{"id":4215,"date":"2026-06-03T13:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/why-do-we-talk-about-violence-against-women-and-not-against-men\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T08:53:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:53:37","slug":"why-do-we-talk-about-violence-against-women-and-not-against-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/why-do-we-talk-about-violence-against-women-and-not-against-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we talk about violence against women and not against men?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In Slovakia, one in two women has experienced violence at the hands of a partner or spouse. Although men are generally more likely to be victims of certain crimes, women make up the majority of victims of domestic violence. In addition, they often experience violence because society downplays or overlooks it, and perpetrators are not always punished appropriately. That is another reason why it is important to speak out about violence against women and to take a public stand against it. These topics were the focus of a discussion titled \u201cMen\u2019s Actions, Women\u2019s Responsibility?\u201d <\/em>at Martinus <\/a>in Ko\u0161ice.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The Br\u00e1na do \u017eivota Women\u2019s Shelte<\/a>r and the Fenestra <\/a>organization held their already second discussion in Ko\u0161ice (June 2, 2026) on the topic of violence against women and what a healthy relationship should look like. At the speakers’ podium took their seats Silvia Kr\u00e1lov\u00e1 from Fenestra and psychologist Judita Majerov\u00e1 from Br\u00e1na do \u017eivota. Upre women were there.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cAccording to police statistics, one woman dies every day around the world at the hands of her partner.\u201d With this excerpt from the book It Was Love, moderator Laura Fojtov\u00e1 from Br\u00e1na do \u017eivota started the discussion. She thus introduced a debate on why we focus primarily on violence against women, why this happens to women, and what we can do about it. Silvia Kr\u00e1lov\u00e1 explained right at the outset that this is not a problem specific to individual women: \u201cIt is deeply rooted in our culture that men have more power. This inequality is then reflected in relationships between men and women, and we need to gradually change that. Because as long as we are not equal and as long as women continue to experience domestic violence, our society will never be free.\u201d Judita Majerov\u00e1 also weighed in on this topic: \u201cWe see the unequal distribution of power between men and women in everyday life. Just consider their representation in top positions, such as in the government. If there is such a significant imbalance there, then even decisions that affect us all are made solely on the basis of male experience, not female experience.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Gender Inequality as a Cause of Violence <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u201cWe raise girls to know what they must and must not do, and boys to know what they can and do not have to do,\u201d explained Silvia Kr\u00e1lov\u00e1 on the topic of gender stereotypes: \u201cOf course, men also face various pressures and stereotypes from an early age (be strong, don\u2019t cry), but in general, it is women who suffer from them the most.\u201d Silvia emphasized that this results in alarming numbers of female victims of domestic violence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A woman experiences violence simply because she is a woman <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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As for domestic violence against women, the numbers have risen in recent years, and we are above the European Union average. Various studies are currently underway to find answers to the question of why this is the case. According to Silvia, there may be one positive aspect to this: \u201cWomen have started talking more about violence.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Are alcohol and personality disorders just excuses? <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u201cHe\u2019s a good guy; he just had a few drinks and lost his temper.\u201d We often hear this in defense of men who have attacked their partners. But according to Silvia, the problem isn\u2019t alcohol itself or a personality disorder: \u201cA man can lose his temper in a store, at a government office, or at work, and it wouldn\u2019t occur to him to lash out at a coworker or a clerk. He behaves that way at home because he thinks he can, and he learns that behavior from his social bubble (family, school, friends…). So the problem isn\u2019t alcohol, but a sense of power.\u201d According to Silvia, violence is deliberate and controlled, and this is evident even in cases where a man deliberately attacks his partner only on parts of the body that aren\u2019t visible.<\/p>\n

According to Silvia and Judita, alcohol, drugs, and a lack of emotional control are just excuses and myths that we use to justify and downplay violence. This leads to a situation where perpetrators are not held accountable; on the contrary, we shift the blame for the violence onto women: \u201cWhy did you marry him?\u201d “You must have provoked him somehow,” and so on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What can we do about it? <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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There are various organizations in Slovakia that are dedicated not only to supporting and assisting women who are experiencing intimate domestic violence, but also to prevention. We can all do our part by speaking out about these issues and standing up for women who experience violence\u2014not only physical, but also emotional (humiliation, manipulation, isolating a woman, etc.), economic (unwittingly putting a partner into debt, etc.), social (controlling a partner\u2019s phone, movements, etc.), digital (e.g., publishing intimate material without consent), and so on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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And what does UPre Women have to say about this? <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Any woman can experience domestic violence, regardless of where she comes from or the circumstances in which she lives. However, poverty and low socioeconomic status further increase the risk of intimate partner violence. Financial stress, unemployment, and uncertainty increase tension within the household while simultaneously reducing a woman\u2019s ability to leave the relationship. That is one of the reasons why the topics of gender equality and domestic violence are part of our educational program. The discussion at Martinus was an additional opportunity to talk about this and, at the same time, socialize in a pleasant setting full of books and inspiration.<\/p>

Olga, for example, realized that women also commit violence against their partners, and Magda was struck by the fact that stalking (e.g., by a former partner) is also a form of violence that should be addressed.<\/p>

We would like to thank Fenestre and Br\u00e1na do \u017eivota for bringing these issues to the public\u2019s attention and calling for society-wide change.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Note: In this article, we used data from a European Commission survey\u2014the Survey on Violence Against Women\u2014published on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25, 2024).<\/h5>
The results showed that as many as 50% of women and girls in Slovakia have experienced partner violence, while the Europe-wide average was 31%. Overall, 38% of women and girls in Slovakia reported experiencing violence (not limited to intimate partner violence) (European average: 31%). Prieskumu sa z\u00fa\u010dastnilo aj 5 000 slovensk\u00fdch \u017eien, z ktor\u00fdch 11 % potvrdilo sk\u00fasenos\u0165 s agresiou od partnera za posledn\u00fdch 12 mesiacov (celoeur\u00f3psky priemer: 5 %).<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Read the report on the first discussion HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Slovakia, one in two women has experienced violence at the hands of a partner or spouse. Although men are generally more likely to be victims of certain crimes, women make up the majority of victims of domestic violence. In addition, they often experience violence because society downplays or overlooks it, and perpetrators are not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4216,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215\/revisions\/4216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprezeny.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}