30/06/2019
Awareness and Intervention
Recognition of the problem is the first step in intervention -- so they say. Unfortunately, just as poorly our awareness as clinicians in domestic violence is, many don't fair as much when it becomes to intervention. Like really, even if we do know or are able to identify the possible cause of a woman's frequent visits at the emergency room, who among us know what to do next?
Most likely, we would be like that neighbor who is awakened by the loud music and seems unsure of the cries and shouting in the house next door but does nothing and presume "it was just one of those nights, nag-iinuman lang." Or, that policeman who is called to investigate a report of disturbances in a bar or a restaurant - but dismisses the altercation as a "thing among people in a relationship." Or like, who among us, clinician or not, would bravely intercede in a fighting couplle in the middle of the street? In broad daylight? More often than not, we would stop at a verbal threat "huwag ka makikialam, away mag-asawa ito."
But before discussing what we can feasibly do in cases of domestic violence, let us take a look at the severity of this phenomena. According to a report by the Philippine Statistic Agency or PSA, women are victims of various offenses or forms of violence in an intimate relationship. Violence against women and children may take the form of physical, emotional and sexual violence. Of the total number of women seen in various hospitals at least one of four them experience one type of these forms. (1) Other groups and literatures however site economic violence as another form more often missed or so subtly embedded in an abusive relationship.
According to this report, "One in five (20%) women has ever experienced emotional violence, 14 percent has ever experienced physical violence, and 5 percent has ever experienced sexual violence by their current or most recent husband or partner." (1) Although with all probability a woman may be fatally experiencing more than one type if not all. The basis of this report however is not clearly stated but we are posting the raw data for you to draw further conclusions.
Now things get interesting when they found out that younger age seems to be a risk factor in abuse by a partner as there appears a steady decline in prevalence with increasing age. Widowers, divorced and/or separated women are most likely to be abused by 54% compared to women who are married or been in a long standing relationship who have at least 24% risk of getting abused. (1)
Well of course, these are just numbers and the stories of abused women are more than these. It may be quite dangerous to assume that going in to a relationship at an older age may protect one from abuse for example in the case of the findings relative risk/s according to age. We might be quite surprises that many women are so "used to" how things are going in their relationship that abuse actually becomes "normal."
"Wala na dok, tanggap ko na ang sitwasyon ko. Tatanda na akong ganito. Hihintayin ko na lang siyang mamatay! Thus said a lady, 36 years old who was hit by a flashlight by his 52 year-old live in partner.
"Hindi ko rin naman alam kung paano ko bubuhayin ang sarili ko at mga anak ko," said another, 27 years-old.
"Matigas kasi ang ulo ko, di ako marunong sumunod sa mga gusto niya," 15(!) forced to be married to a 36 year old man whom the family is indebted to.
"Nakakahiya," 52 year old female, married to a well-known businessman.
See here the dichotomy between awareness and intervention. Of course everybody is aware that such violence occurs in the society. The PSA recognizes domestic violence as the MOST COMMON cause of abuse among women aged 15-49 years old, but what now?
(Part 3 of a series)
