Violence, regardless of the form and situation in which it appears, is one of the leading issues of today and represents the most common form of human rights violation. What all forms of violence share is that they are intentional behaviours that threaten or offend the fundamental rights of a person – it is an attack on the physical and psychological integrity and dignity of another person, group of people or an entire community, and can result in injury, death and/or severe psychological consequences. In an abusive relationship, the victim and the abuser are always in an unequal relationship, and the abuser inflicts physical and/or psychological pain on the victim by means of power, be it status, physical domination or other forms of superiority. A threat of violence is also considered violence. If a form of violence is repeated very often against the same person, then we call it abuse.
Abuse of women also destroys children’s lives. Children exposed to domestic violence show higher rates of various behavioural and concentration issues at school, as well as aggression, addiction, depression and many other indicators of childhood trauma.
Regardless of the form or cause, the perpetrator is always guilty and responsible for violence, not the victim.
For more detailed information on what can be done in an event of violence or if they simply want to talk to someone, victims of violence and people who are worried about their loved ones can call SOS Rijeka – Centre for Nonviolence and Human Rights at +385 51 211 888 or contact pomoc@sos-rijeka.org