Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Background

According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, published by the US Department of State, domestic violence in Benin is [US English version] “common” (US 25 June 2015, 16). In a message published on the occasion of International Women’s Day in 2013, Fatouma Amadou Djibril, Minister of the Family, Social Affairs, National Solidarity, Persons with Disabilities and Senior Citizens [ministre de la Famille, des Affaires sociales, de la Solidarité nationale, des Handicapés et des Personnes du troisième âge, MFASSNHPTA (Benin 2013)] stated that due in part to the persistence of traditional social norms, [translation] “acts of violence against women and girls remain legion” in Benin (Benin 7 Mar. 2013). A study on the themes of [translation] “gender and development in Belgian cooperation” in Benin [1], commissioned by the Belgian government and published in 2014, also observes that [translation] “social norms and beliefs have ... allowed violent practices against women to become deeply entrenched, especially in rural areas” (Belgium, Mar. 2014, 10, 19). According to a 2014 report by the Government of Benin, published in connection with the “Beijing+20” proceedings of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, Benin is witnessing [translation] “persistent discrimination and violence against women” and “disregard for women’s rights remains a reality due to the various traditional beliefs, perceptions and practices that are deeply rooted in the communities’ daily lives” (Benin 2014, 19).

1.1 Statistics

A study by the Ministry of the Family and National Solidarity on Violence Against Women in Benin (ministère de la Famille et de la Solidarité nationale sur la violence envers les femmes au Bénin), published in 2009 and based on a survey of 4,649 women and girls aged 6 and over, indicates that 68.6 percent of respondents aged 15 and over reported having suffered violence [translation] “at the hands of men or society by reason of their status as women” at least once in their life (ibid. Oct. 2009, 75). The spouse or partner was the perpetrator of the violence in 69.5 percent of the cases (ibid., 108). No other studies providing statistics on violence against women or on domestic violence in Benin could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In its Demographic and Health Survey (Enquête démographique et de santé, EDSB-IV) 2011-2012, conducted between December 2011 and March 2012 and based on [translation] “a representative national sample of some 18,000 households,” Benin’s National Institute of Economic Analysis and Statistics (Institut national de la statistique et de l’analyse économique, INSAE), which is a part of the Ministry of Development, Economic Analysis and Forecasting (ministère du Développement, de l’Analyse économique et de la Prospective), notes that 16.2 percent of female respondents aged 15 to 49 and 14.8 percent of male respondents in the same age group think that it is [translation] “justified for a man to beat his wife” for one of the following reasons: “burns food; argues with him; leaves without telling him; neglects the children; refuses to have sexual relations with him” (ibid. Oct. 2013, 310-312, 353).

Reporting on a survey it conducted in 2014 as part of Afrobarometer [2], the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economics (Institut de recherche empirique en économie politique, IREEP), a Cotonou not-for-profit organization whose mission is to [IREEP English version] “make [statistical data] more accessible as a tool to aid … [public] policy making” (IREEP, n.d.), indicates that 7 out of 10 Beninese surveyed felt that violence against women had declined in the 12 months preceding the survey (Afrobarometer 22 Jan. 2015, 3, 5, 8). No other information indicating a decline in violence against women could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.2 Under-reporting

According to Country Reports 2014, Benin’s female victims of domestic violence [US English version] “remained reluctant to report cases” (US 25 June 2015, 16). During an interview with Benin’s national newspaper La Nation, the Director of the Benin chapter of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), a panAfrican network of women’s rights NGOs (WiLDAF n.d.), stated that female victims of violence are encouraged by those around them to withdraw their complaint, on the pretext that domestic violence is [translation] “a family affair” (La Nation 29 Apr. 2015).

2. Legislation

The Constitution of the Republic of Benin (Constitution de la République du Bénin) states that [translation] “men and women have equal rights. The state protects the family, particularly the mother and child” (Benin 1990, Art. 26).

Benin’s Personal and Family Code (Code des personnes et de la famille), adopted in 2004, entitles each spouse to petition for divorce in the case of [translation] “ill-treatment, excess, cruelty or unbearable insult making the existence of marriage impossible,” among other grounds (ibid. 2004, sec. 233-234).

