It has been 13 years since the Domestic Violence Prevention Act came into force, marking a landmark event in the history of the Maldives where any act of domestic violence is clearly and categorically identified as a criminal offense.
After the Act was signed into law on 23 April 2012, authorities armed with its powers have made major strides in combating domestic violence in the Maldives.
The Family Protection Authority (FPA) was established under the Act in September 2012 with the mandate to combat domestic violence in the Maldives.
In order to bring the comprehensive support for the prevention, protection and access to justice for domestic violence victims mandatory by law under a national policy and to implement such policies, FPA initiated the preparation of the Domestic Violence Prevention National Strategy (DVPNS) for the Maldives.
A handbook has been specially prepared for State institutions dealing with victims of domestic violence to familiarise them with the adoption of uniform standards in service delivery in cases of domestic violence and training programs have been conducted in 15 Atolls.
Police, Family and Children Service Centre, schools, women's development committees, judiciary, councils, health sector and ‘Ibama’ members have been the major beneficiaries of these training programmes.
The FPA has also strengthened its response systems to victims and reports of domestic violence cases in recent years.
In order to provide counseling services to victims of violence under the Sexual Offenses Act, FPA has entered into an agreement with counseling service providers to ensure speedy counselling service to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
In addition, various programmes have been conducted to raise awareness against domestic violence and the use of risk assessment tools has been introduced for use in domestic violence cases. This risk assessment tool is a statistical measure that predicts the extent to which the abuser will reoffend and can be taken into account in the police investigation, in the prosecution process and even in the court process. The introduction of such tools has facilitated a fair risk assessment of victims.
The introduction of Legal Aid Services in 2023 has led to the provision of legal assistance to 44 victims thus far. A national referral pathway for referral in cases of domestic violence and gender-based violence has been developed and endorsed with the assistance of UNFPA.
Under Article 53 of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, FPA has also launched a Perpetrator Rehabilitation Programme in collaboration with the Maldives Correctional Services to rehabilitate perpetrators of violence.
An emergency fund programme has been initiated with the aim of providing financial assistance to victims of domestic violence and a paper has been drafted to identify barriers to accessing institutional services for victims of domestic violence and persons with disabilities.
The FPA has noted that the country lacks the resources to provide anger management therapy and counseling to rehabilitate and reintegrate domestic violence perpetrators, which is one of the biggest challenges to providing the service.
FPA has also pointed out the lack of adequate action against domestic violence perpetrators within the existing system, adding that it faces challenges in obtaining and developing the necessary budget and human resources to maximise its work.
The FPA believes that the inclusion of key amendments to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act on this Administration’s legislative agenda is an important step towards addressing this issue. It also notes that with the amendment to the Act, efforts to prevent domestic violence will be prioritised from a victim-centric perspective, justice will be achieved through a quicker process with more accountability.
In recent years, the FPA has placed special emphasis on working with a “victim-centered” approach among collaborating State agencies. FPA has also given special priority to further strengthen the foundations of working in the safety and interests of the victim throughout the system.