The Civil Party brought suit on behalf of his 13-year-old daughter and sought criminal sanctions against four men whom he accused of violently raping his daughter. The four men jumped on her, held her down and one by one proceeded to engage in sexual relations with her when she was returning home from laundering clothes with her little sister. The case proceeded in expedited fashion as a flagrant intentional crime. The Tribunal found the four men guilty of violent rape, noting that even if the girl consented, her mere thirteen years of age prevented any clear and free consent to sexual relations which would mitigate the charges. The Tribunal imposed criminal sanctions of five years imprisonment for each of the four men, imposed equitable damages equivalent to $100 each payable to the girl’s father, and charged the men with paying court fees.
Women and Justice: Keywords
Domestic Case Law
Public Ministry and Civil Party v. Mulume, Mitima, Chebey & Mushagalusa Court of Greater Instance of Bukavu (1995)
Varsha Kapoor v. Union of India High Court of India (2010)
A woman filed charges of domestic abuse against her husband and mother-in-law. The mother-in-law argued that she could not be charged under India's 2005 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act because the person to be charged is specifically defined as male. The High Court denied this claim, holding that although the law defines adult men as the primary defendants, it allows the complaint to charge a man's relatives as secondary defendants.
Legislation
The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (“PFGM”) outlaws all acts of FGM on oneself and others as well as attempts, procurement, and participation. It allows no exceptions for consent, religion, or culture, and creates a duty to report to the police any knowledge of planned or completed FGM. The penalty is imprisonment not to exceed 10 years for the perpetrator and five years for any participants or abettors. Violations are considered aggravated if the FGM causes death, the offender has control over the victim (e.g., a parent or guardian), the victim has a disability, the victim contracts HIV/AIDS, and/or the perpetrator is a health worker. The penalty for aggravated violations is life imprisonment. The PFGM Act also prohibits any discrimination against women and girls who have not undergone FGM and discrimination against male relatives of women who have not undergone FGM.
International Case Law
Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2005)
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleged that, by not respecting ancestral property rights, the Government of Paraguay threatened the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community’s access to food, water and health care, and survival in violation of Articles 4 (right to life), 8 (right to fair trial), 21 (right to property) and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights. The court noted several specific examples of dangers faced by the women of the Community, including instances in which a woman was threatened by a man wielding a shotgun and another in which a woman was sexually exploited by State workers. The court noted that Paraguay was obligated to take into account the economic and social characteristics, special vulnerability, and customary laws, values and customs of indigenous peoples in order to effectively protect them, and found that Paraguay’s delay in recognizing the Community’s leadership, legal status and claims to land violated the Community’s rights to judicial protection, a fair trial, property, and ultimately a decent life. The court also found that the Community had a right to be granted legal status in order to take advantage of its members’ full rights as a people, and that Paraguay’s ongoing refusal to recognize that status was a violation of this right. As such, the court ordered that Paraguay provide the Community – “especially children, the elderly and pregnant women” -- with reparations, including compensation, food and water, sanitation, access to health care, and rightful title to their traditional territory.
La Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos alegó que, al no respetar los derechos de propiedad ancestral, el Gobierno de Paraguay amenazaba el acceso de la Comunidad Indígena Yakye Axa a alimentos, agua y atención médica, y la supervivencia, en violación de los Artículos 4 (derecho a la vida), 8 (derecho a un juicio justo), 21 (derecho a la propiedad) y 25 (protección judicial) de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos. El tribunal tomó nota de varios ejemplos específicos de peligros que enfrentan las mujeres de la Comunidad, incluyendo casos en los que una mujer fue amenazada por un hombre con una escopeta y otro en el que una mujer fue explotada sexualmente por trabajadores estatales. El tribunal señaló que el gobierno de Paraguay estaba obligado a tomar en cuenta las características económicas y sociales, la especial vulnerabilidad y las leyes, valores y costumbres consuetudinarios de los pueblos indígenas para protegerlos de manera efectiva, y determinó que la demora de Paraguay en reconocer el liderazgo de la Comunidad, el estatus legal y las reclamaciones de tierras violaron los derechos de la Comunidad a la protección judicial, un juicio justo, la propiedad y, en última instancia, una vida digna. El tribunal también determinó que la Comunidad tenía derecho a que se le otorgara un estatus legal para poder aprovechar los plenos derechos de sus miembros como pueblo, y que la continua negativa de Paraguay a reconocer esa condición constituía una violación de este derecho. Como tal, el tribunal ordenó que Paraguay proporcionara a la Comunidad - “especialmente a los niños, ancianos y mujeres embarazadas” - reparaciones, incluyendo indemnizaciones, alimentos y agua, saneamiento, acceso a la atención médica y título legítimo de su territorio tradicional.