SUBMISSION SHADOW REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE .

part of Act on Social Services, 108/2006). Despite the existence of the laws, domesticviolence is still not seen as an all-society problem, which corresponds to low awareness ofthe issue. Furthermore, as one of the few EU countries, the Czech Republic is stillquestioning and denying the gender background of violence between partners. This attitudeaffects the work of the police and courts, but also the common view on violence.The Czech Republic is one of the last countries in Europe to sign and ratify the Council ofEurope Convention on Action against Trafficking. This convention is of great importancewhen it comes to upholding human rights when forming policy to prevent and combathuman trafficking. Looking at it from a long-term perspective, a low number of humantrafficking cases have been exposed, investigated and prosecuted in the Czech Republic.Even though the legislation has, since 2004, allowed for prosecution on the grounds ofhuman trafficking in areas outside of the sex business, there still has to take place a singledefinitive verdict in this field.No temporary measures, either non-legislative or legislative, to enhance the representationand participation of women in decision making-process have been introduced. Women arestill highly underrepresented in all areas of decision-making. Even in feminized sectors, suchas education, health-care system, care services, etc., women are underrepresented in toppositions. All the critical points on Article 7 and 8 of the Convention raised in the last ShadowReport are still valid. Recruitment and appointment processes can be characterized by thelack of political will to pay attention to vertical and horizontal segregation, let aloneawareness of the lack of women of various ethnic backgrounds in decision-making.There have been some changes in institutional mechanisms related to the issue ofeducation. A new department titled “Social Programs in Education” was established,including a division “Equal Opportunities in Education”. However, gender inequalities persistin a subtle and latent way and deeply influence study, professional and life careers ofwomen and men. There is still significant horizontal segregation in secondary schools anduniversities. It is also questionable whether the machinery will survive in the period after the2010 elections.The employment rate of those aged 15 – 64 had an increasing trend until 2008, when itreached 66,6%. With the employment rate of men at 75,4% and of women at 57,6%, theCzech Republic is an EU member state with one of the highest gender gaps in employment –17,8 percentage points in 2008. Women are at a disadvantage at the labour market. Themain deficiencies that remain and that place women at a disadvantage at the Czech labourmarket are the segregation of the labour market by sector, specialization and position,discrimination, difficult reintegration into the labour market after parental leave and thedifficulty of combining family and working lives. All of these factors have an influence onsalary inequality, which for some groups of women (single mothers, women after parentalleave, women with small children in general, older women, women from ethnic and nationalminorities) represents a high risk of social exclusion.In relation to the topic of health, the Report focuses mainly on reproductive rights, as, forexample, the midwifery care is intentionally restricted by the state and is not covered by thepublic health insurance. The Ministry of Health has, repeatedly, blocked the founding of abirth centre. The legislative process is directed in such a way that women wishing to deliver7

in a place other than hospital will soon have no legal options of birth assistance. The reportonly touches shortly upon the topic of illegal sterilization of women, as separate reportsproduced by other organizations will be submitted to the CEADAW Committee.Gender equality is not only an issue of the national policy and therefore the Reportintroduces a description of the international dimension of the fulfilment of the Conventionas well. The Czech Republic is failing to apply the obligations set by the Convention onpolicies that have an impact beyond the national level. An increased emphasis in regard tointernational policies and gender mainstreaming should be put especially on developmentcooperation and humanitarian aid, human rights and transition promotion policy andimplementation of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace andsecurity.Although migrants are entitled basic human rights while residing in the Czech Republic, theirpractical requisition is often impossible. Migrants, often, have minimal knowledge about, forinstance, employers’ duties, and they frequently do not have resources to contact legaladvisors. Non-governmental organizations provide numerous free services. But it can beassumed that the number of migrants receiving help from this source is just a top of theiceberg of all those in serious need. The issue of migrant women is mainstreamed intoseveral chapters.The report does not include the analysis of NGO activities in regard to gender equality andthe relevant reported areas. This is due to the lack of space and the intention to monitorgovernment activities, or more precisely, the lack of government activities and policies. It is,nevertheless, important to mention that NGO’s are the most active actors in connection togender equality in all of the above mentioned areas. They do trainings, media andinformation campaigns, provide legal help, lobby, open public discussions, work withrelevant target groups, cooperate on researches, etc. Even though the state institutionsoften use, in their reports, achievements of NGO’s to describe the society’s status quo,systematic support of such organizations is missing and the state financially covers theactivities almost only in the context of co-financing the resources provided by the EuropeanSocial Fund.Women and men are equal de jure, while de facto equality is still a distant goal. Most of therecommendations given by the CEDAW Committee at its 36th session are still relevant. Eventhough the Czech Republic already has a single, unitary Antidiscrimination Act,recommendations concerning the electoral law have not been taken into consideration(even though the Minister for Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities made an effort in thisrespect). The institutional machinery, which got to an improving point with the position ofthe Minister for Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities, is now being restricted again. Ingeneral, Czech politicians do not approach the Convention seriously and do not take it intoconsideration when making political decisions.8

