Preventive Responses to Secondary Victimization Arising from Violence Against Women in Afghanistan

Nooruddin Haqyar; Seyed Hossein Hosseini; Hamidreza Danesh Nari

Authors

Nooruddin Haqyar Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4815-9582
Seyed Hossein Hosseini Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Corresponding author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5704-2573
Hamidreza Danesh Nari Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2676-0422

Keywords:

Afghanistan, secondary victimization, women's rights, violence against women, legislative and executive structure

Abstract

Violence against women in Afghanistan is not limited to the primary harm caused by the original act of violence; it may be intensified by the subsequent responses of legal institutions, implementing authorities, and the surrounding social environment. This study examines secondary victimization arising from violence against women in Afghanistan and identifies preventive legal, institutional, and social responses capable of reducing such harm. Using a descriptive-analytical approach based on documentary and library research, the study analyzes the relationship between the legal framework for protecting women and the practical functioning of institutions responsible for receiving complaints, investigating cases, prosecuting offenders, adjudicating disputes, and providing support services. The analysis distinguishes between the constitutional-republican period from 2004 to 2021, during which a formal protective framework existed but suffered from weak and inconsistent enforcement, and the post-2021 period, in which access to protective institutions and formal channels of recourse became significantly more restricted. The findings indicate that secondary victimization may arise through dismissive institutional treatment, delays, ineffective complaint processing, discriminatory credibility assessments, inadequate confidentiality, social stigma, geographic barriers, and institutional incapacity. These mechanisms can discourage victims from pursuing complaints, weaken trust in justice institutions, intensify social isolation, and reproduce the powerlessness created by the original violence. The study argues that preventive responses must differ according to the operative mechanism. Where institutions exist but function inadequately, prevention requires clearer legal standards, stronger institutional capacity, survivor-centered procedures, accountability, confidentiality, professional training, and coordinated legal and support services. Where protective mechanisms are absent or severely restricted, priority must be given to restoring accessible formal channels of protection and, where necessary, developing safe alternative mechanisms of legal aid, documentation, psychosocial support, and international protection. Effective prevention ultimately requires integration of law, institutional performance, social support, and respect for women's autonomy.

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