Thrive
- Apr 22, 2021
- 2 min read

Libya

Population size: 

6,777,452 [1]

Number of people experiencing domestic abuse each year:

The most recent official study of domestic violence in Libya remains the Libyan National Family Health Survey of 2014, conducted by the Statistics and Census Department of the Ministry of Planning, which does not comprehensively cover other forms of violence against women. The survey found that 8.2 percent of women in Libya faced domestic violence, 79 percent of which is verbal violence. [2]

No research on male victims or other gender identities.

Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:

19.6% of GDP [3], some say as high as 35% of GDP.[4]

Estimated % change due to COVID-19:

In the first weeks of the lock down, three women were reported murdered by their partners across the country which represented an increase [5] although year on year statistics have not been published.

Current law and policy:

Libya has not joined the COMMIT Initiative, nor has it progressed in developing laws to criminalise domestic violence or protect victims of abuse.

Libyan law is based on Shari’a law and does not criminalise domestic violence. Domestic violence is considered a taboo subject within Libya, with few women reporting incidents for fear of shame and rejection by their families. The penal code allows for a reduced sentence for a man who kills or injures his wife or another female relative because he suspects her of extramarital sexual relations. It also allows rapists to escape prosecution if they marry their victim.

In 2011, the UN Human Rights Council recognised that Libyan culture contains "entrenched discriminatory norms" regarding gender. 

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