Latvia - June 2024

On 6 June, Parliament approved a broad package of amendments to the Criminal Law that inter alia increased penalties for domestic violence. The changes make cruel or violent treatment against a “loved one,” and causing mental or physical suffering, a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison. The offense applies to abuse committed against a spouse or former spouse, as well as against individuals in a joint household or in a (current or former) permanent intimate relationship with the abuser. The amendments further increase penalties for intentional bodily harm against an intimate partner, as well as violence against a minor. The maximum sentence for these crimes, in cases of grievous bodily harm, is increased to 10 years of imprisonment. This comes roughly one month after the Istanbul Convention entered into force in Latvia on 1 May.  A 2021 survey found that one in four Latvian women indicated experiences of sexual or physical violence in adulthood.

Sources: Saeima, Likumi, International IDEA, Central Statistical Bureau, LSM