Text: Daniela Borzová, lawyer / ADRA KIT, Photo: ADRA Slovakia (www.adra.sk)
The former investigator, lawyer and co-founder of the ADRA KIT (Crisis Intervention Team) introduces the rights and possibilities of victims, i.e. victims of domestic violence, and explains what rights victims can claim immediately after the attack. The concept of enforceability of the law in Slovakia cannot be infinitely associated only with negative attributes and examples.
He beat me. I ran into the street, standing there alone, barefoot in my pajamas. Someone called the police. They came and I was crying, screaming that I was scared of him, let them take him away. The cops asked me many questions that I didn't even understand at that moment. The people around me were just milling around; aI don't know who was there at that moment and what he wanted from me. But I do know that he was standing there too, telling me in a calm voice what a hysteric and psychopath I was, and that everything was my fault, I was provoking him. And then they all went somewhere... The only thing I remember was the police officer summing up the events in the style of „well, this is just a normal argument, another Italian marriage... Let's finish it at the station...“ And all I wanted was for it to stop, for him not to hurt me and our children anymore.
This is how the narrative of most of the women I come into contact with on a daily basis in my work in the ADRA KIT (Crisis Intervention Team) begins. And yet each of them is different, they don't know each other. Yet their stories are identical, their experiences identical, their misunderstanding by the institutions identical. Why is this so?
Justify to yourself why the woman didn't leave the rapist
As a former investigator, my initial tendency was to minimize and downplay the domestic violence as the victim described it to me. I always asked myself - why didn't the woman leave when her own husband or partner was hurting her so badly. He would only do it to me once and I would leave him immediately.
The justification of such situations by a formula of slight seriousness which does not reach the intensity of the necessity of the legal qualification of the offence, as well as the well-known principle of criminal procedure ultima ratio (criminal law as a last resort) were becoming part of the decisions not to prosecute or to discontinue prosecutions. I did not give a second thought to the victim's future life afterwards. It was my job - to decide on the basis of the evidence obtained, while maintaining the principle of equality of arms and the principle of equality of the parties - fairly and impartially.
What rights does a victim of domestic violence have, that is the question
Today, however, I have to pause over the notion of justice and ask myself (knowing both sides of the coin of the approach to violence) whether decision-making in terms of criminal law norms is really so just. Whether it truly takes into account the lived experience of both parties, or whether it is merely an assessment of objective reality based on proven facts. Can violence only be qualified on the basis of a criminal interpretation of the facts of the offence, or is there another legally permissible context for the concept of violence? And let's face it: what is the evidentiary status in a case of domestic violence that takes place between four walls?
This is what I am currently trying to deal with and I am fighting for the rights of victims of domestic violence, which, in the setting of today's society, they have to literally demand, even though they should automatically be entitled to them by virtue of their status as the weaker, more vulnerable party.
The notion of enforceability of the law in Slovakia is associated with terms such as „bad“ and „shame“. In doing so, the legislation regulates the rights and possibilities of victims. However, the error occurs in their application. What rights does a victim of domestic violence have; how to claim them; a who's gonna help her with that?
Eviction of the rapist as a protective institute for the victim
After the acute assault, even after the patrol was called, the woman appeared very disoriented at the scene. This is natural, as she is traumatised by her experience, which distorts all her cognitive processes, including perception. This also reduces her credibility, while the rapist, on the other hand, acts diplomatically and discreetly. This has the effect of inclining the intervening police officers to believe his version of a provocative, hysterical woman who herself instigated the conflict, or was the first to attack the man (and he was only defending himself).
Role reversal, where the abuser presents himself as the victim and, conversely, puts the victim in the position of the perpetrator of violence, is a characteristic feature of the manipulator. And manipulation is also a form of violence. Such tend to be the first statements given by the rapists during the verification of the facts by the police officers of the first intervention (members of the riot police of the OO PZ), on the basis of which the intervening police officers tend to minimize and minimize the facts. They often assess it as an offence against civil coexistence, or even solve it on the spot with a convention. In most cases, the isolation of rapists and victims does not even take place, despite the existence of the institution of eviction from the dwelling (according to §27a of the Police Act). In my opinion, this should be automatically implemented on the spot, regardless of whether or not a crime is suspected to have been committed on the basis of the facts established.
