For the tenth time the week before last the world public began its campaign, Sixteen Days Without Violence, which traditionally falls on a two-week period between two special dates on the UN calendar, the International Day to Combat Violence Against Women and International Human Rights Day. Ukraine has contributed to this world campaign by passing its law On Preventing Family Violence in its first reading on November 15. However, the law puts the responsibility for preventing family violence, developing and implementing a corresponding national policy, coordinating the work of law enforcement, and addressing grievances and help appeals submitted to local governments on “a special authorized body.” This kind of arrangement poses some questions as there are only few non-governmental organizations in Ukraine providing psychological support and counseling to the victims of violence. To compare, Canada has a child protection program, which also gives a say to those who are merely witnesses of any psychological or physical violence against children. More importantly, the Canadians created a multistage system of shelters for victimized women, as despite the legal equality of genders 95% of victims are women. Under the program, women victims are initially kept for up to three months in a temporary shelter. If this period is not sufficient for the women, they are transferred to second stage shelters where they can stay for up to one year. Incidentally, the rehabilitation course is supervised by physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists. If, however, the one-year course of rehabilitation is not enough, and the patient is in a state of imaginary recovery, which is very often prone to relapse, the Canadian government can subsidize victim’s resettlement to other provinces.
What, then, is the modern definition of violence and is this issue really so acute for Ukraine that Verkhovna Rada, spurning other economically and politically important bills, should give priority to this law? “The people have entered the epoch of violence,” maintains associate of the Ukrainian Research Institute of Social and Forensic Psychiatry and Narcology Yury Onyshko, basing this statement on real facts and arguing the issue is not of terrorism although the September 11 syndrome supports his concept.
Today, the right of a mother to sell her child (!) is absolutely officially debated, with arguments in favor of this right being heard. Natalia Honcharova, Ph.D. in philosophy, gives another example of growing violence, “While several years ago a clown in the Odesa circus cut a doll during his show, with the majority of children breaking into tears and some having a bout of hysterics, the present horror films and programs, where people, not dolls, are cut, provoke genuine interest among children.” Speaking about the family, once an icon of security and protection from the cruelties of the outside world, we cannot ignore the official statistics saying that on average seven million children suffer from violence within their families every year.
There are no such statistics in Ukraine, despite growing public awareness of the problem. According to the survey done by the Sociopolis Center, a mere 14% of respondents consider the issue ephemeral. Interestingly, those polled had no problem providing a definition of violence, with the bulk of the pollsters including in the definition of sexual harassment, physical violence (beatings, inappropriate behavior when under the influence of drugs and alcohol), psychological violence including brutal behavior and threats of physical violence, economic violence (economic control by husbands over wives in families) and social and cultural violence (ban to work or spend free time in a desired way). The victims of violence, however, are in no hurry to ask for help. Even if they do, they would rather go to non-governmental social services (32%), state social services (25%), and police (23%).
The reasons for such sluggishness, as well as the reason why the family has transformed from a site of upbringing into a site of violence received mixed comments from the experts. According to research associate of the Ukrainian Institute for Social and Forensic Psychiatry and Narcology Kateryna Psheholinska, the answer lies in such basic features of the national mindset of Ukrainians like the age-old patriarchal character of families, tolerance as a hallmark of decency, as well as the lack of democracy, with all this leaving a mark on behavior. In other words, family violence and disinclination to counter it are the negatives of our socialization.
Legal experts take a more optimistic view of the problem. As defense lawyer Oleksandr Shypka says, today we are reaping the fruits of our judicial system’s inability to deal with family violence. Under law, courts have no role in investigating such cases, with the filing of facts, certificates, and witnesses being left to the victim, at high moral and material cost to the latter. “We are unable to deal with violence. Preventing violence is only part of the problem. Only when we are able to prove that we can stand against violence and punish those guilty of it, can we say that the issue will be solved,” says the lawyer. In his opinion, women must be taught elementary things, like how to word their complaints, where to submit them, and whom to approach for help.
The social and economic slump, poverty, unemployment, low cultural standards, and growing drug and alcohol addiction, are among the major factors of increased family violence. In other words, there are two problems, economic slump and lack of spirituality. According to Ms. Honcharova, the existing situation has led to the emergence of two polar dominants in the psychiatric sector of society, the feeling of helplessness and fear for the future, on the one hand, and growing social aggressiveness on the other, something quite in line with the laws of psychology, saying that dominant moods in society can interchange. In addition, the crisis of society could not but affect the stability of such its part as the family. The scholar believes that meager budgets of Ukrainians is not a major reason for the outburst of violence, leading rather to economic differentiation, with the latter providing the basis for conflict between generations. Thus, the I-have-a-right-to-more attitude becomes manifested in aggressive behavior of the have-nots toward haves.
Various countries’ statistics show that between 33 and 88 percent of women suffer from the so-called post- traumatic syndrome which involves obsessive reminiscences, nightmares, permanent anxiety, groundless somatic complaints, and, most importantly, fear, which can recur for up to fifteen years after the incident. The result is psycho-neurological disorders and a growing number of children fleeing from their homes. Thus, it is obvious that there must be a national program to combat family violence unless we want to find ourselves living in a literally sick society. Currently, the national program to stamp out family violence is being debated in Ukraine, albeit only at the level of civic organizations. One of its initial steps include launching radio programs which would teach children to resolve conflicts in a peaceful way, promoting helplines for the victims of violence, and creating shelters for them. True, the city administration runs such a shelter, for a mere fifteen children. But the first step on the way of solving this problem, the enactment of the law, has been taken, civic organizations say.
