United Nations CEDAW/C/SR.1749

Convention on the Elimination Distr.: General 17 February 2020 of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Original: English

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Seventy-fifth session Summary record of the 1749th meeting* Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Tuesday, 11 February 2020, at 10 a.m. Chair: Ms. Gbedemah

Contents

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention Combined fourth to seventh periodic reports of

* No summary record was issued for the 1748th meeting.

This record is subject to correction. Corrections should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent within one week of the date of the present record to the Documents Management Section ([email protected]). Any corrected records of the public meetings of the Committee at this session will be reissued for technical reasons after the end of the session.

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The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m.

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention Combined fourth to seventh periodic reports of Latvia (CEDAW/C/LVA/4-7; CEDAW/C/LVA/Q/4-7 and CEDAW/C/LVA/RQ/4-7) 1. At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Latvia took places at the Committee table. 2. Ms. Lībiņa-Egnere (Latvia), introducing her country’s combined fourth to seventh periodic reports (CEDAW/C/LVA/4-7), said that, at the international level, Latvian women were increasingly shaping the human rights agenda and occupying some of the highest posts in international and supranational organizations, including the United Nations, the European Commission and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). At home, women’s representation in high-level positions was no longer the exception, but a regular occurrence. 3. In the period since the previous dialogue with the Committee, Latvia had joined the and experienced rapid growth. However, the 2008 economic crisis had hit the country hard, forcing the Government to make significant cutbacks in the public sector and to delay the implementation of reforms and plans. Although the austerity measures had not dented the Government’s commitment to protecting human rights, they had affected its capacity to meet some of its treaty reporting obligations. The current Government had reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening respect for human rights, reducing inequality by increasing women’s representation in public and political life and eliminating gender- based violence. 4. Article 89 of the provided for the recognition and protection of fundamental human rights in accordance with domestic law and international agreements to which Latvia was a party, such as the Convention. Article 91 of the Constitution enshrined the right to equality before the law and prohibited discrimination of any kind. The laconic nature of those constitutional provisions allowed for dynamic interpretations that reflected changes in legal thought, context and international law. For example, in a recent case concerning gender disparities in the sentencing of men and women convicted of serious crimes, the Constitutional Court had referred to article 91 of the Constitution and to articles 4 and 5 of the Convention, and had found that, in the light of changes in society – in particular growing recognition of the equal role played by both parents in the upbringing of children – the differential treatment of male convicts was unconstitutional. 5. The country’s national human rights institution – the Ombudsperson’s Office – played an influential role in promoting and protecting . Its mandate included examining individual complaints of human rights violations, including discrimination against women; providing applicants with legal assistance in court; and carrying out independent research and public awareness-raising. The Government attached great importance to ensuring that the Office had sufficient resources to carry out its functions, reflected in a slight increase in its budget for the 2020 financial year. 6. With regard to , Latvia had made significant progress in establishing a legal framework aimed at preventing domestic violence and protecting victims. The Criminal Procedure Law and the Criminal Law had both been amended in order to, inter alia, strengthen procedural safeguards for victims of domestic violence and simplify reporting procedures. Perpetrators of domestic violence could be prosecuted even if no formal complaint had been lodged, which was crucial in cases where the victim was reluctant to file a complaint out of fear of reprisal. In addition, temporary protection measures for victims of violence had been introduced; State-funded legal aid had been made available for women victims, with no means testing; and police officers and judges had been offered specific training on recognizing different forms of domestic violence, including sexual, psychological and economic violence. Psychological abuse, stalking and female genital mutilation had also been criminalized. 7. Latvia had participated in a number of international projects aimed at preventing trafficking in persons. The objective of one such project, financed by the European Commission, had been to uncover the links between sham marriages and trafficking in

