The study documents and analyses domestic violence protection order legislation in the Arab region through the lens of international frameworks and good practice with the aim of having Arab States streamline their legislation in line with these standards. The study calls upon Arab States to implement and make greater use of civil protection orders, in addition to emergency orders and criminal protection orders, arguing that they provide a necessary level of empowerment and protection to survivors of domestic violence.

The study discusses the historic State response to violence against women worldwide, including both the prohibitive and enabling factors of the response. It then reviews the normative frameworks that call for civil protection orders as part of a coordinated legal response to violence against women, as well as the jurisprudence resulting from such frameworks. It analyses the national legal frameworks (constitutions, penal codes, domestic violence laws) and policy frameworks (strategies on combating violence against women) that guide Arab States’ responses to violence against women. This chapter also examines in detail civil and criminal protection order legislation from the Arab region. Lastly, a series of recommendations directed at member States’ engagement at the international, regional and national/community levels is provided.