A/HRC/13/54 announcement at the end of November of a 10-month settlement freeze in the West Bank,65 settler protests and related violent incidents are likely to increase. VI. Violence and discrimination against women 54. As Palestinians under occupation and as a group subject to a patriarchal value system, women in the OPT face multiple layers of violence and discrimination. Moreover, the current political, economic and humanitarian crisis has contributed to an increase in domestic violence.66 55. Palestinian NGOs report that violence against Palestinian women is widespread, and that women are discouraged from reporting abuses. Only 2 per cent of women victims of domestic violence seek legal assistance.67 For example, “Y.” explained how difficult it is for her to file a complaint with the Palestinian Authority police against her husband, who beats and verbally abuses her. She stated that filing a complaint with the police would disgrace her community, and that she would likely suffer stigmatization. She fears that filing a complaint would also mean that her husband would not allow her to see their children.68 56. One challenge in relation to violence against women is the lack of informationgathering by official institutions. In particular, there are no reliable statistics on so-called “honour crimes”. Yet NGOs and other observers report that “honour killings” take place in the OPT and, as a matter of practice, are not investigated. It is believed that such crimes are not investigated due either to a lack of willingness on the part of family and community members to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, or a lack of willingness of law enforcement authorities to rigorously investigate such crimes.69 57. Information collected by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights in Gaza indicates that the majority of “honour killings” in Gaza were committed by immediate relatives in the families’ homes, though the bodies of some victims were discarded away from the home. Palestinian Authority police do not seem to have achieved any progress in investigating these crimes. 58. In May 2009 a Palestine Authority inter-ministerial committee drafted a presidential decree to amend existing legislation that discriminates against women. According to the decree, the killing of a spouse (male or female) suspected of or found to have committed adultery would be treated as murder and would be sentenced accordingly. The decree abolishes the exemption from punishment for killings committed in the name of “honour”. This decree, which has already been adopted by the legal working group of the Legislative Council, is currently with the President for signature. 59. An encouraging development is the signature by President Abbas of a decree accepting the applicability of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This decree offers Palestinians a point of reference to 65 66 67 68 69 GE.10-12152 This freeze does not include East Jerusalem, ongoing construction, or so-called “natural growth”. As communicated to OHCHR-OPT by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). United Nations Inter-Agency Gender Task Force and UNIFEM, Voicing the Needs of Women and Men in Gaza: Beyond the Aftermath of the 23-Day Israeli Military Operations (2009), p. 61. Case documented by OHCHR-OPT on 26 October 2009. According to the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, 10 Palestinian women were killed in the West Bank during 2008, 1 on grounds of “honour” and 7 in similar circumstances. During 2009 one case of a woman killed in relation to “honour” was reported in the West Bank. 15