“He threatened to kill me and my mother”: the story of a victim of domestic violence
One of the women who suffered from domestic violence for a long time shared with the Ministry of Internal Affairs her own story of courage and courage. It is important not to remain silent, but to seek help from law enforcement agencies.
Married to her own husband, she lived for five years. A year after marriage, she gave birth to a son. Then for the first time I faced violence on the part of the chosen one. At first, he forbade the woman to work, and later began to beat.
“My husband started drinking and came back late from work. One day he became intoxicated again. I asked him why he was behaving this way. He hit me. I tried not to hit my face, but the body was bruised. I called the police, they issued a fine. But later he started threatening to kill me and my mother. Together with the child, he drove us out of the house. Thank you neighbor, she sheltered,” recalls the victim.
The next day, the offender apologized and the woman and her son returned home. However, within a week, the man once again came angry and broke the woman's rib.
“I went to the police again. I felt sorry for the child, because it was all happening in front of his eyes. The son was crying, hiding, he did not speak at all for a month,” says the victim.
The last straw was rape. “He came drunk and raped me in the presence of the child. I called the police, he was arrested. But that didn't change his behavior. So I waited for him to go on a business trip and turned to the police with the help of a psychologist and a shelter,” the woman said.
Law enforcement officers took a woman with her son to a shelter for victims of domestic violence. There they spent six months. During this period, the woman found a job, rented an apartment, worked through psychological trauma with her child, and finally became independent from her husband. She severed all ties with the abuser and filed for divorce.
“A psychologist is working with me now. Thanks to him and the police for starting a new life. I feel free. The son calmed down and socialized,” says the victim.
Such cases are far from isolated and, unfortunately, not every woman dares to break off relations with the abuser. It is important not to remain silent, but to seek help from law enforcement agencies. You should ask for support and not be afraid to speak up.
To this end, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine together with the people's deputies initiated amendments to the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses to strengthen responsibility for persons who committed domestic violence or violence on the basis of sex.
Draft Law No. 8329 “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses in Connection with the Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and Combating These Phenomena (Istanbul Convention)” proposes to strengthen responsibility for domestic violence gender-based violence or violence.
This includes, in particular, an increase in the amount of fines for the commission of domestic violence, administrative liability for the commission of sexual violence and an increase in the size of fines for failure to comply with an urgent prohibition order. Moreover, the draft law provides for the definition of a child as a victim if she was present at the commission of domestic violence or gender-based violence.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
