UPR Sexual Rights Database

"National Report:
Para 79) The Personal and Family Code prohibits customary practices that constitute violence or discrimination against women, especially discriminatory practices against widows, levirate and sororate (art. 411). The age of marriage is now 18 years for both sexes (art. 43). The law does not take into account the nature or the origin of assets and does not distinguish between the sexes in the settlement of estates (art. 414). It should also be noted that the provisions of article 99 of the Family Code now give responsibility as head of household to both spouses.
Para 80) A national communication strategy targeting cultural or traditional practices that incite violence or discrimination against women, including female genital mutilation, as well as early marriage has also been implemented with the support of UNICEF. The strategy focuses on the involvement of the primary representatives of decentralized administrations and grass-roots organizations, namely prefects, traditional chiefs and religious leaders, representatives of the various religious denominations and village development committees. For example, eight regional consultations and two national consultations were organized and led to the signing of commitments by these different opinion leaders to become more involved or take initiatives to eradicate traditional practices harmful to children.
UN Compilation:
Para 86) UNESCO noted that Togo ... had neither taken additional steps towards including human rights in the curriculum nor adopted measures for the elimination of practices and customs that discriminated against women, especially female genital mutilation."

National Report:
Para 31) The 2011 National Policy on Gender Equality and Gender Equity and the corresponding action plan, which was updated in July 2019 to include an implementation strategy, serve as a framework for all action taken for the advancement of women in Togo.
Para 32) Gender equality is enshrined in articles 2 and 11 of the Constitution. In collaboration with several partners, the Government is undertaking numerous initiatives to promote gender equality: • Implementation of a project involving the establishment of trained peer educator clubs in the fields of political leadership, peace and development. A total of 591 women have been trained since 2016. • Development and implementation of two national programmes on women’s leadership, the first relating to the political sphere and the second to the professional sphere, with a view to increasing access to leadership roles for women working in the public and private sectors, in order to improve the performance of institutions. • Promotion of women in State institutions, government agencies and so on.
Para 93) Act No. 2021-012 of 18 June 2021 on the Labour Code strengthens equality of treatment of workers and protects women and persons with disabilities against discrimination in employment.
Para 121) A number of convictions for sexual violence against women and girls have been handed down under the new Criminal Code. Between 2016 and June 2019, 228 people were convicted of such acts. In June 2021, 18 cases of paedophilia, 16 cases of rape and 1 case of incest were tried.
Para 126) The following measures have been taken to improve access to justice for children in Togo: … • Provision of care to 3,178 children, of whom 2,372 were girls who had been subjected to violence.
Para 127) Togo has undertaken the following initiatives to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women: • Adoption of the 2016–2030 Agricultural Policy and the corresponding strategic plan for the period up to 2030, which comprises four strategic areas of focus. The second of these areas covers the issue of women’s access to productive resources and income, placing emphasis on the need to build their productive capacity and on the management and control of their income. • Implementation of the Project for the Empowerment of Rural Women in Togo. • Establishment of private sector support structures to help women entrepreneurs and other working women take full advantage of entrepreneurship and job creation opportunities in the formal sector. • Implementation in Togo of the Economic Community of West African States project called “50 Million African Women Speak”, which is intended to facilitate the empowerment of women through the creation of a virtual platform for networking, sharing and access to financial and other information for the purposes of entrepreneurship and enterprise development. • Awarding of 20 per cent of government contracts to young entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs in 2018, in order to promote women’s entrepreneurship. This proportion rose to 25 per cent in 2019. • Development of urban roads and rural tracks to open up the regions and facilitate the transport and sale of agricultural products, mostly by women. • Provision of mechanical and electrical equipment to women’s associations for their economic activities. • Launch of a project to support the financial inclusion of vulnerable women (women living with HIV, widows, porters, women who have been treated for obstetric fistula and women with disabilities) in July 2017.
Para 128) The number of women supported through this project totalled 3,500 in 2019, 5,655 in 2020 and 6,609 as of June 2021.
Para 129) Various measures have been taken to improve the living conditions of women with disabilities in particular. For example, the standard amount of capital available to them through the National Fund for Inclusive Finance has been increased and the repayment period extended.
Para 130) Several measures have been taken to promote the participation of women in national political life: • Launch of the 2019–2023 Equality for Girls national campaign, which is intended to bring about a social shift towards equality for women and girls. • Measures to raise awareness among the various political parties of the issues of gender equality and the participation of women in decision-making. • Provision of training in leadership and communication techniques to potential women candidates. • Plans to establish trained peer educator clubs in the fields of political leadership, peace and development in all cantons. A total of 591 women have been trained since 2016. • Establishment of a political academy for women leaders with a view to increasing the participation of women in public life. During its 2018 session, the academy provided training to 132 women in areas such as leadership, personal development, political career planning and political communication. • Implementation of the “Women Running for Municipal Councillor” project, which helped to build the campaigning skills of 219 women candidates in the 2019 municipal elections.
Para 132) The new Criminal Code prohibits gender-based violence, including rape, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.
Para 133) Action is taken within the framework of the National Strategy to Combat Gender-based Violence and various sector-specific programmes that include measures to encourage women to report cases of violence, to ensure that perpetrators and accomplices are brought to justice, to protect victims of violence, to provide legal remedies and to facilitate the reintegration of victims.
Para 134) Advocacy and awareness-raising activities are also carried out.
Para 135) Support is provided to victims of violence in various ways: • Psychosocial support in the form of counselling and ongoing care is provided to victims at home and in counselling centres. • Victims are referred to health centres and other services, such as the police, courts and legal advice centres. • Victims are provided with financial support for the development of income-generating activities. • In 2019, the Group for Policy and Action, Women, Democracy and Development set up an online system for reporting violence against women, with the aim of preventing gender-based violence and providing legal assistance to victims.

