I today’s blog I would like to mention  very sad topic – domestic violence – przemoc domowa.

I have never experienced that in my life, but I have friends who did. It is very upsetting. At the beginning it was hard for me to believe that a lot of women have no courage to stop it. But from all different situations my friends had to deal with, it became clear to me that it is not always so easy…

Domestic violence is becoming a public issue in Poland. Now women’s groups are discussing the issue, holding ”tribunals” where women tell their stories and seminars to sensitize the police and prosecutors, who have often dismissed such complaints. A national billboard campaign has alerted Poles to the idea that brutality is more than just a family spat. One of the billboards showed a badly beaten women with blood on her lips and her battered son and said, simply, ”Because the soup was too salty” – “Bo zupa była za słona”

Statistics are notoriously hard to pin down in Poland, but in 2002 the courts recorded a 33 percent rise in the number of domestic violence cases, suggesting that more women were reporting such incidents. The Women’s Rights Center in Warsaw says there has been a steady rise since then on the number of reported incidents of domestic violence.

Even as the facade of the cohesive Polish family is being peeled back, and Polish women are finding courage to report battering, they face considerable obstacles, according to a lawyer who heads the rights center. Divorce is still hard to get, in part because of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.  Though people in Poland are recognizing violence more and more, it is still very difficult to get a witness in court. Often a witness will come and say, ‘I didn’t hear anything.’ ”

The Women’s Rights Center, staffed lawyers and a part time psychologist, advises women on their legal rights and offers counseling.

The lack of shelters combined with the economic dependence of Polish women on their husbands and an acute housing shortage in Poland makes leaving home almost impossible.

But I have noticed that women are becoming more brave. I’m not sure about the government involvement in the case today. Hopefully it has improved. Hopefully there are special shelters for domestic violence victims.

I know that stereotype of the husband being “the king of the house” is fading away and now, in more modern times there is more respect for women. However there are still a lot victims who never admit what is going on in their homes…

przemoc domowa – domestic violence

bicie – battering

schronisko – shelter

pomoc – help

odważna – brave (female, male:odważny)

prosić o pomoc – ask for help

rozwód – divorce

rozwodzić się – to get divorced

doradztwo, porady – counseling

świadek – witness

respekt, uszanowanie – respect

stereotyp – stereotype

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)