In January 2012, Benin passed Act No. 2011-26 of 09 January 2012 on the Prevention and Repression of Violence Against Women (Loi no 2011-26 du 09 janvier 2012 portant prévention et répression des violences faites aux femmes) (ibid. 2012). The provisions dealing with domestic violence read as follows:

[translation]

Section 2: Under the present Act, violence against women is defined as all acts of violence directed at the female gender that can or do cause women harm or physical, sexual or psychological suffering, including the threat of such acts, the arbitrary denial of or restrictions on freedom, be it in public or private life.

These acts of abuse involve:

• Physical, moral, sexual or psychological violence taking place within the family, such as blows, spousal rape, sexual assaults and abuse, female genital mutilation as prescribed by Act No. 2003-03 of 03 March 2003 on Repression of the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation in the Republic of Benin (Loi 2003-03 du 03 mars 2003 portant répression de la pratique des mutilations génitales féminines en République du Bénin), forced or arranged marriages, “honour” crimes and other traditional practices harmful to women.

...

Section 3: The present Act defines:

...

...

...

• traditional practices harmful to women as: acts based on habits and customs that are harmful to women. These include:
  • food taboos in the case of pregnancy or delivery,
    
    […]
  • restrictions on a woman’s freedom of movement,
  • pressure on a woman through the children.
• rape as: any act of vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the genital organ of the perpetrator, or vaginal or anal penetration by some object without the informed and willing consent of the penetrated individual. …
  
  The penetrated individual is not required to fight back against the perpetrator.
  
  Being married to the penetrated individual does not excuse the crime of rape;
   
• family violence as: abuse of power or willful negligence with a view to dominating, subjugating, controlling or assaulting a woman in a physical, verbal, psychological, proprietary, economic or sexual manner, within and outside of the family home, whether the perpetrator is or was bound to the victim through kinship, blood, union, marriage, co-habitation or common-law relationship;

domestic violence as: any physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a person against another person when the two parties are married, cohabiting or consanguineous, or when they are living in the same house, or when the two parties have had an intimate relationship in the past but are no longer together. (ibid., sec. 2-3).

As for criminal provisions, the Act provides that:

for any criminal offence that represses physical or sexual violence, the fact that the victim and perpetrator are in a domestic relationship, as defined in section 3 of the present Act, shall be considered an aggravating circumstance.

The maximum sentence for delinquent behaviour is increased by five (05) years of incarceration and that for criminal behaviour by at least ten (10) years (ibid., sec. 30).

The Act also provides for fines as high as 1,000,000 CFA francs [or approximately CAN$2,333] for acts of psychological violence and fines from 500,000 to 2,000,000 francs for acts of economic violence (ibid., sec. 32-33).

No information on protection orders for domestic violence could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In its Beijing+20 report, however, Benin recognizes that there is [translation] “very poor enforcement of the legislation to promote women’s rights and gender equality” in the country (ibid. 2014, 20). The source adds, without further clarification, that [translation] “the application of legal instruments sometimes poses procedural problems” and that judges “sometimes have difficulty launching prosecutions of those who commit violations of women’s and girls’ rights” (ibid.).

3. State Protection

In a 2011 report, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) , an international foundation “whose mission is to assist the international community in pursuing good governance and reform of the security sector” and which comprises 63 member states (DCAF n.d.), indicates that the Central Office for the Protection of Minors, the Family and the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings (Office central de la protection des mineurs, de la famille et de la répression de la traite des êtres humains, OCPMRTEH) [also known as the Office central de protection des mineurs, de la famille et de la lutte contre le trafic des êtres humains], a division of the national police, [DCAF English version] “speciali[z]es in responding to reports of domestic violence and violence against women and girls” (DCAF 2011, 52, 54). According to DCAF, [DCAF English version] “while the police handle the majority of such crimes, the more complex cases are referred to this specialized structure, which receives complaints from both women and men” (ibid., 55). The same source indicates that in 2011, OCPMRTEH was based in Cotonou and staffed by 11 police officers, 4 of them women, and 6 civilian employees, including social workers and psychologists (ibid.). According to the INTERPOL website, OCPMRTEH is a [translation] “specialized service” of the Central Command of the Judicial Police (Direction centrale de la police judiciaire), itself one of the technical divisions of the national police (INTERPOL n.d.).

