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Justice and Protection for Rape Victims in Hungary
    WASHINGTON, May 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was
released today by Amnesty International:
    "... The difference between rape in films and marital rape is that we
cannot scream, as our child might wake up in the other room. Or our child
is right there next to us, her or his face distorted with terror. And
another difference is that the person who does this to us is someone we
used to love, someone we once trusted more than anyone else. And there is
another difference, too: that others say that we invented the whole
thing..."
    -- A victim of rape in the home
    "...At least 85 percent of them are whores. They wanted to have sex,
but then do not manage to come to an agreement. They are prostitutes,
overtly or secretly..."
    -- A police officer and advisor on rape issues
    Two thirds of sexual crimes in Hungary are committed by people known to
the victim, yet few of the perpetrators are tried for their crimes, Amnesty
International said today.

    Widespread prejudice, government inactivity and deficiencies in the
criminal justice system pose at times insurmountable obstacles for women to
obtain justice or redress, according to the organization's latest report,
Hungary: Cries unheard: The failure to protect women from rape and sexual
violence in the home.
    "Limited access to the legal system and a lack of support services
leave women unprotected and without justice," said Maureen
Greenwood-Basken, Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty
International. "The attitudes of many law enforcement officials lead the
police to hastily dismiss charges. Women who suffer violence are
stigmatized. All of this encourages silence among victims."
    In 1997, rape within marriage was recognized as a crime within the
Hungarian Penal Code. However, the most serious failing in the Penal Code's
definition of rape is its requirement that women must prove that they
physically resisted, no matter the level of threat or violence that they
face. This stipulation leaves unprotected thousands of women in intimate
relationships.
    A large number of cases fail to reach court or do not result in
criminal convictions. Either the crime is not reported, or the police fail
to identify the attacker and label the case as a "false report". Sometimes,
the victim or other witnesses withdraw their statements or decline to press
charges under duress.
    Women are reluctant to report rape because they may fear the abuser,
most often the husband or a former partner, will attack her again. The
reporting procedure is humiliating and may further discourage the victims
from taking legal action. Police officers frequently do not conduct a
proper investigation with victims and potential perpetrators not
interviewed and forensic evidence
    not gathered properly. Police investigations are also often marred by
prejudice.
    In court, in the presence of their attackers, women have to relive time
and again the horror of the sexual attacks they were subjected to and to
prove their innocence. They have to challenge public attitudes that it is
acceptable for a husband to force his wife to have sex and that it is the
woman who provokes rape. Such attitudes prompted a Hungarian woman judge to
tell Amnesty International that she herself would be reluctant to report
rape.

    Rape in the family is rarely discussed publicly. Victims are rarely
heard to speak about the physical and psychological injuries they
experience. The number of studies on this issue is extremely small. A 2006
public opinion revealed that 62 percent did not know that marital rape was
a crime. This widespread lack of information has a devastating impact on
the lives of women.
    Amnesty International calls on the Hungarian government to:
    -- Ensure legislative changes that would guarantee access to justice;
    -- Provide standards and training for professionals working with victims
       of sexual crimes;
    -- Set up support services for victims of sexual violence;
    -- Carry out research and compile data that will inform policy making;
    -- Actively combat social prejudices through public education.
    For an embargoed copy of 'Hungary: Cries unheard: The failure to
protect women from rape and sexual violence in the home', please contact
Ruby Bolaria at 202-544-0200 x302.
    This report is part of Amnesty International's campaign, Stop Violence
Against Women.
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