LAW SOCIETY by Bojana Bogojevic

LAW SOCIETY

BOJANA BOGOJEVIC Law and Corporate Governance Lawyer, Post-Grad Specialist for Corporate Governance, UN Climate Teacher, and Author

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Since the dawn of humanity, a woman was always considered as the weakest link of society or as to use modern language weakest gender. From those earliest day’s women have fought for their rights, and unfortunately, that battle is still ongoing.

Nowadays, the main question is violence against women. Unfortunately, in some cultures, it is normal behaviour, part of domestic violence and battlefield for gender equality.

It has roots in culture, mythology but in modern societies in the year of 2020.main source is in the family. Very often, children will copy acts of their parents, grandparents, and because of that, they won’t see it as something wrong. Here I think about both sides. Often victim believes she should accept violence because her mother lived like that too. Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was adopted without a vote by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993.

Global statistics are relentless:

1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, where the perpetrator is in most cases an intimate partner;

Only 52% of women who are in a marital union or other community are free to make their own decisions regarding sexual intercourse, contraceptive use and health care;

Around the world, 750 million females living today were married before their 18th birthday, while 200 Million of them underwent female genital mutilation;

1 in 2 women killed in the world was killed by their partners or families in 2017, while only 1 in 20 men were killed under suspicious circumstances;

71% of victims of human trafficking in the world are women, and 3 out of 4 were sexually exploited

Violence against women is a serious cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age, as well as cancer.

The number of domestic violence is increasing during the pandemic of COVID – 19, and the number of women calling services to find support has doubled. Forced lockdowns and restrictions of movement mean that women suffering gender-based violence are now trapped at home with their abusers at a time when support services are disrupted or inaccessible.

The most common reasons why someone accepts to suffer violence are: lack of knowledge, fear, stigmatization, existential fear and distrust in obtaining adequate protection and assistance. Due to the above, the victims decide for a line of lesser resistance, they choose from two evils the one which is known to them.

Domestic violence (intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, dating violence, spousal abuse, and intimate partner abuse) is any form of maltreatment that takes place in a heterosexual or homosexual romantic relationship between adults or adolescents.

Domestic violence can manifest itself in various forms: PHYSICAL; SEXUAL; PSYCHIC; ECONOMIC.

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Physical violence is committed in different ways and by various means, and results in a minor bodily injury or, in some cases, a serious bodily injury. This type of violence includes; pushing, slapping, hitting, shooting, throwing, strangling, inflicting burns, throwing objects at, hitting objects, threatening or injuring with a weapon, locking in or throwing out of a house.

Sexual violence represents minimizing the importance of a partner’s feelings towards sex, insisting on unwanted and unpleasant touching, coercion into sexual intercourse, coercion into prostitution, use for pornographic purposes.

Psychological violence is the most widespread form of abuse. It refers to constant criticism, underestimation, emotional threats and accusations, emotional blackmail, creating insecurity in the victim, possessive behaviour, setting unrealistic and unfulfilled expectations in relation to the victim, verbal abuse, disrespect for the victim, abuse of trust-breaking promises, isolation, shifting the blame for the violence, harassment and harassment.

Economic violence: means not giving money for family expenses, full and exclusive disposal of family income, forcing to submit detailed reports on the money spent, banning a family member from getting a job and thus aging their own income.

So far, it’s observed that the above forms of violence are most often related to each other and always represent an abuse of some kind of power (physical, social or economic)

of the perpetrator concerning other members of his family.

Domestic violence is a significant health problem. It affects millions of people and often results in physical and emotional injuries. In the worstcase scenario, even deaths are a reality of domestic violence. Unfortunately, looking at world statistics with regret, we can conclude that despite all the efforts of society and the activities undertaken globally, even today there is an incomprehensibly high percentage of impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and

rape. We must not close our eyes and find justification why we overlooked and justified bruises on the face of a neighbour, friend, relative or sister. And if you do not dare to report it, then at least document the physical injuries, gather evidence if you gather the courage soon.

Finally, it is important to point out that domestic violence is primarily a violation of human rights. It has its deep roots in the unequal distribution of power. Authorities must prevent domestic violence, provide protection to victims and prosecute perpetrators.

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