Document #1149877
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Sources indicate that the problem of domestic violence against women is fairly widespread and is often connected with alcohol abuse. There is anecdotal evidence suggesting that the entire legal system, include the courts, tends to downplay the seriousness of domestic violence. Observers suggest that police are sometimes reluctant to arrest in such cases. No programs exist specifically to assist victims of domestic abuse (1995, 874).
Additional information on spousal abuse and
state protection available for women could not be found among the
sources consulted by the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
Reference
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report.
Yearly.
DIRB country file on Latvia.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Reports. Daily.
Human Rights Watch World Report.
Yearly.
Monitor [Washington]. Bi-monthly.
News from Helsinki Watch [New York].
Monthly.
On-line search of media sources.
Oral sources.
Transition: Events and Issues in the
Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe
[Prague]. Bi-monthly.
Uncaptive Minds [New York].
Quarterly.
Womens's Exchange Programme
International Newsbulletin [Utrecht]. Quarterly.
Women's International Network News
[Lexington, Ma.]. Quarterly.