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persons, establish a concrete definition of sham marriage as a form of trafficking and take measures to combat the phenomenon. An interdisciplinary working group, comprising representatives of State and municipal institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), had also been established to facilitate the exchange of information between public agencies involved in providing support and services to trafficking victims and to coordinate the implementation of the activities envisaged under the Guidelines for the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings 2014–2020. Those activities included conducting information campaigns to raise awareness of trafficking and providing training for professionals who worked with victims or potential victims of trafficking, such as police officers, border guards, prosecutors and social workers. 8. The Government understood that the full realization of women’s economic rights was essential for the achievement of its commitments under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To that end, it had adopted a plan for the promotion of equal rights and opportunities for women and men for 2018–2020, which contained measures to promote equal rights and opportunities in the labour market and in education, eliminate gender-based violence and raise public awareness of gender equality. 9. Latvia consistently ranked among the top 20 countries for gender equality in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report and was one of just six countries to have scored the maximum 100 points in the World Bank Women, Business and the Law index of 2019, demonstrating that women and men had equal legal rights in the measured areas. Since 2010, women’s participation in the labour market and in leadership positions had improved markedly. Women’s unemployment rate was now lower than that of men and almost 75 per cent of women aged 20–64 were in employment. Moreover, a third of businesses in Latvia were headed by women entrepreneurs, 53 per cent of scientists and engineers were women and Latvia had the highest proportion of women in leadership positions in Europe. 10. Although the steadily decreasing gender pay gap was close to the European Union average, the Government recognized the need to do more to encourage women and girls to train for and enter professions in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, which were still dominated by men. For that purpose, a competency-based curriculum was being implemented in order to encourage children to make career choices based on their talents and interests, while ongoing educational reforms sought to promote inclusiveness, equal opportunities and non-discrimination. Guidelines had also been developed in an effort to eliminate gender stereotypes from textbooks. Awareness-raising activities and other measures were also envisaged to foster changes in social attitudes. 11. The Government had worked hard to improve State support – such as access to childcare and paid maternity, paternity and parental leave – for working parents in order to enable parents, particularly women, to join the labour market. In recognition of the important role of men and boys in achieving gender equality, the Government had also introduced measures to encourage fathers to take paternity leave and reconcile work and family life, in particular by promoting shared parental and household responsibility and equal career opportunities. 12. As far as Roma inclusion was concerned, a number of projects had been set up to encourage Roma women to participate in public life as well as to foster cooperation and dialogue between Roma civil society, State institutions and employers. With regard to health, publicly funded health-care services were available to all, and medical institutions were required to ensure that their services were accessible to persons with disabilities. Women with disabilities had equal access to services, including mental health and sexual and reproductive health services, in the same quantity and of the same quality as anyone else, and were also eligible for certain additional benefits. Efforts to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent diseases included breast cancer screening for women and vaccination of girls against the human papillomavirus. Measures had also been taken to reduce the spread of HIV infection. Since October 2018, in line with the “test and treat” approach, there had been no restrictions on access to antiretroviral therapy. Furthermore, in 2019, additional support services had been introduced to ensure that patients had early and effective access to treatment.

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13. Lastly, she wished to underscore the active participation of NGOs in highlighting issues of concern to women in Latvia, collaborating with the Government in all stages of policy development and contributing to preparations for the dialogue with the Committee.

