Algerian government annual report for women victims of violence in Algeria for the year 2021

Description

The General Directorate of National Security and the National Gendarmerie Command revealed their annual statistics for women victims of violence in Algeria for the year 2021, which they chose to present to raise awareness on violence against women in Algeria just 2 days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls on November 25 of each year. According to those statistics presented during a press conference on Monday, 22nd November 2021, the General Directorate of National Security and the National Gendarmerie Command recorded 17,737 cases of violence against women in Algeria in 2021. The National Gendarmerie Command counted 12,511 women subjected to violence during the year 2020, They also counted 12,331 cases during the first nine months of 2021, The National Security statistics on the other hand  indicated that 5,412 cases of violence against women were recorded during the first nine months of 2021. Similar numbers to the ones declared in this report seem to be repeating over the past years since the year 2000. We therefore wonder about the truthfulness of those statistics.... We have no tools to check if those statistics are genuine but a simple calculation adding those declared numbers at the press conference for cases of violence against women in Algeria in 2021 will show that 12,331 + 5,412 = 17743 cases  instead of  17,737 cases In terms of numbers, the security services have always recorded 5 cases of beatings leading to death, 9 cases of attempted murder, 57 cases of sexual assault, 67 cases of sexual harassment and 21 cases of kidnapping, In addition, 91 cases of harassment were recorded on the public road, 1137 cases of mistreatment Spousal violence topped these statistics with 1573 cases, representing 29 % of the victims of violence. And again, we note that at least 49 cases of femicides in Algeria since the beginning of 2021 have not been included in this report. At the end, we say that encouraging women to come forward and report violence they experience has to be linked with offering them alternatives for safety which is relatively not not existing in Algeria. Shelter, financial and psychological help are not offered for women experiencing violence in Algeria which is resulting in women not reporting crimes and suffering in silence. We strongly say that what can protect women best against violence is a state of justice and freedom of speech and hope to reach that one day.