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On February 1, 2018, the “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence” entered into force in Germany and thus became applicable law.
The so-called Istanbul Convention obliges all levels of government to guarantee women affected by violence the protection and support they need. It also obliges them to take preventive action to protect against further violence.
Stop Violence! Say No! NO to violence against women! – HÎNBÛN employees in action
The spectrum of violence against women
contains countless facets:
The esteem of women, their unquestioned right to integrity and equality is made absurd by the use of violence in any form.
The domestic violence by…
- verbal assaults
- Threat
- Control
- Humiliation
- Rape in a relationship or marriage
- up to beating (which can even end deadly)
- or any other form of physical and psychological violence….
…must be punished.
It has been shown that during the lockdown due to the pandemic, the use of violence against women in the domestic environment increased sharply, as did verbal attacks and sexist-motivated slurs, up to hateful threats in social media.
However, the additional burden of the state of emergency cannot be a justification for this.
It is still predominantly men who are violent towards women in extraordinarily high numbers. They do not have the right to do so. Society is called upon to stop looking the other way and intervene.
Many women lack the courage to seek protection and help. Every hour, a woman is threatened and injured by her partner; every third day, the violence ends fatally. The number of unreported cases is high. Vigilance in the neighborhood, among friends and relatives can save lives.
Immigrant women who seek counseling, who turn to HÎNBÛN for help, are often victims of violence in the marital relationship, sexualized violence or enslavement in wartime.
They may have been pushed into a forced marriage or been irreparably injured in a forced circumcision. They suffer psychologically and physically throughout their lives. Others fear crimes in the name of honor and never feel safe.
Honor, however, does not allow disrespect for women and murder!
Often they still feel bound to the laws and traditions of their homeland. They subjugate themselves and are often so fearful that they are almost incapable of acting.
In addition to immediate emergency assistance, women receive information about their rights and options for action so that they can plan their next steps.
False information is often used as leverage by the perpetrator. The women receive information about the German legal situation regarding the criminal offense, their own residence and custody of their children.
The women receive psychological and social support as well as practical advice on how to free themselves from their role as victims and to go their own way.
Spandau network against domestic violence
“Looking, instead of looking away”
That‘s how the start of publicity campaign of SPANDAU NETWORK AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE was published in the press. As a member of steering meeting HÎNBÛN initiated the campaign in cooperation with the district councillor for health Frank Bewig, the women’s rights and equal opportunities commissioner at the time Annukka Ahonen plus the women’s project Eulalia Eigensinn e.V..
Responsible for coordinating is its head Franziska Milata. The campaign was supported by the district councillors Gerhard Hanke and Stephan Machulik, who equiped vehicles of the Ordnungsamt with corresponding stickers. The project was promoted by the master plan of the senate of health.
In workshops the problem of domestic violence was adressed with affected women and depicted by them in simple drawings. The artistic reworking into expressive, but nevertheless easily understandable, pictogrames was undertaken by the artists Marua Di Como and Florencia Young from the collective migrantas.
The travelling exhibition resulting from this campaign is shown all over Spandau since its start on the 08th March, 2017 and can be lend.
The network does not understand itssef as competition to BIG e.V. or the „Hilfetelefon“ of the Bund but as addition fort he destrict of Spandau, so women can get help directly on-site.
Available to you are Eulalia Eigensinn e.V. , at 030 3351191 , and HÎNBÛN, at 030 3366662.
