financial purposes, recruited financially vulnerable Ukrainian women for sex trafficking in Russia. The court of first instance sentenced him to five years of imprisonment with confiscation of property for an “accumulation of crimes” (in Ukraine, this term means commission of two or more crimes by one person stipulated by different Articles or different parts of one Article of the Special Part of this Code, where that person has not been convicted of any of these crimes).

De La Cruz-Flores was detained, charged and convicted by a "faceless judge" for the crime of terrorism. In 2003, laws were passed ordering the annulment of judgments made by secret judges and practitioners. De La Cruz-Flores, however, remained in captivity, captivity she argued was arbitrary. The Court held that Peru violated De La Cruz-Flores's rights under Articles 1(1), 5, 7 and 8 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

This decision promoted the systematization of complaints relating to domestic and intra-family violence. It updated the ‘Violence Registration Form’ approved by Decision nº 454 dated April 24, 2007. The form promotes a system of centralized information and, consequently, accurate statistical indicators that will help authorities to better understand and prevent violence against women.

After threatening and assaulting the Victim (wife) with a deadly weapon, the Defendant (husband) had violent sexual intercourse with his wife after they had started using separate rooms due to consistent dispute.” The Supreme Court found that the term ‘female’ as the victim of rape as provided by Article 297 of the Criminal Act included the offender’s legally wedded wife and that the crime of rape was established when the husband had sexual intercourse with his wife by disabling or hindering resistance through violence or intimidation in a sustained marriage.

The defendant published numerous comments on his Twitter account, including the statements: “53 murdered by gender violence so far this year, they are few in my opinion since they are so many whores;” “in 2015 there were 56 women murdered, it's not a good rate but we did what we could, let’s double that rate in 2016, thanks;” “I have the explosives already prepared for this night to use in Sol, Happy New Year, Allah is great;” and “I've already abused her, you're the next” (attaching an image of a woman).

The defendant paid his friend to bring the victim, a 14-year-old child, to defendant’s café under the pretext of attending a birthday party. After defendant’s friend abandoned the victim at the café, the defendant told the victim to work as a server but also forced her to have sex with the male clients and kept all payments received for the victim’s services.

This decree created a cross-sectional commission called the ‘Mesa Interinstitucional para Erradicar la Violencia contra las Mujeres’. Its purpose is to join efforts for the coordination and cooperation between public entities in order to achieve comprehensive and accessible quality care for women victims of any kind of violence. The commission is comprised by the ministries and directors of public agencies from several sections, including technology, education, culture, justice, among others.