Focus on the taboo: symposium against domestic violence

On Thursday (29.09.), the "Symposium on the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention" took place under the auspices of the Gera Network against Domestic Violence, the Department of Youth and Social Affairs and the Equal Opportunities Officer of the City of Gera. The aim was to discuss how violence can be prevented more effectively in Gera and how those affected by violence can be helped even more professionally. "Violence affects the whole of society, and domestic violence in particular is often taboo. Our aim must be to raise public awareness of the issue and prevent it," says Sandra Wanzar, Head of Youth and Social Affairs for the city of Gera. "We must succeed in offering protection to those affected and showing them that they are not alone. I would therefore like to thank the many strong partners who are involved in the network and the symposium".

Since the beginning of 2021, the network has been working intensively on the question of how the implementation of the Istanbul Convention can be supported and monitored, particularly in a sub-working group. The first step was to conduct a survey on services for women affected by domestic and sexual violence in Gera within the Gera network against domestic violence. "The results were made available to the Lord Mayor in December 2021 with the request to make the implementation of the convention visible and a concrete municipal matter. The symposium was planned from the beginning of 2022 together with the Department of Youth and Social Affairs and the City of Gera's Equal Opportunities Officer, with the aim of involving other existing Gera networks, alliances and committees in the city in the topic and incorporating the jointly developed results into integrated social planning," continues the Head of Social Affairs.

Kathrin Engel, a member of staff at the Gera Saalfeld Domestic Violence Intervention Center, explains how necessary it is to work against violence: "Unfortunately, scientific studies and statistics show that one in four women in Germany is affected by physical and/or sexual violence from her partner at least once in her life. One in ten women experience this violence multiple times as so-called domestic violence. In 2020, this ended fatally for 132 women and 26 men. The Gera police reported 138 women and 30 men as victims of domestic violence. Men also experience violence, but the people most affected by domestic and gender-based violence are women".
She knows many victims of violence and knows what this violence, which is often experienced repeatedly, does to them and how difficult it is to free themselves from the psychological and physical consequences. "With the Istanbul Convention, it is particularly important to me that the legally valid Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence has concrete positive effects for women affected by violence. Together with the administration and partners, we in the network are creating structures so that violence against women in Gera can be prevented more effectively in the future through more education, information and prevention - that men and boys are particularly taken into account and addressed."

The top priority at all times is to help those affected more quickly: there are still many hurdles in the targeted search for support. "People looking for help are often sent from one place to another and lose their initial courage again," explains Kathrin Engel.
The "Domestic Violence" network includes around 20 public facilities, institutions and associations from Gera, such as the city administration, the women's shelter, the White Ring, the Intervention Center against Violence and the Gera State Police Inspectorate. The network works to educate and prevent domestic violence. The municipal network enables close, coordinated cooperation between all specialist agencies and professional groups in Gera. The aim is to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive protection and help quickly and with legal certainty.