Violence Against Women - 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence

U.S. Embassy Warsaw is actively participating in the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” by raising awareness of the problem through a series of profiles of individuals and institutions actively working to end violence against women in Poland. 
 

Beata Gruszczyńska
Criminologist, University of Warsaw, Coordinator of the International Violence against Women Survey (IVAWS) in Poland

How has life for women in Poland changed over the last 20 years?

Polish women always had to be resourceful.  In times of war, they were the foundation of the underground front and the uprising.   In times of peace, they have had to take care of everything, from raising children and creating a cozy home and hearth to gaining professional qualifications and employment.  They also had to be attractive and attentive life partners.  That’s asking a lot, and Polish women are probably the only women in the world who take on all those challenges and even try to live up to those expectations.  

The lives of women have changed significantly in the last twenty years, especially considering their increased engagement in professional life.  As it turns out, women do fantastically well in business, in managerial positions – they are great managers.  Aside from their education, they possess extraordinary intuition and the ability to look ahead.  They are extraordinarily diligent.  Poland’s start on the road to democracy has paved the way for respect for human rights, equal rights for women, and punishing violence against women. 

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Polish women today?

Changing social attitudes, limiting violence against women, breaking stereotypes, appreciating women’s wisdom, respecting their opinions, treating them equally to men.

One challenge for women is to balance their private, family life with their professional life.  Women need to work towards having their accomplishments appreciated to the same degree as men’s.  They must have greater participation in decision-making groups, supervisory boards, and management of institutions and companies.

There should also be greater health care for women, broader preventive care, and they should devote more time to sports and other activities.  

What is your organization’s main goal, and how are you working to achieve it?

Violence against women is the dark side of today’s reality.  This isn’t anything new.  It is experienced by women all over the world, in every social group, and the extent of violence is known only to a few.  Only a few of the most brutal cases make their way into the statistics – the dark number is that of unknown, hidden, unregistered acts of violence, which is exceptionally large.

The “International Violence Against Women Survey” was the first project on this subject conducted in several countries.  The results showed that in Poland, over one-third of women has experienced violence by men in their lives.  In most cases this was physical violence – beating, throwing around, pulling, pushing, kicking, and in some cases using knives or suffocation.  Almost every sixth woman has experienced sexual violence.  In one of seven cases, the perpetrator was the woman’s partner – her husband, lover, boyfriend.  In one of every four cases they were other men – relatives, cousins, colleagues, peers, strangers.  There were also many cases of psychological violence from partners – stalking, cursing, destroying her possessions, or hurting her pets. 

Often, women were left entirely alone with their problems.  Only one in four women reported her case to the police, even though some cases were very serious and even required hospitalization.  The police’s reaction was not always appropriate.  The victims of violence complained that the police did not guarantee them protection or legal assistance.  Women who refrained from reporting violence feared revenge from the perpetrator and the police’s inappropriate response – in other words, they feared being victimized again.  In terms of this particular issue, the Polish results were much more disturbing than in other countries, which indicates that that the Polish police must be better trained and improve their responses to reports of violence, especially when perpetrated by non-partners.

Not very many women sought assistance from women’s organizations, either because they did not know about them or were not convinced that they would receive help.

We must become more effective at protecting women in Poland, countering violence.  To achieve this, there needs to be better procedures, social contempt for perpetrators of violence against women, and cooperation from government, local, and non-governmental institutions. 

What accomplishment in your career are you most proud of, and what do you still hope to accomplish?

Bringing more public attention to European statistical standards in the criminal code and criminology.  I will continue to fight with the bureaucratized Polish crime statistics and stubbornly insist that modernizing our systems will bring results and improve the quality of research.  An even more important achievement was to show the true face of violence against women. 

I would like to convince decision-makers that protecting women against violence is the challenge of the 21st century.  Equal status of women, men, and all people is the basic achievement of civilization.  No woman can be disregarded, especially not by a public official or institution. 

If you could change one thing about Polish society, what would it be?

Respect and tolerance for others, regardless of their gender, skin color, clothing, creed, education, upbringing, or social status.  We should demand a lot from ourselves and not just criticize others at every turn, not try to fix others’ behavior or way of thinking.  Let’s teach children from a very young age to have respect and tolerance for others.