Articles 1 to 6 14. Ms. Peláez Narváez said that she wished to know more about the specific challenges that had accounted for the 15-year gap since the submission of the State party’s previous report. In the intervening period, Latvia had taken steps to achieve equality between women and men and had become a party to a number of international human rights conventions. However, the Committee was concerned that, despite its previous recommendations (A/59/38, part two, para. 46), neither the definition of discrimination in article 1 of the Convention nor the principle of the equality of men and women in article 2 (a) of the Convention had been fully incorporated into the Constitution or other appropriate legislation. 15. She would like to know what specific legal remedies and compensation were available to women and girl victims of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as older women and women and girls with disabilities. She would also like to know how the State party guaranteed equal treatment, non-discrimination and access to justice for women and girls from vulnerable groups, including those who did not hold Latvian citizenship or were from linguistic minorities. An integrated and intersectional approach to gender equality that prohibited multiple forms of discrimination should be incorporated into all legislation and policies in order to ensure equal treatment and equal access to justice for all. 16. She wondered why the State party was still reluctant to ratify the Optional Protocol. She also wished to know whether it planned to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention). With regard to the recent Constitutional Court judgment referred to in the delegation’s opening statement, she wished to know whether any of the persons concerned had been sentenced for violence or threats of violence and, if so, whether the violence or threats had been directed against women. 17. Ms. Līce (Latvia) said that the delay in submitting the report had been partly attributable to the lack of resources due to the economic crisis. However, all outstanding reports to the treaty bodies had now been submitted and the common core document had been updated. The parliament was considering the possibility of ratifying the Optional Protocol and the Istanbul Convention, but meanwhile, a number of steps had been taken to introduce the provisions of the latter into domestic law. Latvia was already a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, under which individuals could file complaints with the European Court of Human Rights. The Constitutional Court’s recent judgment had been based on general principles and compliance with precepts governing the execution of sentences. It had ruled that similar penalties should be imposed on women and men who had been convicted of equally serious crimes. Domestic courts, including the Constitutional Court and administrative courts, had consistently reaffirmed the obligation to prevent discrimination and to guarantee the principle of equality in line with the Constitution. 18. Ms. Palčevska (Latvia) said that the State had decided in 2019 to grant legal aid to persons who wished to file a claim with the Constitutional Court. Access to State-funded legal aid in civil, administrative and criminal cases had been guaranteed by law since 2006 to persons whose income was below a certain threshold. In 2018 access to legal aid had been broadened to include special circumstances, such as cases involving victims of violence, regardless of their income. In 36 cases in 2018 and 34 cases in 2019, women victims of violence had been granted free legal aid and temporary protection orders. No requests for legal aid or temporary protection had been denied to date, but an appeal could be filed against any decision to deny a request. 19. Ms. Jakaite (Latvia) said that the principle of gender equality was taken into account in the drafting of all legal instruments, and ministries were required to assess the social impact of legislation, including in terms of gender equality and intersectional discrimination. Extensive training had been organized to enable ministries to conduct such assessments. The Ministry of Welfare was responsible for monitoring the application of the

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principles of non-discrimination and equality between men and women in the context of projects funded by the European Union. 20. Ms. Līce (Latvia) said that citizens and non-citizens enjoyed equal access to justice and to educational, social and cultural rights, regardless of their gender, tongue or ethnic origin. The only distinction made was in terms of voting rights and the right to hold State security positions. No restrictions were imposed on non-citizens’ access to the courts, and interpretation was guaranteed in criminal and civil proceedings. 21. Ms. Ameline, welcoming the State party’s efforts to promote human rights and its commitment to multilateralism and universal values, said that the lack of a specific ministry tasked with guaranteeing equality made effective and visible interministerial coordination essential. As the Gender Equality Committee did not seem to be vested with the requisite authority in that regard, she wondered whether there were plans to bolster interministerial coordination in support of equality. 22. She wished to know whether the outcomes of the Plan for the Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men 2018–2020 had been assessed and how the Sustainable Development Goals had been reflected in that Plan. The Committee would be interested in hearing whether the State party planned to develop a more comprehensive legislative framework on equality. It would also be useful to know which body was responsible for legislative oversight of compliance with the Convention. In light of the Committee’s decision to promote a more intensive dialogue with human rights institutions, she would be interested in hearing whether any consideration had been given to entrusting the Office of the Ombudsperson with greater responsibility for equality. The information available to the Committee suggested that a more structured dialogue with civil society would facilitate the development of gender equality and the targeting of budgetary resources. It would be useful to know in that connection whether European Union funds continued to be used to support gender equality efforts. 23. Ms. Nadaraia said that no information had been provided on temporary special measures under the Plan for the Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men 2018–2020 or on the use of such measures to expedite the achievement of gender equality in politics, education, employment and service provision or to address the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by women belonging to ethnic minorities, Roma women, women with disabilities, older women, migrant women and women belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. She noted that, according to the State party’s report, special temporary measures were not considered the most appropriate means of ending discrimination against women because such measures did not enjoy much public support. She wished to underscore, however, that under article 4 (1) of the Convention all States parties had an obligation to adopt such measures as an integral component of de facto equality. She would welcome information on any plans to promote temporary special measures and on awareness-raising programmes to highlight the non- discriminatory nature of such measures and to encourage their use. 24. According to the State party’s report, the Law on Maternity and Sickness Insurance regulated maternity leave, but it was unclear whether women who adopted infants enjoyed the same maternity leave rights as biological , whether women from ethnic minorities enjoyed such rights and whether maternity leave was extended for mothers of newborn babies with disabilities or severe illnesses. She would appreciate additional information in that regard. 25. Ms. Jakaite (Latvia) said that a department within the Ministry of Welfare coordinated the gender equality policy and provided the requisite support to other ministries. The Gender Equality Committee also promoted the coordination and participation of all ministries, NGOs, social partners and other stakeholders in gender equality policies. The Committee disseminated information concerning ministerial plans and projects for gender mainstreaming purposes. Training had been provided for officials who worked with European Union project funds on how to promote gender equality. During the previous two years, seminars targeting more than 800 participants had been held on equality of opportunity and gender equality. 26. The next Plan for the Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, which would be developed shortly, would incorporate measures designed to achieve

