Today, 8 March, is the day when the world acknowledges women’s indispensable contribution to society by celebrating International Women’s Day. The first day which internationally declared the importance of women was 19 March, 1911, and was launched by Clara Zetnic, the leader for the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany

Thanks to women like Zetnic, who fought for the acknowledgment of women as individuals equal to men, we have slowly gained more and more respect resulting in justly earning fundamental rights. Today we can vote, work, demand equal pay to men, and above all demand equal respect.

But the reality is that many women are not honoured or respected on a day-to-day basis, and even today, there are those at home who are being maltreated. These women are victims of domestic violence.

“Domestic violence means any act of violence, even if only verbal, perpetrated by a household member upon another household member and includes any omission which causes physical or moral harm to other” (Domestic Violence Act 2005, CAP. 481).

Although domestic violence is a crime which affects both genders, the majority of victims of domestic violence are women. From January to June of 2010, 229 domestic violence victims opened cases with Aġenzija Appoġġ; 221 of these victims were female.

It must be noted that these figures do not reflect the actual prevalence of domestic violence but only the cases which have been reported to Aġenzija Appoġġ. In a study conducted in 2007 by the World Health Organisation, to analyse the prevalence of domestic violence in Europe and Eurasia, it resulted that only up to 20% of women who had experienced domestic violence reported the problem to the Police. However, most often, victims of domestic violence chose to confide in a family member or to no-one at all (World Health Organisation, 2007).

It must be made clear that confiding in a family member does not mean that the victim will get the help that they need. Unfortunately, family members are often unlikely to report cases. A Maltese study investigating the prevalence of domestic violence revealed that 73% of participants believe that family problems should only be discussed with people in the family (Commission on Domestic Violence, 2010). There are multiple silent victims of domestic violence who continue to suffer at the hands of their abuser each and every day.

One may ask what can be done about this situation... Statements such as ‘If the victims don’t report they obviously don’t want help!’ and ‘What do I have to do with this?’ unfortunately are commonplace. The reality is that there is much that can be done to help. Domestic violence victims may not report for a variety of reasons, including fear of lack of protection, of further abuse; fear of splitting up their family; fear of endangering their children physically and emotionally; and even because of a lack of knowledge regarding available help and facilities. Some victims even take pains to convince themselves that it was just a mistake and it will never happen again, even after the abuse occurs multiple times over (Weiss, 2002).

Domestic abuse often follows a particular pattern of behaviour – the ‘Cycle of Violence’ where abuse is followed by a period of calm and love often referred to as a honeymoon phase. This phase serves to maintain the victims’ belief that their abuser is really a loving partner who never intended to hurt them. However this period is usually followed by a phase of tension building which results in more episodes of abuse. These episodes are likely to repeat with increasing severity and frequency unless intervention or treatment occurs (Walker, 2009).

Some victims are not even aware that they are being subjected to domestic violence, especially in cases of isolation and social exclusion (www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au). On top of this, many victims do not report and neither confide in friends and family, because of fear of others’ reactions (Idisis, Ben-David, Ben-Nachum, 2009).

One of the major factors which influences women’s likelihood to disclose domestic victimisation, is attitudes (WHO, 2007), indicating that women may continue to suffer abuse because they fear stigmatisation for being violated! You, as an individual, have most likely spoken to multiple silent victims of domestic violence even though you are not aware of it. In a study carried out to determine Maltese perceptions on domestic violence, only 55% of respondents thought that domestic violence is always unacceptable. This means that when victims of domestic violence ponder reporting their victimisation, or even speaking out about their suffering, there is a 45% chance that they will speak to someone who thinks that under some circumstance, their suffering is justified (Commission on Domestic Violence, 2008).

This is a sad reality, but it is one that can be changed. When one hears someone recounting about domestic violence and expresses comments such as ‘I know he did wrong, but he puts up with a lot’, it could reinforce domestic violence victims’ belief that their situation is inevitable or justified. The situation must be changed to one that truly adopts a NO TOLERANCE attitude to violence. No tolerance means that no act of violence is accepted under any circumstance. It must be understood that any act of violence, including verbal or psychological violence (such as insults or threats) can have detrimental consequences including social exclusion, self-harming behaviour, and even suicide or homicide (www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au).

Maltese research has shown that 26.5% of ever-partnered women have experienced one or more acts of emotional, physical or sexual abuse by a partner (Commission on Domestic Violence, 2010). No tolerance means supporting these women, and helping them to obtain the respect and dignity that they deserve

Sina Bugeja is Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Social Welfare Services