Campaign to inform about domestic violence in Czech Republic

A campaign to aid victims of domestic violence was launched today with the aim to inform people living at remote places, in villages and small towns about this social phenomenon, representatives of Bily kruh bezpeci (BKB) organising the campaign told CTK today.

Within the campaign, threatened persons can use a new DONA emergency phone line to seek help and find advice how to solve the attacks in their family or partner´s relationship.

The information will be spread on safety matches boxes, flyers and in local papers.

The DONA phone line, operated by the BKB organisation helping victims of criminal offences and their families, was put into operation in September 2001. Since then over 15,000 people have used the line, 9,400 of whom were directly threatened by domestic violence.

Vlastimil Zima, authorised head of the phone line, said that two-thirds of the clients revealed where they came form. About 64 percent of those people came from Prague, while a very low share came from remote localities in the country, he added.

"We are organising the campaign to enable all threatened persons, even those living in a secluded gamekeeper´s lodge, to have access to necessary information," Marketa Vitousova, head of the BKB consulting centre in Prague, said.

According to a nationwide survey, 13 percent of Czechs have personally experienced domestic violence, while 3 percent confessed to having attacked their family members.

Women are victims of domestic violence in over 90 percent cases, and children witness the attacks in 85 percent of families where domestic violence occurs.

Victims of domestic violence usually seek help after six years of attacks on average, the poll says.

Domestic violence means repeated attacks by close persons, usually starting with intensifying humiliation of human dignity, and then physical attacks follow.

The BKB and other associations have organised campaigns against domestic violence for several years.

DONA line representatives point out that thanks to the campaigns the situation in the Czech Republic has improved in the past few years as domestic violence is no taboo topic any more and the society has gradually ceased to tolerate it.

The number of centres where domestic violence victims can find professional aid has also increased. Police, social workers and doctors have received special instructions to help such victims more efficiently.

A new bill, which is yet to be signed by President Vaclav Klaus into law, should as from next year enable the police to expel violent attackers from their homes.

hol/dr/ms