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Open eyelid, many bruises on the body. Margarita from Vilnius claims to have suffered such injuries from her husband, the father of a two-year-old boy.
“At night I went out to meet friends, my ex-spouse did not like it. In the morning I have what I have, a conflict. He opened my envelope. 6 seams were placed, I see worse with this eye”, says Margarita.
After experiencing spousal violence, Margarita delayed writing a formal complaint because police said child rights officers could remove the child from the family because the family might not be safe for the child.
“About both of us are guilty, he pointed out that I hit him. The only difference is that I defended myself. There was a shower of blows, first on the eyelid and then on other parts of the body. That I have to do? I want to stay alive. I want to stay alive. I hit him on defense, ”says Margarita.
Because there are many women like Margarita who suffer from domestic violence, including defenders, women are afraid to seek help even in specialized help centers.
Jurgita Cinskienė, director of the Association for the fulfillment of women’s rights, says: “There is great fear among women reported by the police and among those who request it. One of the first questions is what will happen to my children. Often women try to find out and even deny that children have seen or participated in an episode of abuse for fear that the rights of the child will take them home and take them to a safer environment ”.
The Law for the Protection of Women does not work in all cases
Margarita affirms from her painful experience that the Law for the Protection of Domestic Violence does not work. Her complaints and requests for help regarding psychological violence and threats from her husband were allegedly not responded to by the police, the prosecution and child rights officials.
“People who have to protect you and protect you, people who have to give you a sense of security that if someone hurts you, you will be protected. And it puts you in a position to remain silent and reconcile, ”says Margarita.
The head of the Vilnius Children’s Rights Service admits that he knows Margarita’s story, but refuses to comment on it, arguing with data protection requirements.
Gedas Batulevičius, head of the Vilnius City Child Rights Protection Division, says: “I cannot comment on a specific case, I will say it in general. In the case of divorce, there is usually a very acute conflict situation, the child is used as a tool for reparation, revenge, in which case the service does not support the rights of any parent, but of the child ”.
Despite experiencing a lot of pain, Margarita is glad that she has finally managed to officially divorce her spouse, who is prone to violence. However, the court allowed the father to see the child according to a set schedule. The woman is outraged that during these dates the former spouse may be pointing the child at her, and finally, after a visit to her father, Margarita saw bruises on the child’s body.
“His behavior is aggressive, self-traumatic. The way of communication, to raise, the child often repeats the actions, says that it will be bad. Where he came from? I had to learn. We don’t use it at home, “says Margarita.
The woman is outraged that officials are in no rush to help after receiving a complaint about the threat posed by the perpetrators and respond only after seeing bruises. Officials are trying to justify that it is difficult for angry families to find out who is the biggest perpetrator, and that the women who complain are not holy, but urge not to be silent or afraid to take the child.
“It just came to our attention then. It is important to protect the child and his interests,” says G. Batulevičius.
Prepare an order for protection against violence.
The hopes of defenders of women’s rights lie in the new Law on Protection against Domestic Violence. Introduces an innovation: an order for protection against violence. It is an instruction for a person at risk of violence to leave the home up to 72 hours after receiving a report. Approaching, communicating or seeking contact with a person who feels unsafe is prohibited.
Jurgita Cinskienė, director of the Association for the Enforcement of Women’s Rights, states: “Identifying the risk, protecting a person before we have tragic consequences is the purpose and essential objective of the law, the order is as follows. We need to reach a consensus on what identifiers are when the threat is already high. “
The president of the Seimas promised that the Seimas would take legalization of the protection order in the spring, but did not keep the promise.
The president of the Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, says: “The conciliation process has taken time, but in the near future, in September, it will be prepared, coordinated and discussed in the Seimas by the Ministry.”
With the entry into force of the new law, according to women’s rights defenders, anyone who has suffered domestic violence will be able to count on help. Assistance is now available only if the police initiate a pre-trial investigation, and only if they detect obvious physical injuries. Under the new law, the police will have to register all manifestations of domestic violence, including psychological poverty, and report it to relief agencies.
“Once the order is applied, the victim will receive additional services, legal procedures that allow them to take care of their own safety, legal processes to protect the victim and his family from the abuser,” says Minister Monika Navickienė.
Violators will face fines of € 80 to € 320 for violating the protection order, and the fine will be doubled for repeated violations. By the way, the fine will also threaten false complaints of domestic violence, although it is less, from 14 to 30 euros. Governors now promise to consider a new law in the fall, with it coming into effect just a year and a half later, in early 2023. Officials take so long to prepare for innovation.
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