A/HRC/23/53 by unofficial agents of the Government involving threats, harassment and intimidation, is a prerequisite for Eritreans abroad who wish to return home.7 Gender equality issues and women’s rights I. 68. The situation of women in Eritrea is a cause for concern. The role of women during liberation was well recognized. Eritrean society nonetheless remains patriarchal to a large extent, where women may have the same legal rights, but are not treated equally in practice. 69. Indefinite conscription affects women as much as men. It may reverse any progress made in women’s reproductive rights. Young women are getting married and giving birth at a young age, often to avoid compulsory military service. However, without having completed military training, it is extremely difficult to take up gainful employment. Consequently, women are often unable to increase the family income, which is solely funded through their husbands’ insufficient pay received as soldiers. The main source of income for these families appears to be remittances from relatives living abroad or through petty trade; a life that the interlocutors said was not sustainable in the long term. 70. Allegations of rape and sexual harassment, particularly in military and educational training camps or during interrogation, are frequent. The promulgation of proclamation No. 158/2007 to ban female genital mutilation/cutting and subsequent advocacy against the practice has resulted in the decrease in the practice, especially in girls under 15 (from 95 per cent in 1995 to 83 per cent in 2010), but remains high. The prevalence among girls under the age of 15 and 5 stands at 33 per cent and 12.9 per cent, respectively.8 The sentence for persons found guilty of performing female genital mutilation is imprisonment for two to three years and a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 Nakfa. T the number of prosecutions for female genital mutilation since the proclamation was made in 2007 remains, however, unknown. 71. Although domestic violence is prohibited under international law and criminalized under the Eritrean Penal Code, it is still prevalent. Cases of domestic violence are, however, rarely brought to trial, and hence no legal penalties are imposed. Furthermore, women seldom openly discuss domestic violence because of social pressure. According to some interlocutors, such incidents are more commonly addressed within families or by the clergy and other religious figures. J. Rights of the child 72. A worrying trend noted by the Special Rapporteur during the recent field mission was the high number of unaccompanied children crossing the border, often without the knowledge of their families. The children referred to their dysfunctional family circumstances and the difficulties faced in child-headed households owing to the long absence of their parents, who, as soldiers, were mostly in the military camps, detained or in exile. The children also cited lack of educational opportunities and fear of forced conscription into indefinite national service as the main reasons for their decision to flee. Such a situation poses major protection challenges in host countries and is indicative of the scale of despair these children face at home, with a bleak future ahead. 73. A teacher who used to work at an elementary school noted a circular issued by the Ministry of Defence and dated 15 October 2007, which called on the school administration 7 8 14 S/2012/545, para. 99. See Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework (2013-2016), p. 22.