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the aims of the Convention. References to the Sustainable Development Goals would be included both in the Plan and in the National Development Plan of Latvia 2021–2027. 27. The Government cooperated closely with civil society. For example, social and rehabilitation services for women victims of trafficking and domestic violence were generally provided by NGOs, which received State funds for the purpose. Funds allocated to NGOs for administrative measures and policy implementation had increased from €400,000 in 2016 to €1 million in 2020. 28. Ms. Gaile (Latvia) said that the Cabinet of Ministers had signed a memorandum of understanding with NGOs. Regular meetings were held to discuss diverse issues, including the development of policies and legislation. 29. Ms. Jakaite (Latvia) said that amended legislation governing parental benefits had entered into force in January 2020. Measures had been put in place to protect the parental allowances of women who gave birth to a child before the previous child had reached the age of 3 years. In addition, women whose employment was terminated 60 days before taking maternity leave remained entitled to maternity benefits. Those measures were regarded as temporary special measures. 30. In the political sphere, political parties that so wished could opt for parity-based electoral lists. One party had recently drawn up such a list. Other parties had highlighted women candidates during the last parliamentary elections. According to a survey, about 57 per cent of the population as a whole and about 71 per cent of the student population were opposed to quotas as a means of promoting equality. 31. Ms. Gaile (Latvia) said that temporary special measures were not highlighted in the Plan for the Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, but an integrated approach was taken to ensure that all ministries applied a gender lens and implemented gender-sensitive policies in their respective areas of activity. It was planned, for instance, to increase the proportion of women in the National Armed Forces from 15 to 25 per cent by 2026. 32. All women were eligible for parental leave and relevant allowances regardless of their ethnic origin. All adoptive parents were likewise eligible for all relevant leave and allowances, including, in some cases, after the child turned 18. A monthly allowance was payable to parents of children with disabilities. 33. Mr. Kretalovs (Latvia) said that the Ministry of Culture was primarily responsible for Roma integration, but worked with other ministries and Roma organizations as required. In 2019 it had begun cooperating with NGOs working with Roma women. The focus was on the empowerment and participation of Roma women and their integration in civil society networks. Activities to raise awareness of Roma issues and rights were conducted with other institutions. To date, no complaints of discrimination against Roma had been received from the Ombudsperson. 34. Ms. Lībiņa-Egnere (Latvia) said that, given the outcome of the latest elections, in which women had accounted for 31 per cent of the members of parliament elected, priorities in parliamentary practice could well change. The majority of draft legislation originated in ministries and was reviewed by the Cabinet of Ministers and a series of committees that considered legal and rights aspects, as well as by NGOs and other experts. The high level of political interest in issues of relevance to women was demonstrated by the fact that a parliamentary group had been set up to work on the promotion of gender equality, reproductive health and healthy sexuality. The group comprised 14 members of parliament, 8 of them women, drawn from all political parties. It was chaired by a former Minister of Health, who maintained contact with experts from relevant ministries. 35. Ms. Palčevska (Latvia) said that temporary special measures to protect women from domestic violence had been introduced into the Civil Procedure Law in 2014. The police were now permitted to separate perpetrator and victim for eight days. If the victim initiated civil proceedings, the court could grant 30 days’ protection or extend protection for the whole period of litigation. 36. Ms. Manalo said that, she was not convinced by the delegation’s explanation of the reasons why the State party had not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention. If she had understood correctly, the State party considered that European Union law and local

