Introduction
This report is based on the Third Human Rights Survey of the Maldives, The
“Rights” Side of Life (RSL3), a quantitative survey initiated by the Human Rights
Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), conducted in partnership with Family
Protection Authority (FPA) and United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP).
BACKGROUND
The “Rights” Side of Life: A Baseline Human Rights Survey (RSL) was first
conducted in 2005 by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM)
in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to
determine the extent of awareness among the general public about human rights;
their attitudes towards human rights issues; and their awareness of the existence
of HRCM, its functions and its effectiveness in performing them. It was decided
that this survey will be longitudinal in nature and be repeated every five years.
Hence, the second baseline Human Rights Survey, Six years on The “Rights” Side
of Life’ (RSL2), was carried out by the HRCM in 2011 to assess the level of human
rights awareness of the general public and to compare the differences, if any, that
could be observed between the results of the first and the second survey. The
survey in 2005 revealed that Maldivians remained largely unaware of what human
rights were despite promotion various authorities and the inclusion of individual
rights of all persons residing in the Republic of Maldives in the second chapter
of the Constitution of the Maldives. The results also indicated that even though
HRCM is the primary state authority mandated to protect, promote and sustain
human rights, only a few people were aware of the role of HRCM. Hence the
existing survey instrument was modified by the HRCM, in 2011, to cater for the
new developments and changes in the society. RSL2 conducted in 2011 revealed
that although the approval rating of HRCM had declined, there was a remarkable
improvement and increase in the knowledge and awareness of human rights.
Reflecting 15 years: The “Rights” Side of Life (RSL3) is a longitudinal continuation
of two previous surveys (RSL and RSL2) conducted by the HRCM and FPA in
partnership with UNDP in 2019. As FPA is mandated to conduct research on the
issue of domestic violence, FPA partnered with HRCM and UNDP on RSL3. This is
the first time a chapter focusing solely on the issue of domestic violence has been
included in The “Rights” Side of Life.
This study focused in empirically gauging the attitudes and awareness of
the general public on a range of human rights issues and also recognizes and
integrates domestic violence as a human rights issue. The study collected data
on human rights and domestic violence to understand the current situation in
the country and provide insights on the extent of the additional work required
to address any shortcomings. The information obtained further helps prioritize
future directions for human rights promotion, prevention of domestic violence
and assists in identifying areas for more research.
1