A domestic violence case enters the Maldivian justice system. At every stage, the system loses people. By the end, almost no one is left.
The Domestic Violence Prevention Act (2012) created the formal pathway: a survivor discloses, reports go to the police, who must inform the Family Protection Authority immediately, a social worker or FPA legal officer helps with the application, the courts issue protection orders, police enforce, and prosecutors decide whether to charge. In theory, the system works. In practice, the attrition is catastrophic.
The DVPA does not criminalise domestic violence as a standalone offence. It creates a civil framework for protection orders; only breach of an order is an offence under the Act. DV acts that constitute assault or battery are handled under the Penal Code, through the Prosecutor General and the criminal court. The DV cases recorded by the FPA are reports to the authority, not criminal charges.
A survivor discloses to a social worker at a Family and Children's Service Centre, to the FPA, or to the police, or is reported by someone else – the DVPA places a duty on any person who believes domestic violence has taken place to inform the police. Referrals can also come through health services, island councils, Women's Development Committees and NGOs. Reports can also come through the 1421 family issues helpline or the 119 police emergency line.
This is the starting point. Between January 2021 and September 2024, 2,546 DV cases were reported to police (Haarr, 2025). The bar follows what happened to them.
FPA recorded 696 cases in 2021 and 660 in 2022. The Ministry's case statistics for 2025 record 604 GBV/DV cases involving adults, 473 of them women. 1 in 3 women aged 15–49 report physical or sexual violence in their lifetime (DHS 2016–17). The formal system captures a fraction of what exists.
At the point of disclosure the social worker provides crisis counselling, explains the survivor's legal rights and options, and arranges immediate needs such as transport to a shelter or help with a protection order application. The FPA's own legal officers also sometimes represent victims in protection order applications.
Quality varies with caseload. Ministry caseworkers handle 30 to 40 active cases each against a recommended maximum of 25 to 30, contributing to burnout.
The Ministry's service centres operate on only 20 of the 189 inhabited islands. A survivor on an outer island typically needs several boat journeys to reach atoll-level services, and the costs that come with them. Many never make it to this step.
If the survivor consents, FPA facilitates an application to the Family Court (Male') or a Magistrate Court (outer atolls). An emergency protection order can be issued immediately and ex parte, on the victim's statement alone, where there is urgent danger. It remains in force for 3 months unless withdrawn, and becomes permanent on expiry if the perpetrator files no defence. The ordinary course is a general order of up to 3 months, extendable, granted after the court hears both parties.
On outer islands the magistrate court has limited staff capacity, while the Family Court in Male' operates with multiple judges and support staff year-round. Temporary protection orders can be issued ex parte when courts are not in session or when urgent protection is needed.
The court issues, modifies, or denies the protection order. The order is served on the perpetrator by police. It can prohibit contact, require vacating the shared residence, establish no-contact zones around workplaces and children's schools, and grant temporary custody. Violation is a criminal offence under the DVPA. HRCM data show almost all protection orders were requested by women, half were emergency orders, and violations were committed exclusively by men.
Police frequently lack specialist training in GBV response and often try to mediate rather than investigate. In small island communities police and perpetrators may have personal relationships, and enforcement of protection orders is inconsistent.
If the violence constitutes criminal assault, FPA refers to the police Family and Child Protection Wing (FCPW) for criminal investigation. Police investigate, prepare a case file, and decide whether to submit to the Prosecutor General.
This is the single largest point of failure in the system. Of 2,546 DV cases reported to police between January 2021 and September 2024, 44% were investigated, 4% of those investigated led to the offender being detained, and 2% of the original reports were referred to the Prosecutor General (Haarr, 2025). Only 3% of DV/GBV cases reported to police were being submitted for prosecution at the Gender Equality Action Plan's 2020 baseline, against a target of 30% by 2026.
Many women withdraw complaints under pressure from family and service providers to preserve the marriage. Police often attempt to mediate rather than investigate and arrest. A system that leans on physical injury as proof loses evidence when the response is slow – a bruise heals within hours or days.