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legislation sufficed to protect women. If that was the case, she wondered why other member States of the European Union had ratified the Optional Protocol. She would welcome a comment from the delegation in that regard. 37. Mr. Bergby, concurring with Ms. Manalo, said that he would be interested to know what arguments were put forward in the State party for and against ratification. Noting that non-citizens were excluded from employment in the civil service, he asked whether there had been any studies of the gender dimension of that prohibition. 38. Ms. Ameline, emphasizing that efforts to promote equality needed to be more visible if they were to attract funding and human resources, said that she would like to encourage the State party to strengthen the Gender Equality Committee, perhaps by converting it into an interministerial committee. 39. The Chair, speaking in her capacity as an expert, asked whether the survey on quotas had been disaggregated by gender, which would reveal any differences between men’s and women’s attitudes. She was curious to know how respondents had understood the concept of temporary special measures. Given that men made up nine tenths of students in the STEM fields, she would have thought that women would be in favour of quotas, since they would ultimately translate into job opportunities in those fields. 40. Ms. Peláez Narváez, welcoming the fact that provisions of the Convention had been cited in 10 complaints brought before the Latvian courts since 2018, asked whether that had been achieved by supporting training for women’s organizations, for example, or by directly training judicial and law enforcement officials. She would like to know whether the Gender Equality Committee included representatives of disadvantaged groups, such as Roma women, women with disabilities and women who were members of linguistic minorities. She also wondered what specific support was provided to women’s organizations in order to enable them to better defend women’s rights. 41. Ms. Līce (Latvia) said that she had not intended to give the impression that the Government considered the country’s European Union membership to be a reason per se for not ratifying the Optional Protocol. She had simply wished to make it clear that, even though Latvia had not yet ratified the Optional Protocol, protection mechanisms were available. The parliament was currently considering ratification of several international instruments, including the Optional Protocol. 42. She was not aware of any study of the gender impact of the exclusion of non- citizens from employment in the civil service. She wished to recall that the status of “non- citizen” had been established for citizens of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics who were not descendants of Latvian citizens but had no other nationality. Latvia had long encouraged such persons to seek naturalization and had revised its legislation on several occasions, for example to waive or reduce naturalization fees. In any case, it had been decided in 2019 that children born to non-citizens would no longer have non-citizen status. In terms of economic, social and cultural rights, there were no differences between citizens and non-citizens. 43. Ms. Jakaite (Latvia) said that, in Latvian society at large, more women than men were in favour of quotas; among students, 16 per cent of women were not in favour of quotas, as compared with 20 per cent of men. However, quotas were generally not considered to yield the best results in any area, including that of gender equality. Greater emphasis was placed on training and awareness-raising. The State Chancellery provided special training to senior managers to help them to understand why gender equality was important and needed to be implemented in practice. In addition, the Social Integration Agency ran diversity training for senior managers in the public and the private sectors, which also covered the issue of intersectional discrimination. 44. Ms. Palčevska (Latvia) said that, since 2016, the Court Administration had been conducting a major training project under the European Social Fund, whereby all legal and judicial actors involved in criminal proceedings were trained together. In addition, one- and two-day seminars and lectures were given by the Academy of European Law, in which issues such as gender equality, protection against violence, and discrimination were taken up in the context of, for example, labour law or family law. Special training had also been provided to judges and judges’ assistants on the procedure for notifying alleged perpetrators of violence when temporary protection orders had been issued.