Further information on OCPMRTEH’s role, operations or effectiveness could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.1 Effectiveness

In a 2012 report on the [translation] “helpline and counselling services for women who have had their rights violated,” about a year after the service was implemented in the 49 Social Promotion Centres (centres de promotion sociale, CPS) at the time, MFASSNHPTA notes that a [translation] “limited number” of cases, approximately 10 percent, make it to court, and that “there are still cases involving crimes like rape or serious beatings and injuries … that are blocked at the local level, or for which conciliation is sought” (Benin 28 Feb. 2012, 1, 5, 7).

According to an assessment report released in 2013 by the humanitarian organization Care International, a financial partner of the Étôdé Initiative for Women’s and Girls’ Justice and Rights (Initiative Etôdé Pour la Justice et les Droits des Femmes et des Filles), a project designed to [translation] “strengthen prevention and rehabilitation mechanisms for cases of gender-based violence … in 20 Benin communes spread out over 8 departments” and implemented by the Association of Female Jurists of Benin (Association des femmes juristes du Bénin, AFJB), as well as by three Beninese NGOs, police officers and employees of the judicial system maintain that they have been pressured by the authorities [translation] “to encourage out-of-court settlement of complaints” of violence against women and girls (Care International, Nov. 2013, 5, 37). During interviews conducted by Care International, victims, their families and representatives of the judicial system who were in contact with the Etôdé project indicated that it was locally elected officials and traditional chiefs who were intervening to suspend legal proceedings (ibid., 30). Care International notes that some 10 percent of cases of violence against women and girls referred to the various agencies of the state in connection with the Etôdé project [translation] “make it to court” (ibid.). Furthermore, according to quantitative data from a sample of 400 women served by the Etôdé project in 13 communes, [translation] “only 9.38 percent of those surveyed reported that the perpetrators of the acts of violence … were punished,” since the files are “often … closed without follow-up, and in the best-case scenario when the file does make it to the justice system, the perpetrator is released after a short period of time” (ibid., 9-10, 30).

According to Country Reports 2014, [US English version] “judges and police were reluctant to intervene in domestic disputes” (US 25 June 2015, 16). In an article published in April 2015, the Director of the Beninese chapter of the WiLDAF network maintains that the reception the police give to victims of violence against women, including domestic violence, does not encourage women to lodge a complaint (taken from La Nation 29 Apr. 2015). In an article it published in September 2015, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) notes that:

[translation]

Given the sociological complexities, certain judicial actors involved in the proceedings stop short of punishing the perpetrators. Also of note is the meddling by certain male politicians, local authorities and opinion leaders who stifle the process aimed at prosecuting perpetrators of violence, not to mention [society’s] looking down on women … who report the domestic violence committed against them. In these circumstances, barely 3.89 percent of the victims [of violence against women] receive legal services (UN, 23 Sep. 2015).

Further information on complaints, legal proceedings and convictions for domestic violence could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.2 Training for Government Authorities on Domestic Violence

In 2011, in the context of the Etôdé project, the AFJB provided 2 days of training to 29 people, including judicial police officers, to improve care for women victims of violence, including domestic violence (AFJB n.d.b). In its 2011 report, the DCAF states, [DCAF English version] “[n]ational police and armed forces personnel have benefited from some gender training, offered by non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and international actors on an ad hoc basis. However, this has not been formally integrated into their regular training programs” (DCAF 2011, 52). In a 2014 report, the UNDP indicates that it helped the national police train police officers and teach them how to apply Act No. 2011-26, among other things (UN 2014, 2). According to an article published in La Nation, in October 2015, the UNDP held a training day on enforcement of laws dealing with violence against women, attended by some 30 judicial police officers from the Zou-Collines department (La Nation 12 Oct. 2015).

No information on domestic violence training provided by the state to judicial police and personnel could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.3 Awareness Campaigns

In its Beijing+20 report, the Government of Benin notes that Act 2011-26 has been [translation] “translated into the national languages and was made widely available during outreach and awareness campaigns on [violence against women]” (Benin 2014, 18). The same source also reports that in 2012, these awareness campaigns reached 127,433 people in 77 communes in the country, including citizens and representatives of local authorities and civil society (ibid.). In 2013, the AFJB, as part of the Etôdé project, held 4 information sessions on Act 2011-26, which were attended by 522 people (AFJB n.d.a). A UNDP article reports that in October 2015, in Parakou, the UNDP, along with the Ministry of the Family and other organizations, offered an awareness workshop on violence against women to [translation] “approximately 20” journalists (UN 3 Nov. 2015).

