LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE in the Czech Republic

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LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCEin the Czech
Republic
Brno, 22.6.2016
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Legislation on DV

1. First impulses towards anti-DV law
2. Criminal law
3. Protective law
4. Law regulating social services
5. Internal police law
6. Problems we are still facing
7. Specific situation in South Moravia

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1. First impulses towardsanti-DV law

• First efforts from NGOs
• White Circle of Safety 50 of clients are DV
  victims
• Alliance against DV (2002) Expert Group to
  prepare anti-DV law proposal (2004)
• Multi-agency group co-ordinated by
  Crime-prevention Dpt. of Home Office
• 2004 government decree no. 794/2004 on
  multidisciplinary approach to DV

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2. Criminal law

• The first legislative step towards protection of
  victims
• 1. 6. 2004 - the amendment of Criminal Code
• New provision 215a (in 2010 transformedto new
  Criminal Code no. 40/2010 as 199)
• Maltreatment of a person living
• in shared apartment or house

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2. Criminal law

• Focus on domestic violence as specific crime
• permission of the victim with the prosecution of
  the perpetrator is not necessary any more
• Penalty
• basic up to 3 years
• higher (maltreatment lasts longer period or more
  brutal) up to 8 years

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• 3. Protective law

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• 1. 1. 2007 - Act of protection against DV
• protective measures according to the austrian
  model
• barring orders (police) expulsion of the
  perpetrator for 10 days
• restraining orders (civil courts) expulsion up
  to 1 year, restraint from any contact
• 3 institutional pillars
• police (issuing of baring orders)
• civil courts (issuing of restraining orders)
• Intervention centres (help for victims)
• serious or repeated ignorance of the orders is
  crime

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Experience with the new law

• 1. 1. 2009 new Police Act
• Eviction less formal act - faster process
• 15 Intervention centres formed
• mostly transformed from NGO already helping
  victims
• police officers in the field undertook a training
• focused on police officers on the basic level
• extent and quality may vary (depending on the
  approach of each police chief)
• DV became a part of basic police training for
  recruits

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EVICTION CHART
Police eviction starts
2400
0000
2400
1. day 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Up to 48 hours
Perpetrator can ask to pick up his belongings
necessary for his job (with police assistance)
End of eviction
a) Barring order issued eviction continues
max. 24hours
IC court child care is informed
Petition for preliminary court decision (barring
order)
Up to 3 days
min. 1x police controll
Up to 3 days
3 days for perpetrator to state his objections
b) Petiton dismissed, END of eviction
Max. 48 hours
Key police action IC action
victim action civil court action
IC is obliged to contact the victim and offer
help including legal help
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Statistics of police eviction
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• 4. LAW REGULATING SOCIAL SERVICES

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Act. No. 108/2006 of Social Services

• Covers services of NGO such as
• Intervention centers
• Other social and legal counseling for victims
• Shelter houses
• Crisis centers etc.
• System of quality control
• System of funding (grants)
• Registry of social services providers

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5. Internal police law

• 2004 first police guidelines (for criminal
  police)
• 2007 internal police law (how to detect DV and
  how to perform eviction)
• 2007-2012 - about 5 legal explanatory attitudes
  towards DV issued by Home Office

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• 6. PROBLEMS
• WE ARE STILL FACING

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Problems we are still facing

• 3 deadly sins of police officer
• Pride (underestimation)
• Laziness
• Fear

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Problems we are facing - police

• The necessity to consider domestic violence as a
  process, not just a particular incident
• police officers usualy solve particular
  unconnected incidents (theft, robbery, violence
  between unrelated persons)
• the need to have sufficient records about
  previous history of a relationship and to ask
  about the history of violence
• Depreciation of the importance of violence
  between related persons from the sight of police
  officers,
• effort from police officers to solve the
  incidents on the spot by so called mediation

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Problems we are facing - police

• The frustration of the police officers due to
  inability to efficiently help the victim, unless
  he/she him/herself attempts (repeated
  interventions leads the police officers to the
  opinion, that the effort to help is ineffectual).
• Prejudice of the police officers (myths)
• There are myths about domestic violence, which
  occures out the society including the police,
  which may impact the willingness to deal with the
  particular cases (example myth of domestic
  violence as private matter between relatives)

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Problems we are facing

• Attention towards the matter of DV
• In 2007 country-wide awarness campaigns (focus
  of the media)
• Afterwards attention gradually decreased
• Non-existence of resources for the perpetrators
  of domestic violence in the whole republic.

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Problems we are facing

• System of NGO funding
• Structure of funding usualy 1 year projects
  only
• ESF funds
• Grants from following sources
• Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs / Regions /
  Townhalls
• Donations
• Incomes from own activities
• only short-term projects uncertain existence

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• 7. SPECIFIC SITUATION IN THE SOUTH MORAVIAN REGION

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Specific features of South Moravian Region

• Shelter house with secret address
• Local program for DV perpetrators
• Multidisciplinary approach started already before
  2007 - open environment
• Emphasis of police forces to the matter of DV
  (projects, education, leaflets etc.)

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Thank you for your attention

• Questions ?
• Contacts
• mjr. Mgr. Vladimír Vedra
• e-mail vlada.vedra_at_email.cz
• tel. [phone]