1.1.3. Other gender equality machinery1. Constitutional, legislative andinstitutional frameworkThe Government Council for EqualOpportunities for Women and Men is anadvisory body which has no executive power.Lately, working groups have come withproposals of actions that would strengthengender equality in the Czech society (mostlythanks to their NGO members); howeverthese suggestions remain ignored by thegovernment.1.1. Institutional framework1.1.1. Priorities and Procedures of theGovernment in the Promotion of Equality forWomen and MenSince 1998, the Czech Republic has beencompiling, on a yearly basis, a documentcalled Priorities and Procedures of theGovernment in the Promotion of Equality forWomen and Men and has also beenmonitoring the fulfilment of the given goals in,what is called, A Summary Report on Achievingthe Priorities and Procedures of theGovernment in the Promotion of Equality forWomen and Men (each ministry prepares itsown report). The Priorities and Procedureslacks concrete indicators and a long-termstrategic part, which would take intoconsideration the current status of theposition of women and men in the CzechRepublic and which would create a frameworkfor the target status, is also missing.The position of a gender focal point at eachministry is a part-time position at the bottomof a ministry’s hierarchy. Positive action wastaken at the Ministry of Education where adepartment for equal opportunities wasestablished, with sufficient human resources.It is, nevertheless, questionable, whether thedepartment stays in place after the electionsin 2010.No machinery is officially set up at theregional and local level; it is left to theregional units to set it up. The regions aremotivated by the Ministry of the Interior’scontest called “The Regional Office of the Yearwith Equal Opportunities.”1.1.2. Minister for Human Rights and EthnicMinorities1.2. Antidiscrimination legislationThe post of the minister for human rights hasthe status of a minister without portfolio,meaning that the minister in question doesnot occupy the same level as those of otherdepartments and therefore lacks the authorityto push through equal opportunities policy.The minister for human rights comes underthe wing of the Office of the Government ofthe Czech Republic which does not have thesame powers and budget as individualministries. The position, moreover, wasdissolved after the elections in 2010.1.2.1. OmbudspersonThe Antidiscrimination Act imposes on theombudsperson the duty to provide methodicallegal assistance, the duty to carry outresearch, to publish reports, to issuerecommendations on questions relating todiscrimination and to ensure the exchange ofavailable information with the relevantEuropean bodies. However, the law does notcurrently provide him/her with sufficientinstruments or means to realize these tasks.Debate and dispute over the extent of theassistance provided to the victims ofdiscrimination has raged from the verybeginning of the preparation of theAntidiscrimination Act. The ombudspersondoes not have sufficient powers or a sufficientmandate or funding to bring about systemicchange.In the Government Office, a Gender EqualityUnit is situated, with very few humanresources being responsible for the nationalaction plan and duties to the EU and otherinternational treaties.9