At this stage, the police do not have enough information to be able to qualify the offence in a relevant way. By failing to evict the rapist, they then directly expose the victim (usually a woman) to the risk of further assault. The rapist, once left in the original location, tends to ridicule the woman, psychologically abuse her, or blame her for having unnecessarily provoked the situation. The aggressiveness of the rapist is increased just by the fact that he has been dealt with by the police. He may then physically attack the woman with fatal consequences. I see the eviction of the rapist from the home as a protective institute for the woman, although I admit that it is a certain restriction on property rights. However, society's overriding concern is the protection of life and health, and that takes priority over property rights.
Prohibit the rapist from entering the house and communicating with the victim
Eviction from the dwelling shall mean the removal of the violent person from the dwelling, or the house and the land adjacent thereto, for a period of ten days, including a prohibition to approach the victim within ten metres. During this period, the victim shall have the possibility to apply for an urgent injunction ordering the civil court to prohibit the rapist from entering the house and the adjacent land, communicating with the woman in any way and approaching her. The above prohibitions may apply to any person threatened with violence. Thus, also to children.
Police officers tend to discourage victims from applying for an expulsion order, for example, because they are not partners, or because of the condition of filing a criminal complaint, the length of the criminal proceedings themselves, or the social stigma of having to undergo a psychiatric examination as part of the criminal proceedings. Often victims are not properly informed of this right and the possibilities of exercising it.
However, this is not entirely true - eviction is not conditional on the filing of a criminal complaint or relationship ties. And even if women are not properly instructed on the spot, they have the right to seek eviction. It is a woman's knowledge of this institution that initiates its implementation by the police.
Stopwatches preventing the filing of a criminal complaint
The filing of a criminal complaint depends solely on the victim herself, usually a woman. Often emotional ties to the abuser or fears about the impact on the children (how the minors will perceive the whole thing, whether they will blame the mother for breaking up the family and separating from the parent) are stopping them from filing a criminal complaint or subsequently exercising their right to refuse to testify. It is essential to note that in the case of abuse or other offences that fall under domestic violence, it is not possible to withdraw the criminal complaint (except in the case of exhaustively defined offences where the victim agrees to the discontinuation of prosecution under section 211 of the Criminal Procedure Code).
However, criminal proceedings are not the only means of protection. Civil law provides for the institution of an urgent measure, by which the victim can secure protection within twenty-four hours by prohibiting the rapist from entering the house or apartment.
Banishing the abuser only gives the woman time to calmly internally evaluate her next course of action and to have sufficient time to seek help. Personally, I always advise clients not to deal with things with a „hot head“. Every legal step has real life consequences.
KIT provides comprehensive legal and psycho-social assistance
Seeking professional help is an extremely important aspect that can help the victim to navigate the situation, while also informing them of all their options for further procedures and solutions. And such help is out there - there are both state and non-governmental organisations that offer help to victims of domestic violence.
We at ADRA Slovakia provide unique assistance under the ADRA KIT brand. It is a comprehensive, legal and psycho-social assistance, in which we are able to come directly to the scene of the crime upon notification and take over the victim, psychologically stabilize him/her and legally represent him/her in the ongoing proceedings (as a Victim's Representative /the injured party or as his/her confidant), immediately - from the implementation of urgent and non-repeatable actions and measures, as well as in the course of all processes. We base our assistance on the woman's individual needs, which we respect and work with the woman in accordance with them.
But it's not just us from ADRA KIT, there are other organisations providing professional help. In acute situations, I recommend that women (immediately after an attack, but also all those who have experienced violence for a long time) contact the National Helpline for Women Experiencing Violence on 0800 212 212, where specific counsellors can provide basic help and support over the phone, plus direct them to other support organisations. There is help for all women experiencing violence. You just need to know about it and speak up early. And most importantly, to be able to admit that something is wrong in the partner relationship, not to stifle it inside, but to say it out loud.
ADRA KIT is currently caring for almost twenty victims of domestic violence. Find out more about why victims of violence need our help, why it's important to speak up about violence and how you can help too at ➡️ www.adra.sk/dostojnyzivot
https://www.adra.sk/dostojnyzivot/
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