MALÉ – On 23 April 2012, President Mohamed Waheed of the Maldives signed the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill passed by the People’s Majlis (national assembly) on 9 April.

The Act defines domestic violence as violence by any person against anyone with whom the perpetrator is, or has been, in a domestic relationship. It provides for the protection of victims and timely punishment for anyone guilty of such crimes.

The new law also outlines measures to prevent domestic violence and to rehabilitate perpetrators, and establishes a Family Protection Authority.

Passage of the first legislation of its kind in the Maldives was facilitated by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, a key advocate of action against gender-based violence. In 2004, a UNFPA-supported a study found that one in three Maldivian women aged 15-49 reported experiencing some form of physical or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime.

UN Resident Coordinator Andrew Cox hailed the law’s enactment as a good example of cross-party cooperation that will benefit the whole country.