33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

IRAQ 8 rape, torture and abuse. However, the less recognised impacts of displacement affect far more refugees, IDPs and host communities. As displacement becomes protracted, families resort to negative coping mechanisms under the strain of prolonged uncertainty and diminishing resources. For example, women and girls are subject to increasing restrictions that while meant to protect them, in effect reduce livelihood opportunities and undermine their already weak social position. For Iraqis, displacement has exacerbated already high rates of intimate partner violence, honour crimes, sexual exploitation, harassment and early and forced marriage that existed prior to the recent conflict. The vulnerability of certain groups, such as female-headed households, widows, women with disabilities and adolescent girls, compound the challenges they face 15 . Violence against women in the home is a major problem t hat prevents women’s full participation in society. One in five women (21%) in Iraq aged 15-49 has suffered physical violence at the hands of the husband. 14% of women who suffered physical violence were pregnant at the time. 33% have suffered emotional violence, and 83% have been subjected to controlling behaviour by the husbands. Emotional violence includes insults, threats and public humiliation, and many men seek to control the wife’s social life and access to medical care. Early marriage still occurs, but is decreasing. 4% of young women aged between 15 and 19 were married before they turned 15, compared to 11% among those aged 15-49. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many women are being kidnapped and sold into prostitution. Victims are trafficked internally and to neighbouring countries, including Syria and the Gulf states. Reports have indicated that female genital mutilation affects large numbers of women and girls in northern Iraq, though the exact extent is unclear. There is an ongoing campaign among civil society organisations and the Kurdistan Regional Government to outlaw the practice. Evidence shows that many Iraqi women and girls are not fully aware of their rights. 59% of women aged 15-49 believe that it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife under certain circumstances. This figure is higher in rural areas (70%) and among women with no formal education (71%). Women aged between 15 and 24 are as likely to tolerate abuse as older generations 16 . 1 5 https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraq-gbv-sub-cluster-strategy-2016 1 6 http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4cf4a67d2.pdf