Migrants, often, have minimal knowledgeabout, for instance, employers’ duties, andthey frequently do not have resources tocontact legal advisors. Check-ups of the StateLabour Inspection show that 68% of labouragencies infringe upon the Labour Code andthe related legislation.1.2.2. CourtsNumber of discrimination cases, based on allgrounds of discrimination, not only sex, takento the court is very low (between 4 and 10cases a year). Discrimination cases may take anumber of years, which reduces theeffectiveness of protecting victims fromdiscrimination through corrective action, andalso disproportionately increases the fundsneeded to administer cases. Czech courts arevery unpredictable in their decision-makingand the outcome more often depends on thelocal jurisdiction of the court than on thecircumstances of the cases and thepresentation of argumentation. The nonexistence of written evidence is often a reasonthat leads to the decision to resolve a casewithout the courts, as discrimination isdifficult to prove.1.4. Recommendations for GovernmentAction1.4.1. To create a permanent position of theminister for human rights. The post of theminister should, further, be at the same levelas at the other departments. The provision ofa separate departmental budget is related tothe creation of the post of the minister forhuman rights.1.4.2. To rework the Priorities and to compilea long-term action plan for a term of over 4years which would take into consideration thecurrent status of the position of women andmen in the Czech Republic and which wouldcreate a framework for the target status.1.2.3. The inspection activities ofadministrative institutionsThe most important inspection institute in thesphere of discrimination at the labour marketis the labour inspectorate. Such a body has thepower to inspect and sanction employers’discriminatory conduct. Penalties can reach upto CZK 1 million, although in practice suchfigures are not applied to breach of labourrelations relating to the issue ofdiscrimination. The issue of discrimination ison the very periphery of the labourinspectorates’ interest. Negative experiencewith their inspection activities has beenverbalized by experts in the field and byvictims of discrimination. Among the reasonsfor the low interest shown by inspectorates inthe issue of discrimination is theirunderestimation of its impact, a lack offinances and personnel needed in such aninstitutions and their insufficient methodicalmanagement by the Ministry of Labour andSocial Affairs.1.4.3. To strengthen the position of theombudsperson as the Czech Equality Body.1.4.4. To amend the Antidiscrimination Act(after an assessment of its year-long effect)with the aim of reinforcing measures againstdiscrimination and improving the situation forthe victims of discrimination when enforcingthe law.1.4. To strengthen the function of the LabourInspectorate, so that it becomes capable ofperforming checks repeatedly and respond toeach incitement properly.2. Temporary Special Measures2.1. No temporary measures, either nonlegislative or legislative, to enhance therepresentation and participation of women indecision-making processes have beenintroduced. Neither have temporary measuresto eliminate multiple discrimination of womenof ethnic and/or national minorities beenlaunched.1.3. The integration policy of the CzechRepublicAlthough migrants are entitled basic humanrights while residing in the Czech Republic,their practical requisition is often impossible.10

2.2. Individual ministries and theirorganizations claim to recruit their employeeson the basis of knowledge and experience andnot according to their gender, with some ofthe bodies asserting that they respect theprinciple of equal opportunities for womenand men. In 2007, The Ministry of Justiceintroduced the rules for a gender-sensitiveand balanced recruitment process and theMinistry of Defence implemented the rulesrelated to employee training in equalopportunities and to monitoring therecruitment process from a genderperspective.number of rapes). In addition to the problemof being severely underreported, the attritionrate of rape offenses is also very high –criminal proceedings get laid aside, arediscontinued, or are never even initiated. Thestatistics unfortunately tell us nothing aboutthe reasons behind the attrition rate. Out ofthe 500 to 600 rapes reported annually inrecent years, only approximately 150perpetrators are convicted. The fact that athird of these prosecutions result in parole(i.e. the perpetrators had been found guiltybut never served a day in prison) is appalling.3.1.2. Data, researches, strategic documents2.3. The Action Plan of the government as wellas individual ministries did not formulateconcrete measures to increase therepresentation of women in decision-makingpositions. Neither did they set short-termgoals, with assigned responsibility andadequate sanctions for failing to increase thenumber of women. Individual action plansmostly include the “monitoring clause” only.Majority of the ministries witnessed adecrease of women in top ministry positions(deputy ministers, heads of departments).So far, there has been no complex research onthe issue of rape (data and information onrape, in particular on the prevalence of thesecrimes, the number of complaints lodged withthe police (including those dismissed withoutinvestigation) and the number of complaintsthat result in prosecutions) in the CzechRepublic. There is no state strategy (be iteither the National Action Plan or any othercomplex document) tackling the issue of rape.3.1.3. Interdisciplinary cooperationThe victims are not informed about where toturn for further help. The police do notsufficiently point them to differentpsychological or legal clinics that work withsexual violation victims. To a certain level, thisis due to the fact that there is no complexnetwork of these organizations; moreover thevictim does not learn about the existing onesfrom the police. No mutual trust betweenpublic authorities and the non-profit sectormay be viewed as one of the reasons for this.3. Violence against Women3.1. Sexual violence23. 1.1. Background informationThe issue of sexual violence/rape in the CzechRepublic is tabooed and many dangerousmyths and stereotypes related to it persist.Not only the general public, but also expertsfrom institutions that deal directly with rapesurvivors and media representatives areinfluenced by prejudicial attitudes. This plays asignificant role in limiting justice for rapesurvivors. A number of reported rapes is verysmall (foreign researches show that criminalistdata present only 3–8 % of the general3.1.4. Medical treatmentThe approach of physicians to sexual violationvictims is not uniform. We also register a lackof practical experience with the work withvictims of sexual violation. This causes adifferent quality of proof material, or the riskof its insufficient procurement.2For more information see the source of the text:Shortcomings in Rape Survivor Care – Quality of Servicesfor Rape Survivors in the Czech Republic (Čechová, J.,Jandová, H., In Ciprová, K. (2010). Pod hladinou: fakta amýty o znásilnění Praha: Gender Studies.11

