full version - World Organisation Against Torture

EstoniaIn April 2000, the Ministry of Social Affairs in co-operation with theOpen Society Institute and International Criminal Prevention Institute(HEUNI) conducted a study on violence against women, interviewing 102women victims of violence. The study revealed that 62% of the intervieweesconsidered the incident as a severe case of violence. The study alsorevealed that only 24% of the victims informed the police of the incident.A criminal charge was filed against the offender in only two cases of allof the incidents. 324. Violence Against Women in the Community4.1 RapeThe new Penal Code defines rape as sexual intercourse with a personagainst his or her will, or taking advantage of a situation in which the personwas not capable of resisting or comprehending the act. 33 The definitionof rape extends to rapes within the family. Sexual intercourse withsomeone under the age of 14 is criminalised by the penal code. However,Estonian law permits the marriage of a girl between the ages of 15 and 18in exceptional circumstances such as pregnancy.Family violence and violence against women as an area of concern is notregularly measured and statistically covered in Estonia. The official statisticsdo not fully reflect the scope of the problem. For example, data onrapes are reported to and officially registered by the Police. However, thedata collected about rapes and attempted rapes are insufficient becauseonly a small number of cases are reported to the police and therefore donot give a representative overview about incidences of violence againstwomen.A survey conducted in 1995 indicated that only 6% of raped womeninformed the police about the crime. 34 Police departments in Estonia havebegun to create special interviewing rooms with modern equipment wherestatements are video taped so that a victim of crime does not have to providerepeated testimonies of his or her sufferings. So far such rooms havebeen created in Tartu and Võru and they are meant first of all for child victims,but they can also be used for female victims.253