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45. Ms. Voloseviča (Latvia) said that the State Police College provided training on topics relating to the Convention and other international instruments. Police received training on how to handle cases involving violence against women or against persons with disabilities and on prevention of sexual and domestic violence. There were also programmes on combating trafficking in human beings. Latvia was a member of the Nordic-Baltic Network of Policewomen, whose goal was to promote gender equality and equal opportunities within police forces, partly by means of training and seminars. 46. Ms. Gaile (Latvia) said that funding was available to NGOs to enable them to build capacity and run information and education activities; other funds were available to organizations for persons with disabilities. 47. Ms. Tisheva said that, despite the State party’s impressive efforts to counter gender stereotyping and to protect women from sexual, domestic and intimate partner violence and trafficking, it seemed that the Government had not been able to protect women from social prejudice and practices that put them in an inferior position to men and hampered the full realization of their rights. There were still no specific policies to tackle the portrayal of women as sexual objects in the media, for example, and campaigns to promote the role of fathers were not matched by promotion of work-life balance for both sexes or of changes in men’s attitudes. Consequently, Latvian women were still generally assigned to their traditional roles and continued to experience sex discrimination in the labour market. Women as young as 40 also experienced age discrimination. 48. The lack of protection against discrimination was primarily due to the fact that the State party had not adopted specific gender equality and anti-discrimination legislation. She would like to know whether it was considering adopting such legislation, in line with its obligations under the Convention. If so, within what time frame? Did it also intend to adopt a comprehensive strategy against gender stereotyping, including in education, and to promote men’s active agency in favour of gender equality? 49. In the light of reports that violence against women remained highly prevalent, she would like to know when the State party expected to ratify the Istanbul Convention. She would also like to hear what action the Government would take to counter cultural relativism and prejudices arising out of traditional practices and beliefs that were detrimental to women’s rights and to efforts to protect them from violence. 50. She wondered whether government shelters were designed specifically for abused women, whether there were shelters solely for rape or sexual assault victims and whether NGOs that provided services to victims of violence receive enough financial support from the Government. In addition, she would like to know whether legal procedures and social services addressing violence linked the protection of children with the protection of their mothers. It would also be useful to hear how the State party ensured that programmes for the perpetrators of violence were, in fact, implemented. Lastly, did the Government intend to introduce specialized services for women with disabilities and women from other vulnerable groups? 51. Ms. Leinarte, noting that between 2014 and 2017 no cases of human trafficking involving foreign nationals had been detected in the State party, said that there were reasons to believe that Latvia was more than just a country of origin of victims of trafficking in human beings. For example, many cases of trafficking involving victims from countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Ukraine had been detected in neighbouring Lithuania. It was improbable that none of those victims had entered Latvia. Indeed, the Committee had learned of allegations that foreign victims of trafficking were working in agriculture and construction in the State party. She invited the delegation to comment on those allegations. She would also be grateful if the delegation could explain why the numbers of convictions for trafficking crimes had been so low in both 2017 and 2018. 52. She would encourage the State party to establish a national referral mechanism to identify cases of trafficking involving women and girls with disabilities, who were particularly vulnerable to traffickers. It would be useful to learn more about the State- funded social rehabilitation to which trafficking victims were entitled, particularly as some civil society organizations had claimed that the 180-day rehabilitation programme was too short.

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53. Given the acknowledged link between prostitution and trafficking, she wondered why prostitution remained legal in the country. She understood that steps had been taken to restrict legal prostitution but, to her mind, domestic legislation still left victims of trafficking exposed to being mistakenly identified as prostitutes and vulnerable to police violence and discrimination. It was also disturbing to hear that cases of human trafficking could be reclassified under the lesser offence of sending a person for sexual exploitation, for which the penalty could be community service or a fine. She commended the State party on its efforts to trace the assets and funds held by perpetrators of trafficking in human beings. It would be useful to know how the money seized from traffickers was used and whether any of it was allocated to victims as a form of compensation. 54. Ms. Jakaite (Latvia) said that the priorities of the Plan for the Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men included strengthening the capacities of State institutions and raising public awareness of gender equality issues. The Government was eager to ensure that men were involved in efforts to promote gender equality and had taken steps to highlight the important role of fathers. For example, the institution of Father’s Day had been officially made part of the national calendar in 2010. Campaigns had been launched to inform men about the importance of parental leave, the challenges facing divorced fathers and more general issues related to gender equality. The Government was working alongside its social partners on a project aimed at eliminating gender stereotypes, while a new set of recommendations was being drawn up to encourage employers to become more open and to see the benefits of diversity. 55. Ms. Gaile (Latvia) said that, since 2015, State-funded social rehabilitation services had been made available to both the victims and perpetrators of acts of violence. Those programmes were offered by municipal governments or by NGOs. Both mandatory and voluntary rehabilitation programmes had been set up for violent offenders. Under the mandatory programme, individuals who had been violent towards their intimate partners were obliged to attend group therapy. A review was planned with a view to strengthening both programmes over the following seven years. 56. Ms. Arkle (Latvia) said that the Government had adopted a new competency-based education curriculum, which included topics related to human rights, recognition of risks and decision-making for safe action. Relevant teaching materials and tools had been developed. For example, the National Centre for Education had developed a sample lesson programme that included questions about protecting minors from criminal acts of a sexual nature. 57. Ms. Voloseviča (Latvia) said that the Ministry of Health, the State police and NGOs had jointly organized a police training project financed by the European Union on how to deal with cases of violence against women. The project focused on the nature of the questions that police officers should ask alleged perpetrators and victims of domestic violence. One of the main aims was to prevent perpetrators from reoffending. Originally piloted in a single district, the project had been rolled out to eight other districts and plans were in place to develop it further. 58. Ms. Palčevska (Latvia) said that the Government recognized that it was harder for members of certain vulnerable groups, including women and children with disabilities and older women, to access State protection against violence. The available data showed that the majority of the individuals who had received such protection between 2014 and 2018 had been women between the ages of 25 and 49. However, women aged 89 and over had also received protection. 59. The Government was also aware of the need to adopt a sensitive approach to cases of domestic violence within families with young children. Generally speaking, denying convicted violent offenders access to their family had not proved to be an effective way to prevent them from reoffending. It had been proposed that courts should be given the option to refer offenders to mandatory social rehabilitation programmes, as a means to reduce aggressive behaviour and prevent violence. It was hoped that the necessary funding would become available for that initiative before the end of 2020. 60. Ms. Voloseviča (Latvia), responding to Ms. Leinarte’s remarks, said that a worrying trend had been detected in Latvia concerning trafficking in persons for forced labour in the construction sector. The Government was aware of the issue and was taking steps to address it. Data on victims and convictions had been collected and analysed in line with the

