Penal Code amendments urged to stiffen penalties in crimes against women

AMMAN — A human rights organisation on Tuesday called on authorities to amend the Penal Code and stiffen punishments imposed on those who commit crimes against women, especially after the increase in such crimes since the beginning of this year.

The Sisterhood Is Global Institute – Jordan (SIGI) said that since the beginning of 2016, 26 crimes involving women were committed, marking a 51 per cent increase compared to 2015.

Asma Khader, the president of SIGI in Jordan, told The Jordan Times that articles 97, 98 and 340 of the Penal Code should be amended to curb such crimes.

The former minister noted that these articles allow for lenient sentences for killing women relatives, and should be amended, especially Article 97 that allows the reduction of penalty regardless of the type of crime.

According to Article 97 of the Penal Code, if the punishment of a crime is execution or life imprisonment and the mitigating conditions are present, the sentence can be reduced to at least one year imprisonment. 

According to the same article, for any other crime, the imprisonment shall be six months to two years, and in case of misdemeanours, the punishment shall be imprisonment for no more than six months or a JD25 fine.

“We are calling for increasing the commuted sentence in this article to become up to seven years when reduced from execution or life imprisonment,” Khader told The Jordan Times, adding that there are efforts to lobby for increasing the reduced penalty in other crimes from six months to five years.

As for Article 98 of the law — which stipulates that any person who commits a crime in a fit of fury caused by an unlawful or dangerous act on the part of the victim benefits from a reduction in penalty — the SIGI president said activists are calling for “implementing” the law on both men and women.

She explained that the problem with this article is that it is implemented most of the times when the perpetrator is a man. 

In addition to amending laws, the women’s rights activist said, there should be awareness campaigns against such crimes committed against women, with a focus on reaching out to students at schools and universities, in addition to including them in religious sermons.