UK. NEWS
'Over Half Of Women Suffer Domestic Violence'
Friday, 3rd February 2006, 08:19
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LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - More than half of British woman have been the victims of domestic violence, reveals a disturbing new survey.
A total of 52 per cent said they had been hit by their partner, with 36 per cent saying they had been forced to have sex by a partner.
Despite unanimous agreement that aggression of any sort is not acceptable in a relationship, 19 per cent said physical abuse happens regularly.
In the survey of 500 readers of women's magazine Prima, more than a third said they have been subject to threats so terrifying they thought their life was in danger.
The types of violence reported were not all physical abuse. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) admitted they had been called hurtful names by a partner and been subject to other types of control and intimidation.
Many (42 per cent) said they had been isolated after being stopped from seeing friends and family, 40 per cent have been told what they can and cannot wear, and a quarter have been followed when they went out.
Maire Fahey, editor of Prima, said: "We were not expecting the figures to be as high as they are and I have to admit we were quite shocked by them.
"The reason we decided to carry out the survey was that we received a mountain of mail in response to several cases and features we had done relating to domestic abuse. What we have found is that there is far more going on that we are not aware of.
"Many suffer in silence and maybe they felt that this was an ideal opportunity to tell their story. We feel that maybe women believe the police do not take them seriously enough when they report these incidents and that is certainly something we need to address. I would also like to see the government take notice and accept that domestic abuse takes many forms, both physical and emotional."
Emma Williamson, of domestic violence charity Womens Aid, was not surprised by the results.
She said: "In 2003-04, Womens Aid groups around England supported over 140,000 women and 106,000 children who had been the victims of violence in their homes.
"One in four women experience some form of domestic violence at some point during their lifetime. These different findings show how domestic violence can come in many forms, with emotional and sexual abuse being experienced within relationships alongside physical abuse, intimidation and harassment. It happens in all age groups and all walks of life."
Davina James-Hanman, director of the Greater London Domestic Violence Programme, added: "In the past 15 years, two women a week have been killed by a current or ex-partner. You don't know until you cross the line whether your partner is going to be one of those.
"Nothing destroys a woman more than sexual abuse and abusers know this. The one positive thing about so many women in the survey saying they have experienced this, is that they are actually admitting it's going on and that it's wrong. The scenario is all too familiar, he wants sex and she does not, but if she's intimidated by him, she will not fight him off. A lot of women don not think this is rape, but if you cannot say no, then rape is exactly what it is."
Maire Fahey added: "A recent interview we featured with a victim of domestic abuse caused a flood of letters from readers who had been in similar situations. We were shocked and moved by what these women have been through. It prompted us to investigate this issue further with this survey and the results make disturbing reading.
"We hope that by bringing this problem out in the open, more women will realise they are not alone. There is help out there if they need it. We want to give them the strength to seek it out."
Copyright © 2006 National News +44(0)207 684 3000
Friday, 3rd February 2006, 08:19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - More than half of British woman have been the victims of domestic violence, reveals a disturbing new survey.
A total of 52 per cent said they had been hit by their partner, with 36 per cent saying they had been forced to have sex by a partner.
Despite unanimous agreement that aggression of any sort is not acceptable in a relationship, 19 per cent said physical abuse happens regularly.
In the survey of 500 readers of women's magazine Prima, more than a third said they have been subject to threats so terrifying they thought their life was in danger.
The types of violence reported were not all physical abuse. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) admitted they had been called hurtful names by a partner and been subject to other types of control and intimidation.
Many (42 per cent) said they had been isolated after being stopped from seeing friends and family, 40 per cent have been told what they can and cannot wear, and a quarter have been followed when they went out.
Maire Fahey, editor of Prima, said: "We were not expecting the figures to be as high as they are and I have to admit we were quite shocked by them.
"The reason we decided to carry out the survey was that we received a mountain of mail in response to several cases and features we had done relating to domestic abuse. What we have found is that there is far more going on that we are not aware of.
"Many suffer in silence and maybe they felt that this was an ideal opportunity to tell their story. We feel that maybe women believe the police do not take them seriously enough when they report these incidents and that is certainly something we need to address. I would also like to see the government take notice and accept that domestic abuse takes many forms, both physical and emotional."
Emma Williamson, of domestic violence charity Womens Aid, was not surprised by the results.
She said: "In 2003-04, Womens Aid groups around England supported over 140,000 women and 106,000 children who had been the victims of violence in their homes.
"One in four women experience some form of domestic violence at some point during their lifetime. These different findings show how domestic violence can come in many forms, with emotional and sexual abuse being experienced within relationships alongside physical abuse, intimidation and harassment. It happens in all age groups and all walks of life."
Davina James-Hanman, director of the Greater London Domestic Violence Programme, added: "In the past 15 years, two women a week have been killed by a current or ex-partner. You don't know until you cross the line whether your partner is going to be one of those.
"Nothing destroys a woman more than sexual abuse and abusers know this. The one positive thing about so many women in the survey saying they have experienced this, is that they are actually admitting it's going on and that it's wrong. The scenario is all too familiar, he wants sex and she does not, but if she's intimidated by him, she will not fight him off. A lot of women don not think this is rape, but if you cannot say no, then rape is exactly what it is."
Maire Fahey added: "A recent interview we featured with a victim of domestic abuse caused a flood of letters from readers who had been in similar situations. We were shocked and moved by what these women have been through. It prompted us to investigate this issue further with this survey and the results make disturbing reading.
"We hope that by bringing this problem out in the open, more women will realise they are not alone. There is help out there if they need it. We want to give them the strength to seek it out."
Copyright © 2006 National News +44(0)207 684 3000
posted by MANDY THOMAS @ 1:20 PM
2 Comments:
At 1:17 PM,
stevefry69 said…
where does a man go when he suffers domestic advice all the charities i speak to say we only help women any ideas please i come to you as a fellow victim im at a lose end stevefry69@gmail.com
At 1:18 PM,
stevefry69 said…
any help you can give be great was touched by your story stevefry69@gmail.com
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