Law on domestic violence: Why are Belarusian officials against it?

21/03/2023 - 01:31

Stop domestic violence / freepik.com

Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security Valery Kavalkou said in an interview with "Pozirk" that the problem of domestic violence in Belarus is not so acute as to speak of the need for a special law.

"A special law is simply necessary. Violence is everywhere in Belarus now, and you never know where it will hit you," gender expert Yulia Mitskevich commented on the official's words to Euroradio.

We decided to find out why officials are so reluctant to accept the law, and what is the situation of Belarusians whom the law could help.

“Насилие в Беларуси теперь повсюду”. Почему чиновники против закона?

Yulia Mitskevich / Photo: Gvidas Kovėra

Yulia Mitskevich: First of all, I would like to say that everything Belarusian officials talk about after 2020 mostly meets the demands of those who appoint and serve them, but not the demands and interests of ordinary people. That is why there is nothing new in their statements. We know that in 2018 Aliaksandr Lukashenka personally killed the draft law on domestic violence. Since then nothing has changed.

I don't even know how to comment on it.Domestic violence is a problem. There are even official figures that prove it. But you have to understand that there is a problem with statistics in Belarus. It is not only being hidden on this issue.

The issue with statistics on domestic violence has always existed because, first of all, there is no general database on the instances of domestic violence and, secondly, this data is collected in a fragmented way. In addition, conducting research at a time of repression in Belarus means not getting representative data. People are simply afraid to talk about their plight.

Not long ago, our feminist group conducted our own research, which showed that women are less likely to seek protection in cases of domestic violence because they do not trust the law enforcement agencies that are supposed to protect them. This is due to the overall situation in which violence has become, one might say, a sanctioned phenomenon at the state level.

The problem of domestic violence still requires a comprehensive approach. According to an official study conducted in 2018 by experts from the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, every second Belarusian has experienced pressure from a loved one at least once (one in three has been physically sexualized).
Yes, it's important to remember that domestic violence can be not only physical, as often presented in state reports, but also psychological and economic. If all of this is not studied, it may seem that these types of violence do not exist at all.

Looking back at the data of 2018, I would like to remind you once again of the situation in the country: when violence is welcomed in society, the problem progresses.

People who are prone to domestic violence are given conditional permission, because they feel that they will get nothing for it.

Euroradio: How has the situation with domestic violence in Belarus changed in recent years?

Yulia Mitskevich: It's important to remember that there used to be some organizations working in this field, which were then liquidated in Belarus. It's good that there is an online hotline for Belarusians in trouble. There are specialists who are ready to work online. But it doesn't solve the problem.

Everything remains the same in Belarus. There are no specialists, there is no help that should be available. Yes, if something happens, a person can call the police (again, if they still want to get involved), but they will come and take the abuser away for 72 hours or 15 days. Beyond that, nothing is resolved.

Euroradio: Valery Kavalkou says that unlike other countries where there are such laws, in Belarus the guarantee of equal rights and protection from violence is included in other normative acts.

Yulia Mitskevich: We have already talked about this. The law is about a comprehensive approach to the problem. The law is not so much about punishment as about how to minimize the consequences and help those who have suffered.

Among other things, it's about how to help those who might become abusers or rapists because of their upbringing or desocialization. For example, there are different preventive interventions to reduce aggression or anger. So it's all a pretty big activity that could have been done before.

Nobody is going to do it now. The so-called authorities in Belarus have shown very clearly how to violate the law. The deputy minister also claims that according to the constitution women and men have equal rights. Well, no comment is necessary here.

Euroradio: The law on domestic violence, which activists and human rights defenders have been fighting for for years, affects not only women but men as well. Is that correct?

Yulia Mitskevich: Of course. It is a problem that affects everyone, not just women. But women are more often in the position of victims. Some are more affected than others. Women are often victims of abuse and violence. For whatever reason, they may live in this situation for a long time and see no way out. As a result, they may even kill their partner in a moment of self-defense and be punished for murder. The law would help everyone. Domestic violence is a global and social problem.

Euroradio: Is it true that in the post-Soviet space there is no law on domestic violence only in Belarus and Russia? Why do you think the authorities in these countries are so resistant to this initiative? Lukashenka called the project "dope, which was mainly borrowed from the West".

Yulia Mitskevich: It is better to ask this question to the authorities themselves. I think that in Russia the initiative has been suspended, while in Belarus there is no law. I think that passing a law means recognizing violence as a problem and recognizing that it is socially approved in our country.

In Russia, which started a war, there is a lot of violence. In Belarus, where there's also repression, there's a lot of violence. To pass a law means to recognize that the state and the authorities in our countries are represented as rapists. In essence, it means making a law against ourselves. That's how it is.

People who beat other people in the streets don't get warm and fuzzy when they come home. If you are a rapist and you beat up people you think are extremists, you will show up in your family in the same way.
The highest level of violence is oppression and war.

Background: According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the first 11 months of 2022, 70 thousand cases of domestic violence were registered in Belarus. The records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs contain information about 14 thousand perpetrators of domestic violence.

To follow important news, subscribe to the Euroradio channel on Telegram.

Every day we publish videos about life in Belarus on our YouTube channel. You can subscribe here.