Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense. Penalties for rape and sexual violence vary between six months’ and 15 years’ imprisonment, depending on the degree of violence and humiliation of the victim, and between 10 years’ and lifetime imprisonment if the victim is killed. The government effectively prosecuted individuals accused of such crimes.
The law prohibits all forms of domestic violence and provides for restraining orders against violent family members. Police may prohibit an abuser from returning to the victim’s home where the violence was committed. Penalties for domestic violence range from monetary fines to lifetime imprisonment if the victim is killed. According to the law, victims who migrated to the country and who have been married to a citizen for less than five years are required to prove their victim status or sufficient integration into the country’s society to avoid losing their marriage-based residence permits. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) noted in 2018 that the country’s only women’s shelter, Frauenhaus, was not allowed to accept undocumented women fleeing domestic violence. According to the Women’s Network, victims who were unable to present witnesses in court risked the dismissal of criminal proceedings against their perpetrators. The government enforced the law effectively.
There were reports of violence against women, including spousal abuse. In 2018 Frauenhaus assisted 16 women and 17 children. The shelter continued to observe a decrease in restraining orders issued by authorities and stated their care for victims had become more complex and time intensive due to victims’ suffering increased psychological trauma.
In January the criminal court sentenced a 30-year-old man to 12 years in prison for attempted murder and inflicting serious bodily harm when he beat his wife unconscious after the couple, with their seven-month-old child, returned from visiting friends in June 2018. The attack resulted in the victim’s partial paralysis and loss of speech. The case received widespread media attention.
In July authorities established a threat management position within the police force to allocate more resources and expertise to domestic violence cases.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine, and the government effectively enforced these prohibitions. Stalking is a criminal offense. The government also considers “mobbing,” including pressure, harassment, or blackmail tactics in the workplace, to be a crime. In 2018 the national police recorded six cases of sexual harassment, and the women’s resource and counseling NGO Infra assisted in 16 cases of sexual harassment.
Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization.
Discrimination: Women enjoy the same legal rights as men. The government’s enforcement of the labor contract law and equal opportunity law was not entirely effective. The Liechtenstein Human Rights Association (LHRA) and the Women’s Network stated that a lack of human and financial resources as well as inadequate strategies and competencies prevented the Department for Equal Opportunity from effectively enforcing the law. The Women’s Network asserted that the government increasingly relinquished its responsibilities regarding equal opportunity policies to NGOs.
Children
Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived at birth from a child’s parents. Either parent may convey citizenship. A child born in the country to stateless parents may acquire citizenship after five years of residence. All children are registered at birth.
Early and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage for both girls and boys is 18 years.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits the prostitution of minors. Penalties for the sexual exploitation of minors range from one to 10 years’ imprisonment. Possession or distribution of child pornography is a criminal offense, with penalties including up to three years in prison. Authorities effectively enforced these prohibitions. In 2018 the national police recorded five cases of child sexual exploitation. The law sets the minimum age for consensual sex at 14.
International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html.
Anti-Semitism
The Jewish community consisted of approximately 30 individuals. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
There were no confirmed reports during the year that Liechtenstein was a source, destination, or transit country for victims of human trafficking.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental disabilities.
The government’s implementation of laws and programs to ensure that persons with disabilities readily had access to employment, buildings, information, health services, the judicial system, and communications was not entirely effective. According to the Liechtenstein Institute and the Liechtenstein Association for Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities were not sufficiently integrated into the labor market and education systems.
In 2018 the UN Human Rights Committee cited a lack of appropriate infrastructure and regulations for enabling access by persons with disabilities to the labor market. The law mandates that public kindergartens and schools as well as public transportation systems must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Children with disabilities were able to attend public schools or a special school established by the country’s remedial center. According to the Liechtenstein Association for Persons with Disabilities, few disabled children attended public schools. The association also noted that only one-third of all public kindergartens and schools were barrier free, and there was a shortage of barrier-free, affordable housing for families with children with disabilities.
The law requires public buildings constructed before 2002 to be barrier free by 2019 and public buildings constructed between 2002 and 2007 to be barrier free by 2027.
Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The law defines discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation as a criminal offense. It also prohibits debasement, slander, and incitement to hate based on an individual’s gender and sexual orientation. The law further prohibits the refusal of general services based on an individual’s gender and sexual orientation. The government enforced the law.
The country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community issued no formal complaints of abuse or discrimination. ECRI noted in 2018 that LGBTI students still experienced intolerance at schools, with many LGBTI students only deciding to come out after completing their schooling. According to ECRI, LGBTI persons also experienced discrimination in housing and employment.