CEDAW/C/73/D/100/2016 after they have testified; provide victims of domestic violen ce with free legal aid in any form of legal proceedings, including free legal assistance in criminal proceedings; provide sufficient crisis centres to guarantee shelter and psychological rehabilitation services for victims of domestic violence; provide man datory training for officers of law enforcement and judicial agencies on issues of women’s rights and gender-based violence, including domestic violence; provide mandatory rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence; and collect large -scale statistics on crimes committed against women. Complaint 3.1 The authors claim that the facts as submitted amount to a violation of their rights under article 1 of the Convention, taking into consideration the Committee ’s general recommendations No. 19, No. 28 and No. 33. They contend that the State party has failed to fully implement the Convention and, in particular, to introduce comprehensive legislation on domestic violence in line with international law and to ensure that that legislation is put into effect by State actors who understand and adhere to the obligation of due diligence. As a result, the authorities failed to take measures to prevent violence in the families of the authors; the acts of domestic violence reported were not properly investigated; and neither of the perpetrators was sanctioned. Moreover, the authors have been denied any effective remedy. 3.2 The authors note that, according to the Committee, obstacles and restrictions that prevent women from realizing their right to access to justice on an equal basis with men, such as gender stereotyping, discriminatory laws, procedural or evidentiary requirements and practices, and the failure to systematically ensure that all women have access to judicial mechanisms, constitute a violation of women’s human rights. Failures of the State party led to multiple violations of the authors ’ rights under article 2 (b) to (f) and under article 5 (a), read in conjunction with articles 1 and 3, of the Convention. 3.3 The authors claim that the State party has not implemented even a minimum set of measures aiming at effective protection in cases of domestic violence. There is no specific law on domestic violence, the definition of domestic violence is absent from domestic law, and not every form of domestic violence is punishable under the Criminal Code or the Code of Administrative Offences, namely, insults, threats, harassment, stalking and economic and psychological abuse. The majority of domestic violence cases remain private prosecution cases, which place an unbearable burden on the victims, who must act as counsel for the prosecution during the criminal proceedings. This procedure is used in cases of battery and infliction of light bodily injuries. Acting as a private prosecutor imposes a hig h burden of proof on the victim. The police carry out no investigation and the prosecutor does not act as such; rather, their responsibilities are directly placed on the victim. The victim must independently draw up a petition to open a private prosecution case that adheres to all procedural requirements and submit it to the justice of the peace; summon and question witnesses for the prosecution in court; file a motion; request and obtain medical records and expert evidence; and question witnesses for the defence and the defendant. Failure of the victim to appear in court could result in the withdrawal of the case. As many as 20 hearings may be held, and the length of the trial may exceed one year. The victim must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. 3.4 In addition, the safety of the victim is not assured during the trial. Women often continue to live with their aggressors and suffer violence. If a victim reconciles with the perpetrator during the proceedings, the case is withdrawn. I n practice, justices of the peace frequently withdraw cases for this reason. According to the authors, the entire private prosecution system is therefore inadequate for addressing domestic 19-15442 7/18