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Guidelines for the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings 2014–2020, and she would be happy to share any specific statistics that the Committee might wish to know. 61. With regard to the points raised on the subject of prostitution, there had been five convictions for the offence of living off the proceeds of prostitution in 2018. In 2019, that number had risen to eight. New legislation was being drafted to further restrict legal prostitution and to combat illegal prostitution, including prostitution involving minors. Under the new law, all fines paid for prostitution-related offences would be transferred to the State budget and would be used predominantly to fund social rehabilitation programmes for prostitutes and their clients. 62. Ms. Mūrniece (Latvia) said that any violent acts of a physical, psychological or sexual nature against women were offences under Latvian criminal law. In order to bring domestic legislation fully into line with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, discussions were under way also to criminalize sexual harassment. With regard to the concerns raised by the Committee about the reclassification of human trafficking cases under the offence of sending a person for sexual exploitation, it should be noted that both offences were punishable by deprivation of liberty for up to 15 years. Although the standard prison sentence for the latter was 5 years, longer sentences applied in cases where the perpetrator had sent the victim for sexual exploitation for his or her own personal enrichment or had acted as part of a group. In 2019, there had been two convictions for human trafficking and five convictions for sending a person for sexual exploitation. It was harder to secure convictions for human trafficking because it must be proved that the accused had exploited, recruited and committed an act of violence against the victim. On the other hand, individuals could be convicted of sending a person for sexual exploitation solely on the basis of intent and without having committed any acts of violence.

Articles 7 to 9 63. Mr. Safarov said that, although the State party had a strong reputation for appointing women to senior civil service positions, the number of ministerial posts held by women – 3 out of 14 – had remained stable since 2005. He invited the delegation to comment on that state of affairs. He wondered whether women had ever been appointed to senior political positions traditionally occupied by men, such as head of the tax system or the military. He would like statistics on the numbers of women from disadvantaged and minority groups who were represented in parliament. In that connection, it was disappointing that there were currently no women with disabilities or Roma women in parliament. Lastly, he would like to know what proportions of prosecutors, bank presidents and senior managers of sports organizations were women. 64. Ms. Song said that she would be grateful if the delegation could provide data on non-citizens, disaggregated by sex and age. According to the State party’s report, between 2011 and 2015, 52 per cent of all applicants for Latvian citizenship had been women. It would be useful to know what percentage of both female and male applicants had been granted citizenship. It would also be interesting to learn whether the Government had integrated a gender perspective into the naturalization process. 65. Ms. Lībiņa-Egnere (Latvia) said that, since Latvia had regained its independence, every ministerial post had been held at some point by a , including the position of prime minister. Four women had held ministerial posts since the current Government had come to power, although one of them had been elected to the European Parliament and had subsequently been replaced by a male colleague. The meeting rose at 12.55 p.m.

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