for the prosecution of domestic violence andfor providing help to victims of domesticviolence has been created. Now, the CzechRepublic has a comprehensive system oflegislative rules that enables provision ofassistance to violence victims. However, thereare still many problems that reduce theeffectiveness of the fight against domesticviolence.3.1.5. The police forceInadequacies both in training and in personalpredispositions of police officers who dealwith rape survivors have been noticed. Usualtechniques to raise the survivor's sense ofsafety and comfort, such as the presence of aclose, supportive person or a psychologist, orassuring the survivor of confidentiality, are notused.3.2.2. Research on domestic violence3.1.6. Legislation imperfection concerning thevictim of sexual violenceIn the Czech Republic, there is, currently, norepresentative survey on domestic violence oranalysis of its impact on society or itseconomic performance. Among statistics oncrime published by the Ministry of Interior, arelation to domestic violence is not taken intoaccount and neither is information on thegender of a perpetrator or a victim. As aresult, we, for instance, do not have at ourdisposal a number of women murdered in thecontext of domestic violence and this lack isworsening the possibilities of research ondomestic violence.Free legal advice can be obtained only withsignificant difficulties. Only the aggrievedparty that applied to the penal court with aclaim for damages of loss of property maydemand the services of a free attorney in apenal procedure. In a case of sexual violence,often there is no material damage, only themoral, immaterial, one. A victim of sexualviolence, consequently, has no access to thisform of free legal representation. The instituteof secrecy of a witness, in the sense of secrecyof his/her identity and personal data (eventhough the aggressor knows the appearanceof the victim, he/she does not have to knowhis/her name, address or have informationabout his/her personal life), is used only veryrarely in sexual violation cases.3.2.3. Laws exist, the practice is differentWhile the Czech Republic has laws allowingthe prosecution of violent behaviour (abuse ofpersons in common dwelling, restrictionorders and, since January 2010, dangerousstalking), violent behaviour in the family is notalways assessed as a form of violence.The Czech Republic still lacks trainedprofessionals among those professions thatare in contact with victims and their families –professionals who are able to recognizeviolence and assess a level of its danger. Wealso lack specialized courts on custody whichwould specialize on the issue of familyviolence, as well as highly qualified legalexperts who could work with thephenomenon of violence in the family andwho would be able to correctly identify thesituation.3.1.7. Education and awarenessInsufficient knowledge has grave negativeeffects on the process of addressing specificcases of rape. Educational opportunities forprofessionals are not utilized (due to the lackof motivation, financial means or insufficientsupport by the employer). As far as thegeneral public is concerned (includingpotential rape survivors and their family andfriends), the levels of awareness of rape areextremely low and are also subject tostereotypes.3.2. Domestic violence3.2.4. National Action Plan3.2.1 Background informationNon-profit organizations, currently, mainlyfocus on the National Action Plan ofPrevention of Domestic Violence for the yearsSince 1998, some legislation changes havebeen pushed thr

The Czech Women’s Lobby is a network of 22 organizations and academic institutions promoting women's rights in the Czech Republic. The zech Women’s Lobby is a member of the European Women's Lobby (EWL). Main aims and priorities of the zech Women’s Lobby: — cooperation, networking and laying down comm