(a) Civil remedies
Victims can apply for a civil protection order, which is discussed in more detail below.
Victims may receive compensation for loss of earnings, medical expenses incurred, permanent personal injury and the resulting loss of earning capacity. Should the perpetrator fail to pay the compensation awarded, the victim may apply to the Criminal Injuries Board ("Board") for state compensation.[10]
Furthermore, the Danish Liability for Damages Act allows legal action to be taken against a wrongful decision taken by the authorities.[11]
(b) Criminal remedies
Criminal regulations criminalize several forms of behavior, such as assault, rape and psychological violence, with both imprisonment and fines as legal consequences.
This is assessed in the thorough report[12] "Baseline Evaluation Report" ("Report"), conducted by GREVIO in 2017. GREVIO acknowledges Denmark's long history in addressing violence against women that goes back to a time before Denmark ratified the Convention. In general, the violence has been dealt with in different policies, national strategies and through legislation. This has been the case even after the ratification and implementation of the Convention.[13]
In contrast to the Convention and its core concept of the structural nature of violence against women, Denmark's policies and legal provisions in the area are strictly gender-neutral and address both men and women as perpetrators and victims. This major departure from the core concept of the Convention highlights Denmark's whole implementation of the Convention. For example, Denmark is considered to single out specific forms of violence and specific groups of victims rather than addressing all forms of violence against women. Furthermore, the various action plans do not seem to pay particular attention to women victims of gender-based violence.[14]
The non-gender approach is also reflected in the area of data collection regarding violence. As mentioned in Section 1.2, the Convention requires, as a minimum, that recorded data on victims and perpetrators be disaggregated by sex, age, type of violence, the relation of the perpetrator to the victim and geographical location. However, according to the Report, only a small amount of collected data is disaggregated by sex and even less by the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator.[15]
Furthermore, the lack of disaggregation results in difficulties in establishing conviction and attrition rates. As a result, it is difficult to assess whether the current system is working and, if not, where the issues lie.[16]
In Denmark, education on human rights, gender equality, health and sexual education are included in the formal curricula for primary and secondary schools. GREVIO notes, however, that the major purpose of these actions is to empower children regarding their rights and that there is a lack of linkage to gender roles, stereotypes and women's human rights as well as specific aspects related to domestic violence and violence against women as gender-based violence.[17]
The Danish authorities, both governmental and nongovernmental agencies and service providers, are noted to fail in demonstrating any cooperative approach toward domestic violence.[18]
Denmark signed the 1979 Convention in 1980 and ratified it as early as 1983. Since then, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has reviewed Denmark several times. CEDAW has detected several flaws within numerous parts of the required implementation as Denmark has chosen not to incorporate the provisions of the Convention into its national legal order, which CEDAW firmly condemned.[19] Denmark has adopted national action plans and strategies, which has contributed to breaking the silence surrounding domestic violence and further added to the decrease in the number of female victims of domestic violence.[20] However, CEDAW stressed the crucial role of legislative power in ensuring the full implementation of the Convention and it encouraged Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, to take steps to implement the Convention by the next reporting period, which was in 2020. CEDAW also expressed concern regarding the status of the treaty in Denmark if the state party did not fully incorporate it. Hence, CEDAW reiterated its call upon Denmark to reconsider the decision not to incorporate the Convention into its national legal order. CEDAW has further raised concerns regarding violence against women since there is an absence of gender-disaggregated data on all forms of violence against women and a lack of specific legislative regulations concerning violence toward women.[21] Denmark, however, considers its legislation to be sufficient and it has not expressed any willingness to amend the legislation in the near future.[22]
In CEDAW's list of issues and questions in relation to the upcoming ninth periodic report by Denmark, CEDAW asked Denmark to provide more information on new policies, actions or legislative implementations.[23] Once again, CEDAW questioned the decision not to incorporate the provisions of the Convention into Denmark's national legal order and it required information on the steps taken by the state party in reconsidering that decision. Furthermore, CEDAW acknowledged the gap between the high prevalence of cases of sexual violence and the low number of criminal convictions of the perpetrators. CEDAW required measures to be taken to address the underreporting of cases concerning gender-based violence against women.[24] CEDAW has been generally critical of Denmark's actions concerning domestic violence, and it required more information on the actions taken to reduce domestic violence and to comply with the Convention. CEDAW acknowledged Denmark's lack of consent-based legislation regarding rape within the Danish Criminal Code and required Denmark to take steps to revise the legal definition to being based on the lack of consent of the victim, rather than on the use of force of the perpetrator in order for rape to be criminalized in all circumstances.[25] In summary, Denmark has to work more on the implementation of General Comment No. 35 within national law.