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Good practice Imported

Organic Law No. 58 on Eliminating Violence Against Women

Tunisia · Tunis · See the Tunisia profile · See the Tunis profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 67% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Tunisia's 2017 Organic Law 58 created the country's first comprehensive law against violence against women, closing the marry-your-rapist loophole, but independent surveys and a Council of Europe assessment found low budget and low awareness (37% unaware of the law) leave enforce

146/217 votes
Legislative approval vote (2017)
45.5 %
Women reporting gender-based violence (2023)
37.3 %
Women unaware of the legal framework (2023)
22.2 %
Victims who pursued legal action (2023)
83.3 %
Women considering the law insufficiently stringent (2023)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Government of Tunisia / UN Women Tunisia
Period
2014-2023
Keywords
legislation, gender-based violence, justice sector reform, public health

Context

Tunisia's Assembly of the Representatives of the People passed Organic Law No. 58 on eliminating violence against women on 26 July 2017 (146 votes in favour of 217), and it entered into force in February 2018. Supported since 2014 by UN Women, the Council of Europe, the EU, UNDP, OHCHR, UNFPA and UNODC, the law adopts a broad definition of violence covering physical, economic, sexual, political and psychological forms.

Activities

The law establishes protection mechanisms providing survivors with legal and psychological support, and amended Article 227 of the Penal Code to close a provision that had allowed perpetrators of sexual acts against minors to escape punishment by marrying their victims. By December 2016, five ministries (Social Affairs, Justice, Women/Family/Children, Interior and Health) had adopted multi-sectoral protocols with monthly case-follow-up meetings to coordinate survivor support across justice, health and housing services.

Results

A Council of Europe assessment one year after promulgation found budget allocation 'low or non-existent' and stakeholder training insufficient. A 2023 academic survey of 110 Tunisian women found that 45.5% had experienced gender-based violence, 37.3% were unaware of the legal framework, only 22.2% of victims pursued legal action, and 83.3% considered the law insufficiently stringent.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — No official implementation budget published; a Council of Europe one-year assessment found budget allocation 'low or non-existent'
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Drafting support began 2014; law passed 26 July 2017; entered into force February 2018; still active as of the 2023 assessment
Staffing & skills
Five ministries — Social Affairs, Justice, Women/Family/Children, Interior and Health — coordinated via multi-sectoral protocols with monthly case-follow-up meetings, Drafting and implementation supported since 2014 by UN Women, the Council of Europe, the EU, UNDP, OHCHR, UNFPA and UNODC

Conditions for success

  • Sustained budget allocation for implementation
  • Public awareness campaigns
  • Institutional and stakeholder training

Common failure modes

  • Council of Europe assessment found budget allocation 'low or non-existent' one year after promulgation
  • Insufficient stakeholder training
  • Low public awareness of the law (37.3% unaware in 2023)
  • Low rate of victims pursuing legal action (22.2% in 2023)

Where it fits

Governance type
national government
Scale
national
Income level
lower-middle income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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