Women slam gov't anti-violence campaign

Women's lobby groups have clashed with the government over its redrafting of the National Action Plan to Combat Domestic Violence, with one group saying the government's changes threaten to turn the plan into "a toothless document."

The government provoked the groups' ire at a hearing of the Committee on Domestic Violence Prevention Dec. 16 over its plans to remove from the four-year strategy the provision of free legal advice for victims of domestic violence.

Speaking after the hearing, the Czech Women's Lobby (ČŽL) said the government was going against international practice and insisted the original plan was the result of "long-term research, analysis and experience from abroad," offering solutions "based on proven models."

"If the National Action Plan is further truncated and modified, the approach of the Czech Republic will contradict trends and attitudes common in Europe and worldwide," the group said in a statement to The Prague Post.

Marcela Adamusová, project coordinator with Forum 50%, an organization that advocates greater participation by women in politics, said she backed the ČŽL's criticism of the changes.

She also singled out Prime Minister Petr Nečas' adviser on human rights and foreign policy, Roman Joch, for particular criticism, and condemned Nečas (Civic Democrats, ODS) for reportedly agreeing with his adviser on the issue.

"It is worrying that the prime minister listens to the opinions of someone who clearly does not understand the issue and comes up with absurd proposals based solely on his personal beliefs," Adamusová said.

Joch strongly contested the group's criticism, arguing that "NGOs that claim the government is not taking the issue of domestic violence seriously enough are mistaken."

"The government takes the issue very seriously; that's why it would like to approve a really substantive and thoughtful National Action Plan," he told The Prague Post.

Joch said the plan was "being redrafted in order to achieve greater quality and clarity, and a nonpartisan, broad-consensus approach acceptable to the whole democratic political spectrum."

Asked what measures should be taken to eliminate the problem of domestic violence, Joch said there was "no silver bullet" and that a multilayered approach was required.

"This approach should address the root causes of domestic violence, such as dysfunctional partnerships and their causes," he said.

The role of education

Joch and the ČŽL clashed in particular over the government adviser's contention that promoting the "educating of young people on responsible relationships, marriages and parenthood" was central to preventing the incidence of domestic violence.

"One of the causes of domestic violence is a high incidence of divorce rates, hence stable, harmonious families are one - again, not the sole one - way of pre-empting conditions conducive to domestic violence," Joch said.

The ČŽL countered that Joch's position was "substantiated only by his personal beliefs" and that it contradicted expert opinions in the area.

"His opinion contains only one statistic - that domestic violence is 40 times more likely among unmarried couples - and he gives no source for this. On this basis, he offers a purely ideological solution: support and respect for the marital family," the group said.

Zdena Prokopová, vice president of ROSA, a civic NGO working with victims of domestic violence in the Czech Republic, said her group's statistics show the reverse is actually the reality.

"Most victims of domestic violence are married women. In the case of cohabiting couples, the percentage is smaller," she told The Prague Post.

Prokopová said she believes it is vital to implement an action plan with "clear, complex solutions to help these persons endangered by domestic violence," adding that if it were not approved, "the situation for victims of domestic violence could really get worse."

The group recently released the results of a yearlong survey it conducted among 200 women that availed of its support services during 2009.

The poll found that the majority of cases occurred with women in their 30s, across all economic and educational levels. About 86 percent of those surveyed had suffered physical violence, and many victims were also subjected to psychological, sexual or financial abuse.

While no overall statistics are available on the crime in the Czech Republic, ROSA's latest annual report shows it took more than 2,100 help-line calls during 2009. The group also housed 18 women and 22 children at its secret emergency shelter for those escaping violence in the home.

The action plan has now been sent to an interdepartmental working group, which will redraft the plan based on the submissions made at the committee hearing. The government is expected to receive the new version of the plan before the end of next month.

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com