The newly incorporated chapter on domestic violence highlights significant issues. Neither women nor men recognize an intimate relationship between a man and a woman outside marriage as a domestic relationship. There is concern that violation of rights, abuse and violence in these relationships will go unreported. It is heartening to note that an overwhelming majority of respondents know they can seek a protection order and are aware of the institutions they can report to. However, most respondents were dissatisfied with the performance of these institutions and this should be an imperative focus for policy makers, the judiciary, investigative and oversight bodies and institutional heads. Substance abuse, financial stress and lack of adequate housing were named as root causes for domestic violence by the respondents. These socio-economic issues must be addressed with more expediency to prevent domestic violence. Significant number of people reported knowing a domestic abuse survivor and also admitted to being a survivor themselves. Some survivors of domestic violence shared that the most abuse they suffered pertained to being forcefully impregnated while they were trying to remove themselves from harmful marriages. Additionally, the fact that so many survivors reported experiencing a range of acts of domestic violence from their in-laws needs to be addressed. Synonymous to the concerning reports of sexual harassment on social media, the findings of this report reaffirm the rampant existence of harassment in both public places and at work. Several forms of verbal abuse and physical abuse in public places and at workplaces have been reported. Also, of concern is that many victims chose not to do anything about the harassment and the fact that a significant number of those respondents said they did not pursue any action because this kind of behaviour is seen as normal and not ‘serious enough’. This study yielded strong support for democracy, with a significant number of respondents agreeing that a democratic form of government is good for the country, and perhaps this is linked to the high voter turnout in elections. Nevertheless, respondents do not appear convinced about the success of the democratic processes and have identified corruption as the main hindrance. The high voter turnout in the last two elections 66 is reflected in the responses of the majority of respondents who confirmed they voted in the last parliamentary elections. More than half of the respondents were unhappy with the unfair allocation of resources between administrative atolls and islands. While most people were satisfied with schooling and education in the Maldives, the majority, especially those from the outer islands, were highly disappointed with health services and believed that the sector has not progressed over the years. This year’s survey highlighted that people were happy with the performance of the police and respondents’ satisfaction rate has seen an increase from that of 2011. On the other hand, people remain dissatisfied with prison services as they reported corruption, lack of supervision, abuse of prisoners, and torture as the reasons for their disapproval. Generally, people were in agreement that social services have not improved over the years. More than half of the respondents were convinced that the government was taking adequate measures to improve services in all areas except housing including financial assistance. It is concerning that majority of the migrant workers get less than 4 days of paid leave in a month which is below the minimum standard set under the Employment Act. Finally, the decline in the approval rate of HRCM in relation to the 2011 findings has to be considered with gravity. This inadvertently affects the respect for human rights among people in general, perception and faith in the institution and the impact of the current and future work of HRCM. It underlies the findings in this report suggesting that the majority of Maldivians are now aware of HRCM. Similarly, the lack of awareness on the constitutional role and functions of HRCM as an oversight body, should also be a primary concern for the Commission to address.

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