Domestic violence permeates most societies. However, its extent is not well measured as victims are often invisible, fearfully denying their situation and hiding behind the façade of happy families. If anecdotal evidence of domestic violence were to be captured in official statistics, many would be surprised at the extent this quiet epidemic is afflicting our community.
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the European Institute for Gender Equality launched a new study to improve data collection on intimate partner violence by the police and justice sectors. This is a laudable initiative that will help define the extent of the problem and formulate a strategy to tackle it. We urgently need reliable information on the causes, incidence and effects relating to the problem of this sort of violence.
If statistics from other Western countries are anything to go by, the country must be prepared to absorb the shocking reality of abuse perpetrated by partners. This reality may be hidden from the eyes of the medical and health authorities as well as from the public that depends on the media to be informed on the issues affecting the society.
For instance, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women in the US has been a victim of physical brutality by an intimate partner. Here, available data confirms that 12 per cent of women have been victims of this sort of violence. This significant discrepancy could be the result of different legal definitions of violence-related crimes that make it difficult to compare data across different states.
Gathering reliable data on domestic/intimate violence will be challenging. We live in a culture that promotes the idea that what happens behind the closed doors of family homes is no one’s business. Law enforcement authorities try not to interfere in ‘private issues’ or ‘family matters’ until a serious crime committed by one member of a family against another becomes too evident to ignore.
Domestic violence is a major health issue that is affecting thousands of people, mainly women and children, who are left scarred for life by this plague. It is a problem that, contrary to popular belief, affects all social classes and people of all ages.
Women are the most vulnerable victims of domestic/intimate abuse. Many of them refuse to report their attackers for fear of triggering their anger or having a plan to flee foiled. Others are worried about ‘financial abuse’ as they realise that their partner controls all of the money. And there are those who realise that once they report their abusive partners, they will have nowhere to go to start a new life.
Children are also the sad victims of abuse committed in the family home. International studies confirm that one in 15 children are exposed to domestic violence and 90 per cent of them are eyewitnesses who carry its effect for their entire lives.
Reliable statistics are a must to measure the extent of domestic/intimate abuse that is undoubtedly a serious, preventable public health problem. The problem will only diminish when people change their attitudes.
Crimes committed behind the closed doors of family homes are also the business of law enforcers, educators, health authorities and the public who need to be made aware of warts that disfigure society.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial