Basel-Landschaft launches pilot project against domestic violence specifically for women
; Basler Zeitung; November 24, 2008, Michael Rockenbach
Statistics show that women are becoming increasingly violent. Basel-Landschaft is the first canton to respond to this trend with a new educational program against domestic violence.
He hits, she cries, suffers in silence, or flees. This is the classic role distribution in domestic violence. However, for the past few years, a new trend has been emerging: women are increasingly resorting to violence. This is also evident in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Between 2005 and 2007, police there recorded an increase in female suspects from 15 to 20 percent when receiving reports of domestic violence. Criminal proceedings were ultimately initiated against 35 women were convicted of assault in Switzerland Basel-Landschaft is the first canton to react to this trend: since May, a training program against domestic violence specifically for women has been offered in Liestal. Currently, the course has four participants; two attend voluntarily, and the other two were referred by a district attorney's office and a guardianship authority. Over 21 evening sessions, they confront their aggression and its consequences for those around them. This is particularly devastating for children. Children are a key focus. "Women's violence is often directed against them as well," says Christine von Salis, co-director of the Basel-Landschaft intervention center against domestic violence. The perpetrators are overwhelmed; by the work of the household and possibly other commitments, by whining children and demanding teenagers. They feel abandoned and eventually hit their children or partner. And most do it repeatedly. "This is especially devastating for children. They are traumatized, and their entire emotional development can be severely impaired," says von Salis. The course aims to prevent this. "This is only possible if the perpetrators reflect on their behavior," says von Salis. How do I function? How can I prevent escalation in critical moments? These are the questions the course participants explore. There are also simple solutions: Leaving, for example, is much better than losing control. Hurtful words. a similar program for men to the one currently available for women – with success, as Christine von Salis explains: "Most participants realize during the course that they need to change their behavior and that the victim has suffered as a result." They generally no longer perpetrate physical violence. "However, according to the victims, the put-downs and disrespect unfortunately often continue," says von Salis. This is one reason why couples sometimes separate even after completing a course. Von Salis accepts this: "It's more important to stop the violence than to save the relationship." www.interventionsstelle.bl.ch " Women are capable of anything"
New research. The woman as perpetrator, the man as victim – this contradicts the classic role model. That's why violent women were long a taboo subject, even in research. But now scientists are gradually beginning to take an interest in the phenomenon. However, there are still no definitive explanations for the increase in violence against women. " Women are capable of anything," Franziska Lamott of the Forensic Psychotherapy Department at the University of Ulm stated succinctly at a conference in Wiesbaden, as reported by the "NZZ am Sonntag." According to Lamott, emancipation is also not an explanation for the increasing propensity for violence: "Emancipation is more of a consequence than a cause: only if women are aggressive can they emancipate themselves." The extent to which violence against women has actually increased is also controversial. Researchers attribute the rising figures in part to the fact that men are now more willing to come forward as victims because domestic violence has become a more widespread topic. What is certain, however, is that violence is often reciprocal: he hits her, she hits him. It is also well known that female perpetrators often suffer as well – from mental illnesses such as delusions or depression. Many had also experienced violence in their own childhood homes. Researchers like Lamott are also convinced that women become violent for a different reason than men: they want to create distance, while men are more likely to demonstrate power and prevent the woman from an impending separation.