4. Support Services

According to its website, MFASSNHPTA operates a network of social promotion centres (centres de promotion sociale, CPS) in the 12 departments of the country (Benin n.d.). The responsibilities of the CPSs include offering support to women victims of violence (ibid.). According to MFASSNHPTA, in December 2010, the CPSs began offering a [translation] “a service to listen to and advise women who have had their rights violated,” in the communes, to provide legal assistance to victims of violence and to refer them to the other public services and NGOs (ibid. 28 Feb. 2012, 5). According to MFASSNHPTA, during the first 13 months of the consultation service, the 49 CPSs offering it received 12,129 visits and opened 5,042 files: 1,738 of these files were sent to the police and 490 to the justice system, while 2,604 were resolved through conciliation (ibid., 6). The source adds that 97 percent of the cases consisted of women and girls, and that the spouse was the perpetrator of the violence in 53 percent of cases, with a single case sometimes involving more than one victim, e.g. a woman and her children (ibid., 6-7). However, MFASSNHPTA maintains that [translation] “victim intake remained very deficient and discouraged many people from lodging complaints” (ibid., 65). MFASSNHPTA notes that in 2014, the 85 CPSs processed 12,896 cases of gender-based violence, with 83 percent of the victims being women or girls (ibid. 25 Nov. 2015). In its September 2015 article, the UNDP notes that [translation] “certain CPS workers and even members of law enforcement lack a proper understanding of what constitutes [gender-based violence]. Listening centres for victims are inaccessible to the community, especially during the rainy season” (UN, 23 Sep. 2015).

Sources indicate that integrated intake centres for victims of gender-based violence have been founded in Benin (US 22 Dec. 2015; Éduc’Action 21 Apr. 2015; La Nation 29 Apr. 2015). Sources state that these centres are run by the WiLDAF network, that they are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and that their legal framework is set out in Act No. 2011-26 (ibid.; Éduc’Action 21 Apr. 2015). The first of these centres opened its doors in Abomey in May 2014, the second in Cotonou in April 2015 (ibid.; US 30 Dec. 2015) and the third in Parakou in December 2015 (ibid.). These centres offer legal, medical, psychological and social assistance to victims of gender-based violence (Éduc’Action 21 Apr. 2015; US 22 Dec. 2015), including domestic violence (ibid.). In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, a representative of the USAID mission to Benin indicated that the centres also offered financial assistance to the victims and that they had received 1,143 people in 2015 (ibid. 30 Dec. 2015). In her opinion, the centres remain underutilized by the Beninese population (ibid.).

The representative of the USAID mission to Benin stated that there was no shelter for women victims of domestic violence in Benin (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to a document describing its services, the Beninese Association for Social Marketing and Health Communication (Association béninoise pour le marketing social et la communication pour la santé, ABMS), an organization based in Cotonou, has been operating a helpline since 2004 (telephone number: 7344) dispensing health and family planning advice; this service runs from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ABMS n.d.). The ABMS states that it receives some 300 calls a day (ibid.). According to a March 2014 report of the Standing Secretariat of the National Committee to Combat AIDS (Secrétariat permanent du Comité national de lutte contre le sida), a Beninese government agency, the ABMS telephone helpline has also been responding, since 2013, to questions concerning violence against women and girls (Benin Mar. 2014, 32-33). The same source indicates that the help line received 767 calls in three months on these questions, 22 of which were re-routed to other agencies for intake purposes (ibid., 33).

