(Formerly Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights)

Regional Conference on Domestic Violence Legal Reform

February 12-14, 2008

Sofia, Bulgaria

Zuzana Magurová

Institute of State and Law

Slovak Academy of Sciences,

Bratislava, Slovakia

Legislation concerning violence against women in

SLOVAKIA

Violence against women VAW / Domestic violence DV

Until the present day, the notion of domestic violence has not been defined in Slovakia, nor has there been any separate law on violence against women or domestic violence.

Cases of VAW and DV can be treated as a misdemeanor or criminal offence depending on the intensity and consequences of the conduct, so they are considered either under the Act on Misdemeanors (Act no 372/1990 Coll. effective from 1st October 1990) or the Criminal Code (Act no 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006). If a case of VAW and DV is to be considered a crime, it has to comply with the factual definition of any crime against life and health, liberty or human dignity, family, youth etc.

It is striking that the crime of cruelty to animals became part of the former Criminal Code in 1991, but the crime of cruelty to close persons – spouses, former spouses after divorce, intimate partners, only in 1999.

The legislation - Criminal Code contains only “gender neutral” definitions as “close person”. A close person is a relative in direct line, sibling and spouse; other persons in a family or similar relationship are considered to be persons in a close relationship if harm done to either of them would reasonably be perceived by the other as his/her own harm.

Since the year 2002 this definition (§ 89/7) was amended for the purposes of offences mostly committed against women and the same formulation was involved to the § 127/5 of the new Criminal Code (Law 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006): “Under sections of Criminal Code § 189 – blackmail, § 199/2 – rape, § 200/2 – sexual violence, §201/2 – child sexual abuse, § 208 – Cruelty against close persons or dependent persons and § 360 – assault, a close person includes not only a relative by blood, an adoptive parent, sibling and husband, but alsoa former spouse, partner, former partner, a parent of a couple’s child, as well as persons who reside or have resided in the same household with the offender.

Criminal Code (Law 300/2005 Coll.)

Due to this change, violence against close persons, former wives, their children from previous marriages as well as against former partners is now deemed to be a criminal act under § 208 (former § 215) of Criminal Code (Law 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006). This change gave a legal expression to the fact that in Slovakia, after a divorce or a break-up, former spouses or former partners often remain living in the same household and that a violent act committed under such circumstances is of the same nature as a violent act committed before the divorce or break-up of the relationship. At the same time, violent acts committed against former spouses and former partners have been included into the category of more serious criminal acts, similar to violent acts against a spouse or a partner.

Terms as psychological violence or verbal abuse are not defined separately, but they are covered by other categories of offences in Criminal Code as § 208 Cruelty against a close person or a person in care or custody.

An amendment to provision of the former Criminal Code on cruelty to person in care and custody in the year 1999 brought a significant change of the penal system. Until this year § 215 only concerned violence against children and persons in care and custody (a child under 18 years, whether delivered in custody after a divorce or foster children or adult person in custody), and since the 1 st. September 1999 it also concerned to close person (including women).

In the year 2005 was adopted a new Criminal Code (Law No 300/2005 Coll.) which is effective since 1st. January 2006, which preserved the provisions of original § 215 (with the exception of penal rates) in

§ 208 Cruelty to (abuse of) a close person or a person in care or custody

(1) Whoever is cruel to (abusing) a close person or a person in his custody or care, causing physical or psychological suffering to such person mainly by

a) beating, kicking, punching, causing injuries and burns of any kind, humiliating, contemptuous treatment, stalking, making threats, exciting fear or stress, forcing into isolation, emotional blackmailing or any other behavior jeopardizing the person’s physical or psychological health or limiting the person’s safety,

b) groundless denying of food, rest or sleep, or denying of necessary personal care, clothing, hygiene, health care, housing, upbringing or education,

c) forcing the person to beg or to perform activities requiring excessive physical or psychological exhaustion regarding the age or health condition of the person, or to perform activities that may harm the person’s health,

d) exposure to substances that may harmful the person’s health, or

e) groundless preventing of access to property that the person has a right to use shall be sentenced for 3 up to 8 years of imprisonment.

(2) An offender shall be sentenced for 7 up to 15 years if by committing an offence under subsection (1)

a) he/she caused a serious harm to health or death,

b) because of peculiar inducement,

c) although he/she has been sentenced for such an offence in the part twenty four months or has been sentenced for such an offence and released on parole,

d) if he/she has continued committing such an offence for a longer time, in violent manner, threatens with violence or other serious injury, or abuses emergency situation or the dependence of another person

(3) An offender shall be sentenced for 15 up to 25 years of imprisonment, or an exceptional sentence, if by committing an offence under subsection (1) and he/she caused a serious harm to health or death to several persons.

The new Penal Code has laid down the provisions concerning bodily harm somewhat differently.

§ 123 Bodily harm

(1) For the purposes of this act, bodily harm means any damage to health of another person.

(2) For the purposes of this act, bodily injury means any damage to the health of another person requiring medical examination, intervention or cure and rendering the usual lifestyle of the injured impossible for a significant period of time.

