The age of consent is 16 and sentences for rape in Belgium can range from 10 to 30 years. Police can enter a home without the head of household's consent when investigating a domestic violence complaint and there are government-supported shelters and telephone help lines for victims of spousal abuse. The government's Institute for the Equality of Men and Women exists for the purpose of promoting gender equality and is empowered to bring lawsuits.
A report by the UN's Committee on Discrimination against Women called on Belgium to ensure that women receive equal pay and equal access to jobs. In Belgium, almost 15 percent of women experience some form of partner violence. Migrant women are particularly vulnerable, as they are unable to report their partners for fear of being deported.
There have been reports of honor-related violence, forced marriages, and female genital mutilation. These legal changes allow migrants to retain residency rights if they come forward and report family violence. He was also barred from running for political office for ten years. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Belgium since , when Belgium was a French possession. Laws forbidding discrimination against gays in employment, housing, and other areas went into effect in the same year.
A law passed in allows any same-sex couple to marry in Belgium if one of the spouses has lived in Belgium for at least three months. Belgium's former prime minister, Elio Di Rupo , is openly gay. Belgium was the second country in the world, after Iceland, to have an openly gay head of government. Belgian law guarantees workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively, and all workers except those in the military have the right to strike.
Although compulsory labor is illegal, individuals from Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia are trafficked to Belgium for prostitution and other kinds of forced labor. Children under 15 are not permitted to work in Belgium; those between 15 and 18 are allowed to do part-time work and to work full-time during school vacations; waivers can be granted for children working in, for example, entertainment. In larger cities some children are exploited by organized gangs of beggars. There is a minimum wage; the work day is eight hours, and the work week is 38 hours.
These and other rules regulating work hours, safety, and other issues are enforced by the Employment and Labor Relations Federal Public Service.
Persons may be arrested only in the act of committing a crime or on orders issued by a judge within the previous 24 hours and defendants have the right to be informed promptly of charges against them. Defendants have the right to a fair trial, to a presumption of innocence, to counsel at public expense if they cannot afford it , and to appeal.
Human rights in Belgium
There is a federal mediator who acts as an ombudsman in regard to prison conditions. Inmates have the right to correspond, to have phone conversations, to receive visitors, and to practice their religion. Monitoring visits by human-rights groups are permitted. The Council of Europe's Council for the Prevention of Torture CPT has cited allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by guards at the Ittre Prison; in an inmate at the Jamioulx Prison allegedly was killed by three guards.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Human rights in Belgium
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Human rights in Belgium - Wikipedia
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