The representative of the USAID mission to Benin stated that the NGO Centre for Reflection and Action on Integrated Development and Solidarity (Centre de réflexions et d’actions pour le développement intégré et la solidarité, CERADIS) was operating a telephone helpline dealing with gender-based violence issues (US 22 Dec. 2015). According to the website of the International Network for Online and Phone Support (Consortium international des dispositifs de relation d’aide à distance, CIRAD), [translation] “a resource platform … to contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS” whose partner in Benin is CERADIS (CIRAD n.d.b); the CERADIS telephone helpline is dedicated to HIV/AIDS issues (ibid. n.d.a). According to the website of the MTN Benin Foundation (Fondation MTN Bénin), created in 2001 by the MTN-Bénin telecommunications corporation to finance community development projects, the telephone helpline was created in 2009, and the violence against women theme was subsequently added to its mandate (Fondation MTN Bénin n.d.). This helpline can be reached by dialling 96 00 00 01 (CERADIS n.d.; CIRAD n.d.a). CIRAD’s website indicates that the helpline can be accessed Monday to Friday (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and it is free [translation] “for all MTN subscribers” (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] This study was produced by South Research, “a [Belgian] co-operative consultancy firm” active in the fields of training, support and evaluation (South Research n.d.), and the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB) of the University of Antwerp (Belgium, Mar. 2014, 1, 10).

[2] Afrobarometer is a series of national surveys conducted from time to time on such themes as democracy and governance (Afrobarometer, 22 Jan. 2015, 3). The IREEP, the organization charged with this survey in Benin, selected a sample of 1,200 Beninese adults (ibid., 5).

References

Afrobarometer. 22 January 2015. Violences à l’endroit des femmes et participation citoyenne : résultats du 6ème tour d’Afrobaromètre au Bénin. By the Institut de recherche empirique en économie politique (IREEP). [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]

Association béninoise pour le marketing social et la communication pour la santé (ABMS). N.d. Prévenir par la sensibilisation, soutenir par les produits et services de santé. <http://beninsante.bj/documents/LABMS_pour_amelioration_de_la%20sante_des_beninois.pdf> [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016]

Association des femmes juristes du Bénin (AFJB). N.d.a. “Activités à mi-parcours du projet de la vulgarisation de la loi 2011-26 du 09 janvier 2012 portant prévention et répression des violences faites aux femmes en République du Bénin.” [Accessed 23 Dec. 2015]

_____. N.d.b. “Rapport de l’atelier de formation à l’intention des gestionnaires des centres d’accuil, des officiers de police judiciaire, des agents de santé et personnel médical.” [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]

Belgium. March 2014. Service public fédéral Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au développement, Service de l’évaluation spéciale de la coopération internationale (SES). Évaluation genre et développement dans la coopération belge. Rapport de l’étude de cas République du Bénin. [Accessed 31 Dec. 2015]

Benin. 25 November 2015. “Message à la nation du ministre de la Famille, des Affaires sociales, de la Solidarité nationale, des Handicapés et des Personnes de troisième âge.” [Accessed 29 Jan. 2016]

_____. March 2014. Secrétariat permanent du Comité national de lutte contre le sida. Rapport de suivi de la déclaration de politique sur le VIH/sida au Bénin 2014. [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016]

_____. 2014. Rapport pays sur les progrès réalisés dans la mise en œuvre de la plateforme d’action de Beijing+20. [Accessed 22 Dec. 2015]

_____. October 2013. Ministère du Développement, de l’Analyse économique et de la Prospective, Institut national de la statistique et de l’analyse économique (INSAE). Enquête démographique et de santé du Bénin (EDSB-IV) 2011-2012. [Accessed 22 Dec. 2015]

_____. 7 March 2013. “Message de madame Fatouma Amadou Djibril dans le cadre de la Journée internationale de la femme du 08 March 2013 au Palais de congrès.” [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016]

_____. 2013. Décret n° 2013-008 du 05 février 2013 portant composition du gouvernement. [Accessed 1 Feb. 2016]

_____. 28 February 2012. Ministère de la Famille, des Affaires sociales, de la Solidarité nationale, des Handicapés et des Personnes du troisième âge (MFASSNHPTA), Direction de la promotion de la femme et du genre. Un an d’expérience du service d’écoute et de conseil aux femmes ayant subi une violation de leurs droits (décembre 2010- décembre 2011). [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. 2012. Loi no 2011-26 du 09 January 2012 portant prévention et répression des violences faites aux femmes. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. October 2009. Ministère de la Famille et de la Solidarité nationale, Observatoire de la famille, de la femme et de l’enfant. Les violences faites aux femmes au Bénin. Rapport d’étude. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. 2004. Loi n° 2002-07 portant Code des personnes et de la famille. [Accessed 2 Feb. 2016]