(3) For the purposes of this act, the following serious health problems and illnesses are considered a grave bodily harm:

a) disability,

b) loss of or significant limitation to working aptitude

c) paralysis of a limb,

d) loss of or significant limitation to the function of sensorial organs

e) damage to an important organ,

f) disfigurement,

g) inducement of abortion or killing of the fetus,

h) torture,

i) health problems over an extended period of time.

(4) For the purposes of this act, health problems over an extended period of time mean health problems objectively requiring cure or even work absence, for a period of at least 42 calendar days during which the usual lifestyle of the injured has been altered in an important way.

Trafficking in women

The previous Criminal Code (Law No. 140/1961 Coll.) had contained only one provision (§ 246) specifically dealing with trafficking in women for the purposes of prostitution but only in situations where the woman was transported abroad.

The amended Criminal Code in the year 2002 (in the view of ratification and implementation of the UN Protocol) has introduced the offence of trafficking of human beings - §246 (instead of trafficking in women) and trafficking in children - § 216a and §216b.

From the year 2004 (in the view of Framework Decision of the Council of the EU on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings) the amended Criminal Code prohibited trafficking in people for the purposes of prostitution, pornography, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery or removal organs (§ 246).

The new Criminal Code adopted last year (Law 300/2005 Coll. and valid since 1st. January 2006) contains the same regulation in

§ 179: “Whoever, by means of fraudulent conduct, trick, restriction of personal freedom, violence, threat of violence, threat of another gross harm or other form of force, by accepting or providing a payment or other benefits to achieve the consent of a person on which another person is dependent, or by abusing his own position or abusing another person s helpless or otherwise vulnerable position, seduces, transports, holds, delivers, or receives another person, including with the person s consent for the purpose of the person s prostitution or other form of sexual exploitation, including pornography, for the purpose of forced labour, forced service, slavery or practices similar to slavery, or servitude, or for the purpose of illegal taking organs or tissues or other form of exploitation shall be punished by imprisonment for a term for 4 up to 10 years.” .” The sentence can be increased to

7 up to 12 years if the offender, by committing such crime generates for him or for any other person major profit, or if the offender has continued committing such an offence for a longer time in violent manner, threatens with violence or other serious injury, or abuses emergency situation or the dependence of another person, depending on whether the victim is, child, pregnant women, close person, depended person, healthy disabled person,

12 up to 20 years if the offender, by committing such crime generates for him or for any other person considerable profit, if the offender commits such crime as a member of an organized criminal group or whether a serious bodily injury or death was caused.

Rape

The Criminal Code (Law No 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006) in §199 prohibits rape, including spousal rape: “Whoever, by force or threat of direct force, causes a woman to engage in a sexual intercourse, or abuses the woman’s vulnerability for such an act, shall be imprisoned for a term of 5 up to 10 years.”

The sentence can be increased to :

- 7 up to 15 years depending on whether the victim is, child, pregnant women, close person, depended person, healthy disabled person, or if the offender has continued committing such an offence for a longer time in violent manner, threatens with violence or other serious injury, or abuses emergency situation or the dependence of another person,

- 15 up to 20 years whether a serious bodily injury was caused,

- 20 up to 25 years whether death was caused.

Sexual violence

The Criminal Code (Law No 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006) in §200 prohibits sexual violence: “Whoever, by force or threat of direct force, causes another person to oral sex, anal sex, or any other sexual practices or abuse his/her vulnerability for such an act, shall be imprisoned for a term of 5 up to 10 years.”

Prostitution

Prostitution is legal, selling of sex is not criminalized. The Criminal Code (Act no 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006) prohibits relating activities such as knowingly spreading sexually transmitted diseases (§ 167), trafficking in people for the purposes of prostitution (§179), deprivation of personal freedom (§ 182) restriction of personal freedom (§ 183), restriction of freedom of movement (§ 184), abduction to aforeign country (§ 187) and pumping activities (§ 367). According to § 367 of Criminal Code (Law 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006) whoever hires, transports, seduces, exploits, procure or offer another person to engage in prostitution or whoever exploits the prostitution or allows the prostitution of another person shall be punished by imprisonment for term of up to 3 years. The sentence can be increased to:

- 1 up to 5 years if the offender has continued committing such an offence for a longer time in violent manner, threatens with violence or other serious injury, or abuses emergency situation or the dependence of another person

- 3 up to 10 years depending on whether the victim is, child, pregnant women, closely related person, depended person, healthy disabled person, or whether brutal force was used,

- 7 up to 12 years if the offender, by committing such crime generates considerable profit, if the offender commits such crime as a member of an organized criminal group or the victim is younger than 15,

- 10 up to 15 years whether a serious bodily injury or death was caused.

Pornography:

According to § 132 of Criminal Code (Law 300/2005 Coll. effective from 1st January 2006) pornography product is such depiction of sexual intercourse or depiction of naked parts of body that evokes sexual excitement or sexual satisfaction. In similar way is defined also a child pornography product. Criminal law penalizes production, buying, importing and following selling, borrowing, distribution and publishing pornography products (§ 371 a § 372) and individually penalizes 3 ways of handling the child pornography, namely its production (§ 368), distribution (§ 369) and possession (§ 370).

Sexual harassment: