[women-rights] Hungary: Justice denied to victims of rape in the home

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 
AI Index: EUR 27/004/2007
10 May 2007

"... The difference between rape in films and marital rape is that we
cannot scream, as our child might wake up in the other room. Or our
child is right there next to us, her or his face distorted with
terror. And another difference is that the person who does this to us
is someone we used to love, someone we once trusted more than anyone
else. And there is another difference, too: that others say that we
invented the whole thing..." 
A victim of rape in the home 

"...At least 85 per cent of them are whores. They wanted to have sex,
but then do not manage to come to an agreement. They are prostitutes,
overtly or secretly..." 
A police officer and advisor on rape issues 

Two thirds of sexual crimes in Hungary are committed by people known to
the victim, yet few of the perpetrators are tried for their crimes,
Amnesty International said today.

Widespread prejudice, government inactivity and deficiencies in the
criminal justice system pose at times insurmountable obstacles for women
to obtain justice or redress, according to the organization's latest
report, Hungary: Cries unheard: The failure to protect women from rape and
sexual violence in the home.

"In the confines of the family, rape is one of the many forms of violence
women may suffer -- and they may be subjected to it time and again," said
Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty
International.

"Rape in intimate relationships is a crime. Stigma and ridicule from the
community and lack of confidence in criminal justice system and health
services officials must not prevent victims from obtaining justice."

In 1997, rape within marriage was recognized as a crime within the
Hungarian Penal Code. However, the most serious failing in the Penal
Code's definition of rape is its requirement that women must prove that
they physically resisted, no matter the level of threat or violence that
they face. This stipulation leaves unprotected thousands of women in
intimate relationships.

A large number of cases fail to reach court or do not result in criminal
convictions. Either the crime is not reported, or the police fail to
identify the attacker and label the case as a "false report". Sometimes,
the victim or other witnesses withdraw their statements or decline to
press charges under duress.

Women are reluctant to report rape because they may fear the abuser, most
often the husband or a former partner, will attack her again. The
reporting procedure is humiliating and may further discourage the victims
from taking legal action. Police officers frequently do not conduct a
proper investigation with victims and potential perpetrators not
interviewed and forensic evidence not gathered properly. Police
investigations are also often marred by prejudice.

In court, in the presence of their attackers, women have to relive time
and again the horror of the sexual attacks they were subjected to and to
prove their innocence. They have to challenge public attitudes that it is
acceptable for a husband to force his wife to have sex and that it is the
woman who provokes rape. Such attitudes prompted a Hungarian woman judge
to tell Amnesty International that she herself would be reluctant to
report rape.

Rape in the family is rarely discussed publicly. Victims are rarely heard
to speak about the physical and psychological injuries they experience.
The number of studies on this issue is extremely small. A 2006 public
opinion revealed that 62 per cent did not know that marital rape was a
crime.

"The government must take the lead in lifting the cloak of silence and
denial over this human rights violation that has a devastating impact on
women's lives," Nicola Duckworth said.

Amnesty International calls on the Hungarian government to: 
* Ensure legislative changes that would guarantee access to justice; 
* Provide standards and training for professionals working with victims of 
sexual crimes; 
* Set up support services for victims of sexual violence; 
* Carry out research and compile data that will inform policy making;
* Actively combat social prejudices through public education. 

See: Hungary: Cries unheard: The failure to protect women from rape and
sexual violence in the home, (AI Index: EUR 27/002/2007)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur270022007.

This report is part of Amnesty International's campaign Stop Violence
Against Women.