Women's Views on News |
| Dangerous message about domestic violence Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:15 AM PDT
My calm Sunday-morning reverie was interrupted last weekend by a magazine posted through my letterbox by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The image for this article is the front cover of the JW’s April issue of their Awake! magazine. The main title, as you can see, is ‘An End to Domestic Violence’. Curious to see what message they were giving inside this magazine, and how it linked in with their evangelistic endeavours, I read it. The article begins with a well meaning tone, outlining the severity of domestic violence. ‘In the United States, for example,’ it says, ‘one survey found that during one day an average of over 16 calls per minute were directed to domestic-violence hotlines across the country. ‘Domestic violence is a worldwide epidemic, crossing cultural, economic, and social groups.’ Can’t argue with that. But then the true message of the article is revealed; over the next pages the piece tells readers how violent men can be reformed with the help of the Bible. ‘Jehovah's Witnesses, the publishers of this magazine,’ it says, ‘believe that the Bible's practical advice can help violent spouses change their behavior. Is such a reversal easy? No. Is it possible? Yes! ‘Bible education has helped many to replace a violent disposition with one of kindness and respect.’ The article continues to tell the story of Troy and Valerie, a couple who were in a violent, abusive relationship. With the help of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the bible, Troy is transformed, and Valerie is quoted at the end of the story saying how glad she is that she didn’t give up on their marriage. The message of this piece gravely concerns me. Telling women who are in a violent relationship that their partner can change is downright dangerous. Targeting vulnerable women, who are victims of domestic violence, as a means of evangelism, is very – very – irresponsible. When I spoke to Sandra Horley CBE, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, about this, she said: "Violent men often promise to change but they rarely do. “Research shows that domestic violence usually gets worse over time. “In the worst cases it can end in death – two women are killed by current or former partners every week. “Domestic violence isn't caused by a man losing his temper or drinking too much. “These are just excuses for violence. “Domestic violence is caused by the abuser's desire to exert control over his partner. “It is,” she added, “possible for violent men to change – but only if they accept responsibility for their behaviour and recognise that violence is a choice.” Another myth that the article perpetuates is that violent partners are violent because they themselves grew up in violent families, so “as adults they think that their behavior is acceptable.” On their website Refuge refute this, along with other myths. Refuge says: "This is not true. Growing up in a violent home is a risk factor and some children who experience abuse do go on to be abusive in their relationships. “But many do not. “Instead they are repelled by violence because they have seen the damage it causes. They would not dream of hitting their partner. “Abusers learn to be violent from the society they grow up in. “Inequality between the sexes means that men have more power than women – inevitably some of them abuse or exploit that power. “People who blame violence on their childhood experiences are avoiding taking responsibility for their actions. Violence is a choice an abuser makes.” And for those readers who ask ‘Why don’t they leave?’, the JW’s article provides a list of reasons that women might stay with a violent partner. One reason they do not mention, however, is that many women stay because they continue to believe that their partner can change; that one day their partner will change – perhaps with enough love, enough patience, enough understanding, enough prayer? However, the stark and frightening truth is that for too many of these women, that day never comes. Some – an average of two every week - will die, at the hands of the man in question, hanging on to that hope. This dangerous article fuels this belief, and puts women at real, and grave, risk. As if this message wasn’t alarming enough, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are also keen to point out that for them the only grounds for divorce is adultery. Not domestic violence. The article concedes that in some circumstances a married couple could separate, and this does include circumstances where one partner is being violently abused by the other. I think this message is equally insidious. By telling women who may be in a violent, married relationship that adultery is the only ever cause for divorce, they are essentially proposing that any separation because of domestic violence should only be temporary. When it is estimated that on average a woman will leave a violent relationship up to seven times before leaving for good, and when no other type of crime has a rate of repeat victimisation as high, this message too, is an irresponsible one. I do not personally believe in the power of a holy text, or prayer, or religion to transform perpetrators in this way, but it is not people’s personal beliefs that I’m disputing. Even if someone does believe in any kind of transformative power, it is impossible not to acknowledge that the message this article is both dangerous and irresponsible. Furthermore, it is being pushed through people’s letter boxes, entirely unsolicited, with no follow up, for largely evangelical purposes. Worried by now, I had a look at how the other believers approached the issue. The Catholics Experiencing Domestic Abuse Resources (CEDAR) website is an example of a religious organisation with a better approach. They have lots of resources for those who may come into contact with victims of domestic violence, they state the statistics and they list a very comprehensive list of helplines for outside agencies and secular organisations who can help victims of domestic violence. Likewise the Christian charity Restored, who not only point people towards the UK National Domestic Violence Helpline very clearly, but are involved in ongoing campaigns to end domestic violence and help the women who are victims of it. Not so the Jehovah’s Witnesses website. Nowhere in the article, or on their website, is there any signposting to a single domestic violence charity or organisation; no web details, no helpline number, no mention of refuges or actual help. Refuge conducted research earlier this year that found