MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – The national information campaign to form a zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence "Break the silence! Stop domestic violence!" was launched in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
Participation in the campaign is normal for every person who is against violence in any form, said Caspar Peek, UNFPA Country Director for Belarus. The problem of domestic violence, in his opinion, is the problem of disbelief and mistrust. “It is important to believe the woman if she says she is suffering. Everything you have is her word. This is the first step,” Caspar Peek noted. He also stressed that is very difficult to evaluate the degree of psychological or economic violence and define the liability for such crimes. “This is why focus should be put on prevention, and also distribution of positive examples among young people. Keeping silent about a problem means contributing to it,” Caspar Peek underlined.
It is difficult to prove the facts of physical violence, added Larisa Belskaya, head of the main directorate of multilateral diplomacy at the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first step, however should be made to acknowledge that you are a victim. Larisa Belskaya also remarked that Belarus takes an active part in all the international documents on countering violence. The country may soon join the Istanbul Convention.
“The main goal is not only to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence but also minimize the risk of getting into this category,” Deputy Labor and Social Protection Minister Alexander Rumak stressed. “When social protection authorities receive a request for assistance, they look at the social climate in the family as well as the living conditions. When a trouble happens, we render support. There are 146 social service centers in Belarus and 128 crisis rooms. This year, they hosted 374 people, 250 of them werew victims of domestic violence,” the deputy minister said. The range of social services is quite wide. For instance, Chairperson of the international public association Gender Perspectives Irina Alkhovka talked about two special refuges working with women who suffer from domestic violence.
The campaign against domestic violence is implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Belarus together with the Interior Ministry under the technical assistance project “Strengthening national capacity to counteract gender-based violence (with focus on domestic violence) in the Republic of Belarus” with financial support from the UK government. A large-scale public awareness campaign with emphasis on victims and society as a whole will be carried throughout Belarus from November 2017 till March 2018. The program includes exhibitions, network distribution of thematic video messages, a film festival and debates, a large-scale project-competition for mass media, etc. One of the most interesting projects is implemented in the virtual-reality Violence Room.
UK Ambassador to Belarus Fionna Gibb believes that domestic violence is a global problem. We interact and learn from each other to deal with this evil, she said. Ambassador Fionna Gibb welcomed the successes of Belarus in this regard and stressed that it is important that the government should communicate with victims and take their views into account as it develops protection measures. Swedish Ambassador to Belarus Christina Johannesson told about the Swedish experience in countering violence. The country has developed a long-term national strategy for combating violence in the family (designed to run for 10 years). The strategy aims to work closely with males and attaches great attention to their role and responsibility in the public life. The strategy also deals with related problems, in particular alcoholism.
Seventeen partners have joined the information campaign. They include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Interior Ministry, the Labor and Social Security Ministry, the diplomatic corps, including the embassies of France, Sweden, Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and the EU Delegation to Belarus. Private business and state-run companies are also among the participants. Representatives of the Belarusian sport have also joined the campaign. For example, on 6 December Minsk Tsmoki Basketball Club will hold a thematic game dedicated to combating violence against women and girls.