UN Compilation:
Para 40) The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, noted that the participation of women and young people in decision-making remained limited. Furthermore, women and girls continued to experience inequality and discrimination in economic, legal, social and political aspects of their lives. Many women and girls were also subjected to sexual and gender-based violence.
Para 41) The United Nations country team highlighted the persistence of discriminatory practices, including with regard to inheritance rights, as well as of gender-based discrimination and violence. This observation supported the conclusion reached by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, who stressed that many women and girls were also subjected to sexual and gender-based violence.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 35) JS9 noted the poor working and living conditions of workers in certain industries, particularly those in the free trade zone. For example, female workers do not receive maternity leave, and pregnant women risk losing their jobs.
Para 44) Femme Plus Togo noted that many women experience domestic and sexual violence throughout their lives. Vulnerable groups, such as girls who have not finished school, working women, female trainees and persons with disabilities, are also exposed to this form of violence. The institutions responsible for prevention, punishment and assistance do not always provide an effective response when cases are brought before them. Female victims have a real problem gaining access to justice and receiving appropriate assistance. Given the lack of an official mechanism to protect victims and society’s accusatory attitudes, victims are reluctant to report cases and file complaints. Most of the victims who have had the courage to go to court end up retracting their statements because of pressure from their families and threats from their abusers. In such situations, judges tend to drop the case and facilitate a financial arrangement between the perpetrator and victim, in violation of the criminal law in force.

National Report:
Para 33) There is a legal framework (comprising the Constitution, the new Criminal Code, the Persons and Family Code and the Children’s Code) that protects against harmful cultural practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, levirate marriage and sororate marriage.
Para 118) Efforts are made to involve traditional and religious leaders in the fight against practices that are harmful to children, in order to achieve lasting results.
Para 119) The practice of female genital mutilation is becoming less and less common. According to the 2013–2014 demographic and health survey and the 2017 multiple indicator cluster survey, the rate of female genital mutilation fell from 5 to 3.1 per cent among women aged 15 to 49 years and from 1 to 0.3 per cent among children up to 14 years old, between 2014 and 2017.
Para 132) The new Criminal Code prohibits gender-based violence, including rape, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 45) The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) noted that, despite the law banning FGM, its prevalence within ethnic groups remains high. These groups often reside in rural and remote areas of the country where enforcement of the law is lacking. Additionally, FGM is engrained in Togo’s society, and many ethnic groups choose custom over modern law.