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Attorney speaks about domestic violence
Speaking to an attentative crowd filling half of Atwood Theater, staff attorney for the Women's Human Rights Program in Minneapolis, Elisabeth Duban, was the chosen speaker for an 11th installment of the Women on Wednesday program.
Wednesday's topic was "An International Perspective on Domestic Violence," and Duban informed the crowd about the many perspectives on domestic violence, with a particular emphasis on domestic violence beyond the United States.
Having spent many years studying in former Soviet Union countries, Duban and her colleagues have worked hard to educate people on domestic violence: what it is, who it affects and what one can do if they or someone they know is being abused.
Domestic violence is anything ranging from a slap to murder, and everything in between. It can be with whom anyone shares a close relationship, whether it is a family member, a significant other, or any friend, roommate or relative.
Contrary to popular belief, this is an issue that is not gender neutral. It predominantly affects women, with most statistics showing 85 percent of women more likely to be victimized, while only 15 percent of men are subject to the same threat. That means that women are five to eight times more likely to be victimized than men.
This is quite a common issue. One study showed that 10 to 50 percent of women are affected by some sort of physical or psychological abuse by someone they know.
And, unfortunately, "These acts don't happen randomly or just one time," Duban said.
Also, these acts are not limited to certain races, religions or ethnicities. They happen everywhere, and "cut across every culture," Duban said.
The speech addressed the importance of being aware of domestic violence, because there aren't enough educated people out there who realize they are abusing someone, being abused by someone, or know someone who is being abused.
"There's always some group that feels there are other groups more violent than they are," Duban said.
With that said, groups akin to Advocates for Human Rights have helped spread the word to people, and create a voice for those who fear the repercussions of telling the truth about the horrible events taking place in the lives of many women.
Fortunately, there have been treaties made to educate and enforce laws about domestic and sexual violence. The General Recommendation 19 of 1992 deemed domestic violence as a crime, and overall, liberty-depriving. This act has made it so any state failing to prevent domestic violence, as well as investigate and compensate for any act of domestic or sexual violence, will entail serious results.
Unfortunately, the most common views in the former Soviet states range from the woman being ultimately blamed for the acts of violence to the woman backing out of legal enforcements on an act of violence, due to the detrimental financial effects it could cause of the husband is a primary "bread winner".
The main remedy for domestic violence is education. With education, people will gain information about how to deal with domestic violence, whether it is them or someone they know.
For instance, knowing what is and what isn't domestic violence is key for prevention and remedy. Main causes include the man wanting to be in control of his wife, such as making sure that his wife is obeying him, cleaning for him, taking care of his children and cooking the food. This leaves an easy opening for an abusive partner to criticize, and ultimately, act violently or cause some type of harm.
"I was in a relationship that dealt with domesticate violence," said audience member and student Mary Pygnasak. "It's just really interesting to hear the different aspects (of how people deal with domestic violence)."
As a bottom line, people like Pygnasak and Duban help others realize, from country to country, the importance of learning from each other, and helping to put a stop to the violent acts that too many women are encountering.
Britt Johnsen can be reached at: [email protected]
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