CEDAW/C/57/D/39/2012 in the Caritas International report, 29 according to which, in 2007, 1 in 3 women were estimated to be subject to domestic violence and 1 in 10 women to be battered. Furthermore, there were no laws against sexual harassment and, according to a survey, 1 in 2 employed women under 35 years of age identified herself as a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace. 5.8 The author stresses that effective protection from the Mongolian authorities was unavailable in her case. That the police investigated and questioned Mr. L. cannot be considered to be effective protection under the Convention. The police followed through neither of her complaints and offered no effective protection to her because they did not prosecute Mr. L. and did not even seek to protect her from further abuse. The author refers to paragraph 24 of general recommendation No. 19, according to which State parties should take appropriate and effective measures to overcome all forms of gender-based violence, whether by public or private act, and provide effective complaints procedures and remedies, including compensation, to victims. She contends to have provided the authorities and courts of the Netherlands with ample information to show that women are generally not protected against discrimination and violence in Mongolia. 5.9 The author further submits that the State party had to take into consideration that corruption is widespread in Mongolia. She recalls that Mr. L. is a wealthy person with strong connections to the Mongolian elite, including high-profile politicians. He told the author that the police would not prosecute him because he had bribed them. The author refers to the country report of 12 January 2010 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, which states that the public do not generally have trust in the Mongolian legal system; that 85 per cent believe that the courts favour rich people and big companies; that corruption remains a significant problem, including in the legal system; and that the police are among the most corrupt. In the author ’s view, it transpires therefrom that Mr. L. did indeed bribe the police to stop the investigation into the case, which would render it difficult for her to seek protection from a higher authority or upon her return to Mongolia, given that the evidence in her case would most probably have been destroyed. The author further notes that, even if Mr. L. came before the courts, his money and connections would protect him from conviction. She therefore states that she was unlikely to receive protection from the Mongolian authorities before she left the country and that it is highly unlikely that such protection would be provided were she to return to Mongolia. 5.10 The author further challenges the State party’s argument that Mongolian non-governmental organizations, such as the National Centre against Violence, could provide effective protection to her. First, the obligation to provide effective protection engages States and not private organizations. Second, non -governmental organizations will not be in a position to offer effective protection to her because most do not specialize in protecting victims against abuse and provide only counselling and reintegration assistance. 30 In any event, protection from __________________ 29 30 12/16 See para. 4.9. Reference is made to the Caritas International report (see para. 4.9 and footnote 21), according to which the National Centre against Violence provides legal and psychological counselling to women who have experienced violence, in particular domestic violence, and provides women and children with sanctuary at shelters and transition houses. There is no special organization or centre providing legal, economic and psychological services for returnees. Returnees can, however, acquire information from several non-governmental organizations providing other services, such as the Mongolian Gender Equality Centre (protection and reintegration assistance to victims of human trafficking and voluntary returnees) and the Centre for Child and Women Protection (reintegration assistance for voluntary returnees from the European Union). 14-26326