The Prosecutor General reviews the case file and decides whether to prosecute. If prosecuted, the case proceeds to Magistrate Court or Criminal Court. Of the 60 sexual violence cases prosecuted between 2016 and 2019, only 10 ended in conviction – 16.7%.
The 16.7% conviction rate reflects the high evidentiary burden under Section 52 of the Sexual Offences Act, under which at least 5 of 7 listed types of evidence are treated as sufficient to prove rape, a standard civil society groups describe as extremely burdensome. The December 2021 amendment removed some of the discriminatory evidence requirements and made rape kits mandatory. It also reflects withdrawal of complaints under social pressure.
Fewer than 1 in 50 DV reports results in a criminal referral, a figure representing the cumulative effect of under-investigation, case attrition, victim withdrawal under pressure, and the structural disincentives created by the absence of standalone DV criminalisation.
The DVPA (2012) was the first law to address domestic violence as a distinct legal matter. The Sexual Offences Act (2014) criminalised rape and sexual assault but recognised marital rape only in four specific circumstances. The First Amendment to the Sexual Offences Act (Law 25/2021), ratified on 6 December 2021, nullified that section and criminalised marital rape without exceptions. The Penal Code's Section 130(b), a rebuttable presumption of consent within marriage, still stands, and UNFPA's 2023 legal review finds it inconsistent with the amended Act. In Prosecutor General v Ibrahim Shah, the High Court's 2020 decision overturned a Criminal Court acquittal on marital rape and sentenced the husband to 3 years' imprisonment.
UNFPA's Human Rights and Gender Review of GBV-Related Laws (McCabe, 2023) set out to map the repetitions, overlap and possible contradictions across the GBV legal architecture. The Police Strategic Plan 2024–2028 identifies domestic violence as a strategic priority alongside organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism – reflecting both the scale of the problem and the institutional recognition that the current response is inadequate. The key policy instruments are the 3rd National Domestic Violence Prevention Strategy 2023–2027 and the National Action Plan on Prevention and Response to Violence Against Children 2024–2028.
Ministry caseworkers handle 30 to 40 active cases each against a recommended maximum of 25 to 30, contributing to burnout. The FPA's own legal officers sometimes represent victims in protection order applications. Civil society reported in 2022 that no perpetrator programme existed despite a DVPA provision mandating one; the FPA has since started a perpetrator rehabilitation programme.
Day-to-day: receiving DV complaints directly from survivors, family members, and mandatory reporters; risk assessment and agency referral; facilitating protection order applications through the Family Court; operating the national GBV case database; managing safe houses; training health, education, and social sector workers; publishing quarterly DV case statistics.
The FPA is mandated to establish shelters in each atoll or region. One dedicated DV shelter currently operates, in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. Four shelters established earlier at Kulhudhuffushi, Fonadhoo, Veymandoo and Thinadhoo were found by HRCM in 2021 to be neither functional nor equipped. Three further ADB-funded shelters are under construction in Addu, Hulhumale' and Raa Ungoofaaru. The Ministry’s facility register in August 2026 lists safe homes annexed to the Family and Children’s Service Centres at Kulhudhuffushi, Funadhoo, Thinadhoo and Hithadhoo. The Villingili Social Service Centre provides temporary protection to victims in the capital region. Hope for Women's shelter holds a handful of women at a time. For the majority of inhabited islands there are no dedicated shelter facilities, specialist counsellors or lawyers on-site; the nearest option is usually the atoll FCSC in the atoll capital.
DV reporting was limited during the early lockdown and rose as restrictions eased. Women were twice as likely as men to stop working (6.9% vs 3.4%); in manufacturing, 22% of women against 8% of men. Only 15% of emergency COVID-19 relief loans went to women. Geveshi Gulhun campaign launched in 2020.
The 33% quota raised women's share of local council seats from 6% in 2017 to 39.5% in 2021, with 388 women elected. But WDCs are advisory bodies to island councils and have been found to lack the power and budget to fulfil their mandate; since 2019, 5% of each island council's budget is allocated to their work. At parliamentary level, women hold only 3 of 93 seats (3.2%).
85% of persons sentenced to flogging under Penal Code Section 411(d) are women and girls. Reflects intersection of zina law with sexual violence response.