According to data from Statistics Poland (GUS), women are the victims of abuse by family members (nearly 80% in 2018). Men, in turn, account for the largest group of perpetrators of domestic violence in individual years—over 90%.
“Unfortunately, we still do not know the true scale of domestic violence, because many victims do not report it, do not trust the Police, the prosecution service or the courts, fear for their lives and feel ashamed,” says Sylwia Spurek, a Member of the European Parliament, author of the first bill on preventing domestic violence in 2005, and a woman who was a victim of violence.
The 16 Days Campaign Against Violence Against Women was initiated in 1991 and has taken place ever since between 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and 10 December (Human Rights Day). The choice of these dates symbolically emphasizes the fact that women’s rights are human rights.
This year, the campaign, under the slogan “I Stand With Women,” aims to draw attention to harmful myths about domestic violence that hinder effective efforts to solve this problem. Women are still blamed for the violence, told that they are to blame themselves, while the perpetrator is excused.
“This year, we want to present specific legal solutions without which women in Poland will not be effectively protected,” says Spurek. “I want to encourage everyone to start asking their male and female MPs and senators what they intend to do during this term for victims of domestic violence,” the MEP declares.
Last year, the Powiat Family Support Centre in Bolesławiec established a Support Group for women experiencing domestic violence. Many institutions in our area provide assistance to victims of violence: a contact database of entities and non-governmental organizations providing services to people and families affected by domestic violence.