_____. 1990. Constitution de la République du Bénin. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. N.d. Ministère de la Famille, des Affaires sociales, de la Solidarité nationale, des Handicapés et des Personnes du troisième âge (MFASSNHPTA). “Centres de promotion sociale.” [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]

Care International. November 2013. République du Bénin : programme autonomisation des femmes et des filles, initiative Etôdé - “Pour la justice et les droits des femmes et des filles.” Rapport d’évaluation à mi-parcours, version finale. [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015]

Centre de réflexions et d’actions pour le développement intégré et la solidarité (CERADIS). N.d. “L’ONG – Présentation.” [Accessed 5 Feb. 2016]

Consortium international des dispositifs de relation d’aide à distance (CIRAD). N.d.a. “La ligne jaune n°96 00 00 01.” [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016]

_____. N.d.b. “Qui sommes-nous?” [Accessed 5 Feb. 2016]

DCAF, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. 2011. Innocentia Apovo and Miranda Gaanderse. “Bénin.” Le secteur de la sécurité et le genre en Afrique de l’Ouest : une étude de la police, de la défense, de la justice et des services pénitentiaires dans les pays de la CEDEAO. Edited by Miranda Gaanderse and Kristin Valasek. Geneva: DCAF. [Accessed 31 Dec. 2015]

_____. N.d. “About Us.” [Accessed 18 Jan. 2016]

Éduc’Action. 21 April 2015. Ulrich Vital Ahotondji. “Prise en charge des victimes de violence basée sur le genre à Cotonou.” [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]

Fondation MTN Bénin. N.d. “Présentation.” [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016]

Institut de recherche empirique en économie politique (IREEP). N.d. “À propos de nous.” [Accessed 29 Jan. 2016]

INTERPOL. N.d. “Bénin.” [Accessed 4 Feb. 2016]

La Nation. 12 October 2015. Valentin Sovide. “Prise en charge des victimes de violences basées sur le genre : des policiers et gendarmes du Zou-Collines formés.” [Accessed 31 Dec. 2015]

_____. 29 April 2015. Maryse Assogbadjo. “Huguette Bokpè Gnacadja, coordonnatrice de Wildaf-Bénin : “Les centres de prise en charge accueillent aussi les hommes.”” [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]

South Research. N.d. “Home.” [Accessed 5 Feb. 2016]

United Nations (UN). 3 November 2015. United Nations Development Program (UNDP). “Sensibiliser, dénoncer et sanctionner pour réduire les violences faites aux femmes au Bénin.” [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. 23 September 2015. United Nations Development Program (UNDP). “Rompre le mur du silence face aux violences à l’égard des femmes au Bénin.” [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

_____. 2014. United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Situation de la femme au Bénin en 2013. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2015]

United States (US). 30 December 2015. United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Benin Mission. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate by a representative.

_____. 22 December 2015. United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Benin Mission. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate by a representative.

_____. 25 June 2015. Department of State. “Bénin.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 11 Dec. 2015]

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Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Sources: Association des femmes juristes du Bénin; Benin – Institut national de la promotion de la femme, ministère de la Famille, des Affaires sociales, de la Solidarité nationale, des Handicapés et des Personnes du troisième âge; Coalition pour l’Examen périodique universel du Bénin; Confédération des organisations syndicales indépendantes du Bénin; Global Fund for Women; Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices; United Nations – bureau du Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement au Bénin; Oxfam Québec; South Research; Women in Law and Development in Africa Benin.

Websites, including: African Union – African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Amnesty International; Association des femmes de l’Afrique de l’Ouest; BBC; Benin – Direction générale de la police nationale, ministère de la Justice, ministère de la Santé; Canada – embassy in Burkina Faso, Global Affairs Canada, International Development and Research Centre; Caritas Bénin; Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest; Denmark – ministère des Affaires étrangères; ecoi.net; European Union – Délégation de l’Union européenne en République du Bénin, European Commission, Service européen pour l’action extérieure; Factiva; France – ambassade au Bénin; France24; Freedom House; Gender Index; Human Rights Watch; Netherlands – ministère des Affaires étrangères; Organisation internationale de la francophonie; Radio France internationale; Réseau international francophone de formation policière; Social Watch Benin; Transparency International; United Nations – Refworld, Système des Nations Unies au Bénin, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNICEF, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Office for West Africa, United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, World Health Organization; Women Watch; World Bank.