Over 13,000 cases of violence against families and women (Gender-Based Violence GBV) were registered in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq KRI, and 226 complaints were registered due to cyber violence.
These statistics were shared during a press conference attended by a KirkukNow reporter, part of the report on the implementation of the law against domestic violence by the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament.
Representatives from the Women's Legal Aid Organization WOLA presented statistics from various provinces' directorates combating violence, family counseling centers, hotlines (119), and reconciliation committees.
The statistics revealed that the Kurdistan Region had 13,017 cases of violence against women, with Erbil reporting 3,596 cases, Sulaimaniya 3,522 cases, Duhok 3,221 cases, and Garmian 912 cases.
Some arrest warrants have not been executed as per the law. For instance, in Erbil, out of 522 arrest warrants, 166 have not been executed.
In Sulaimaniya, 34 out of 863 cases remain unimplemented, and in Duhok, 35 out of 710 cases have not been executed.
226 complaints related to cyber violence
Last year, 226 complaints were filed related to cyber violence, most of which, 99 cases, were classified as "misuse of communication devices.”
There were 70 cases of posting photos and videos on social media platforms, mostly in Duhok with 32 cases, followed by Erbil with 25 cases.
There were 57 cases of threats to post photos and videos on social media, followed by Duhok with 26 cases, Erbil with 16 cases and Sulaimaniyah with six cases.
Marriages have decreased in Sulaimaniyah and Duhok
WOLA has released the statistics for 2024, compared to 2022, which shows that marriages have decreased in both Sulaimaniyah and Duhok provinces. No statistics were available at the relevant authorities for 2023.
According to the statistics, in 2022 there were 20,427 marriages in Sulaimaniyah province, but decreased to 18,522 in 2024, on the contrary, divorce increased from 5438 cases to 5745.
In Erbil province, only 48 marriages increased from 17,543 to 17,591. However, divorce has decreased from 5,857 in 2022 to 3,878.
Similarly, in Duhok, the number of marriages dropped down by 300, from 12,499 to 12,199, but the number of divorces decreased from 2164 in 2022 to 2023 last year.
In 2024, there were 98 cases of second marriage, with Erbil leading with 45 cases.
"Incompatibility" was the first reason for divorce with 828 cases in the KRI, followed by marital infidelity with 523 cases, lack of a separate home and age difference in the third and fourth places.
Recommendations by WOLA
According to Gona Majid, a member of WOLA, the aim is to reduce violence and spread more awareness about the law.
The organization recommends integrating the law to the curriculum for all colleges and fostering collaboration among ministries of (Interior, Education, Higher Education, Health and Endowments) to work on the law in all ministries, with the subject in the education system and schools.
In another of their proposals, they call for work to spread awareness about the law by all parties concerned and unite the working mechanism of reconciliation committees in all regions.
Beside strengthening the role of the media in spreading awareness, she called for amending the law to allow cases to be referred to the reconciliation committee before filing complaints and sending them to the courts and increasing the number of women researchers in offices, directorates and centers, especially in Halabja province.
