Document - Mongolia. Deben financiarse más casas refugio para mujeres con los presupuestos públicos

Web Action WA 43/06; AI Index ASA 30/001/2006

Start date: 25/11/06

Mongolia

Public budgets must finance more women’s shelters

Domestic violence affects an estimated one in every three women in Mongolia – and it is on the rise. Yet there are only four shelters serving the needs of such women in the entire country.

Of those four, one operates in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. Until recently, it had not received its share of government funding for 2006. The government provides only 10 per cent of the shelter’s funding. The rest comes from private donations.

When the shelter opened in 1995, it had four beds. Now it has 20 beds. Each year, it offers some 240 women and children relief, safety, support, counseling and skills training. For many, it becomes home, whether for a few weeks, months, or even years. The shelter is committed to offering assistance to women for as long as they need it.

Women are referred to the shelter either through “1903”, the national hotline for family matters, or through the consultation service provided by an NGO - the National Centre against Violence. Not only does the shelter provide psychological support and social care, but it also helps women to become financially independent by enabling them to find a job.

Despite its best efforts, the Ulaanbaatar shelter cannot possibly serve the many hundreds more women in need of help across the country. Gender-based discrimination has led to inadequate levels of support for women victims of violence in the family in Mongolia. Financial support is entitled for one-parent families and vulnerable groups but there is no provision in the social welfare law regarding women fleeing violence in the family.

An increased involvement of social workers at local administrative levels is needed. But above all, the government must allocate adequate funds for new and existing shelters so that women fleeing domestic violence have a real chance to repair their broken lives.

Call to action

Write to the Prime Minister, Miegombyn Enkhbold, and Minister of Social Welfare and Labour, Luvsangiin Odonchimed, asking them to allocate funds without delay for new and existing women’s shelters.

Sample letter

Dear Mr Odonchimed and Mr Enkhbold,

I welcome the establishment of women’s shelters in Mongolia since 1995. The work that they do in assisting women and children whose lives have been shattered by violence in the family is vital.

However, I am concerned that there are only four such shelters in Mongolia. In keeping with your requirements under the Law against Domestic Violence, I urge you to allocate money in the state budget annually, starting from 2007, to finance new and existing shelters across Mongolia without delay.

This appeal is part of Amnesty International’s worldwide campaign to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November, focusing on shelters for women who suffer domestic violence.

Yours sincerely,

Target contact details

1)

Mr Miegombyn Enkhbold

Prime Minister

Government House

Sukhbaatar Square

Ulaanbaatar-210646

MONGOLIA

Email: enkhbold_m@mail.parl.gov.mn

2)

Mr Luvsangiin Odonchimed