Why Does He Abuse? Why Can He Abuse?
Miért bántalmaz? Miért bántalmazhat?
Keywords: violence; social problems; victims;prevention of violence;domestic violence in Hungary; men’s responsibility
Fewer and fewer people continue to deny that violence against women and children is a serious social problem. It is also obvious that the reaction of Hungarian society falls behind the seriousness of this problem. This is apparent not only in the field of legislation and legal practice, which should protect victims and call perpetrators to account, but also in the ignorance of authorities, public opinion and so called professionals, and in prejudiced information. There is little professional literature in Hungarian that could help this situation. The aim of this publication is to enrich this professional literature. Society can only present a united front against any kind of violence, if the steps needed – though they are congruent in time and space – follow a certain priority in accordance with the nature of the problem: Effective care and protection for victims. Determined action against perpetrators. Prevention of violence at all levels of society. Treatment of perpetrators. There are several preconditions to be fulfilled before the above steps can be taken. For example, it is difficult to acknowledge even the fact of violence and its extent unless there is social consent about what is violence, who commits it, and against whom. Except for the above mentioned few publications, we only have answers in Hungary today that protect perpetrators from being called to account, rather than protecting victims who suffer from the violent acts perpetrated against them.
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