[GA - Passed] - Helplines For Victims Of Domestic Abuse

Helplines For Victims Of Domestic Abuse
Category: Health | Area of Effect: Healthcare
Proposed by: The Ice States | Onsite Topic​

Celebrating the World Assembly's history of addressing domestic abuse in member nations, through legislation such as "Protections for Sexual Assault Victims", "Addressing Domestic Abuse", "Prohibition of Honor-Based Violence", and "Sexual Autonomy Guarantee";

Noting, however, that in some member nations a substantial factor which prevents victims of domestic abuse from seeking or receiving help is insufficient access to resources for dealing with domestic abuse, such as insufficient access to specialised therapy for domestic abuse victims;

The World Assembly enacts as follows, subject to relevant past World Assembly law still in force.

1. Helplines: Every member nation must create, or ensure the operation of, one or more helplines for coping with maltreatment by a cohabitant, whether past or continued. These helplines collectively must promptly provide directly or refer users on request to free counselling for dealing with or recovering from maltreatment by a cohabitant.

a. No cohabitant of a victim may use physical or other force in order to restrain or otherwise prevent said victim from accessing such helplines. Cases of violent crime must be treated as aggravated where the perpetrator attempted to so prevent their victim from accessing such services.

b. No member nation, or administrative or political subdivision thereof, may penalise any individual for accessing or seeking to access such helplines.

2. Compliance support: Where a member nation can prove to the General Accounting Office that compliance with this resolution would pose a substantial burden to the finances, economy, or resources of that member nation, the World Assembly may directly support that nation's compliance with this resolution by, subject to that nation's consent, either (a) providing General Fund monies to that nation at a quantity sufficient to allow that nation to comply with this resolution without such a burden; or (b) directly establishing Section 1 helplines in that nation via the World Health Authority. Section 2a monies may not be used for any purpose other than funding compliance with this resolution.

3. Scope: No aspect of this resolution should be interpreted as standing in the way of further protections for victims of maltreatment by a cohabitant. Within this resolution, "cohabitants" of an individual includes intimate partners of that individual even if not physically living together.

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• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
• Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
• Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
• Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.

Thanatomy:

Against. I actually felt like agreeing until I read section 3. The problem being is that it lacks the clarity of what kind of relationship clarifies as "intimate partner", because if we are just going to judge what clarify as "cohabitant" by just judging how "intimate" two people are, that will leave a dangerous loophole.

Actually, forget it, the entire resolution is full of loopholes from the start. The most apparent and concerning one being the lack of definitions. What is "cohabitant"? What is "intimate partner"? While this resolution is well intentioned, a resolution full of loopholes is just as useful as not having such a resolution in the first place.

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Thanatomy:

I re-read and review the resolution again, another issue came to my mind. According to the Cambridge dictionary:, the noun "cohabitant" means "the official word for someone who lives in the same house, apartment, etc. as someone else". Therefore, this make the section 3 even more confusing than it is. This since the notion of cohabitating in aforementioned context implies the idea of two or more individuals sharing an accommodation together (hence cohabitating). This stopped making any intelligibility when the author tried to insert "intimate partners" who are not physically living together into the term cohabitant.

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Simone:

That's an angle I didn't think about. Will re-read and revert.

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1. Physical abuse - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant causes injury, trauma, and bodily harm to the victim.
2. Verbal abuse - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant causes psychological trauma by using oral, gestured, and written language to the victim
3. Withholding basic human need - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant withhold the victim's basics need of a victim, the basics need being food, water, shelter, clothing, medicine, and medical care.
4. Withholding basic education - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant withhold their dependent victim right to basic and legally required education of all citizens as mandated by a nation's law.
5. Emotional abuse - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant undermine the victim's self-worth and/or self-esteem through verbally or non-verbally.
6. Economic abuse - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant controls or restrains the victim’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources to which the victim is entitled to.
7. Sexual abuse - a type of abuse in which a cohabitant coerce or attempt to coerce any sexual contact or behavior without the victim's consent whether is victim is legally married to the abusing cohabitant or not.
8. Of course, the abuse in this context would include both past and continued abuse.

1. Legal guardian, a person who makes decisions relevant to the personal and property interest of a victim who is deemed a ward. A ward is a minor or an incapacitated adult placed under the the protection of legal guardian.
2. Family member who is legally the victim's parent, child (both biologically and legally adopted), sibling, or relative whether biologically related to the victim or not. The term also applies even if the victim is no longer dependent on said family member by losing the legal status of the ward of the court.
3. Foster family member
4. Legally married spouse
5. Ex spouse
6. Romantic partner who is living together, have children (both biological and legally adopted), assets and/or liabilities with the victim whether legally married or not