a third of women do not know where to get support if they are suffering from domestic violence. One of the most important things we can do is tell victims of domestic violence where to go, who to call, who can help them – and yet this article in Awake! only directs them toward Bible verses and the Jehovah’s Witnesses website. And given that 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes, that means that potentially 1 in 4 unwilling recipients of this magazine will be experiencing it. At a time when government funding cuts mean that domestic violence services across the country are increasingly squeezed, it is especially worrying that women in this position are being given this worrying message. If you are affected by domestic violence, there are lots of people out there who can help you. And here are the details for some national charities: Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline Run in partnership between Women’s Aid and Refuge 0808 2000 247; www.Refuge.org.uk; www.womensaid.org.uk  |
| Vote to end violence against women Posted: 30 Apr 2013 01:09 AM PDT
Domestic violence is a grim reality for thousands of British women; according to Home Office statistics, 1.2 million women experienced domestic abuse in the last year alone. But as local authorities continue to cut spending, the services which provide life-saving support to women like those 1.2 million continue to face closure. A report published last year found that there has been a 31 per cent reduction in funding to the domestic violence and sexual abuse sector compared with the previous year – a cut which translates into £2.4 million. Yet while cuts in funding have been felt across the board, the report also highlighted that the impact on local services has been uneven across the country. A poll commissioned by EVAW found that 67 per cent of UK adults believe that councils should fund services for women who have been raped. The same poll showed that 70 per cent of those asked believe that councils should fund services for women who have been subjected to domestic violence. The majority of those also felt that these services should be run by women (81 per cent think this is important), should be independent and confidential (87 per cent), and should be run by staff with experience and expertise in managing the needs of victims of abuse (86 percent). Professor Liz Kelly, co-chair of the EVAW Coalition, said: "This poll shows clearly that a large majority of people value specialist services which support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. “They also recognise the importance that support is provided by experienced and knowledgeable women's organisations – probably because they sensibly think this is likely to produce the best outcome for victims in the long term." Because of the uneven funding scenario now facing women and girls in the UK, the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) launched a campaign to remind us about the part we have to play – to vote in local councillors who are committed to funding services for victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence in the upcoming local elections on 2 May. EVAW has provided the tools for its members, other activists and you and me so we can write to, email and tweet candidates to #protectwomensservices. And with an overwhelming majority of people in support of councils delivering adequate provision of these services, we should in theory be able to ensure this continues. But perhaps the biggest stumbling point to the success of the campaign is encouraging us to vote. A respectable 71.4 per cent of registered voters turned out at the national elections in 1997 when Labour, under Tony Blair, ended the Conservative's strong hold on government and gave Labour its greatest – national – election success to date. And figures show that voter turnout for national elections has remained relatively static since 1918. Two notable exceptions were the record low of 57.2 per cent recorded in 1918 when the country was at war and in 1950, when the closely contested election gave Clement Attlee a meagre Commons majority of five, an incredible 83.9 per cent of voters turned out. But voter numbers in the UK fall embarrassing low for local elections. Last year the turn out for local elections was an uninspiring 31.3 per cent, a figure which follows a steady pattern of decline that shows little sign of abating. Perhaps it is disinterest that keeps some of us away from polling booths; a misguided notion that top on county councils' agendas are rubbish collection and pothole maintenance. What is more likely, however, is that we think that councils lack teeth, that we are sceptical about the level of autonomy that local authorities really have. Not really surprising considering the mentality of blame-shifting that operates in our current political system – "It's not our fault [insert vital community service here] is closing, blame the government cuts". No doubt austerity measures play a significant role, but propounding this kind of thinking effectively excuses councils and allows them to operate without the same kind of scrutiny that we apply to central government. General elections are seen to be important – and the vote data bears this out – but many of the services that impact on our daily lives are those that are controlled, at least in part, by our county and district councils. As Professor Liz Kelly pointed out, "Our local elected leaders make the real coalface decisions about the services that affect all of our daily lives. “This is a great responsibility. “We hope that those standing for election next week will be mindful of this clear demonstration of support for quality community based services for women subject to abuse, and act upon it when in office." Funding of services for women and girls who are victims of violence and sexual abuse is a case in point, because it is dispensed at both a national and local level. Certainly, the coalition must bear the brunt of the responsibility for the one in five women's organisations that have closed down and the 230 women turned away from refuges last year because there was no space for them, but we must not forget the role of local councils and, more specifically, the councillors on those councils. To that end, we need to support the EVAW campaign, and ensure that candidates who want to take on the 'great responsibility' of public office pledge their commitment to ending violence against women and girls. After all, we have a responsibility of our own: the responsibility that the vote affords us. So we had better use it – and use it wisely.  |
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