Friday, 21st November 2003 'Myths and Realities' of domestic abuse against women

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An inter- church group representing major Christian churches and organisations in Scotland has produced an information pack to raise awareness on issues of domestic abuse.

"No Exceptions, a Faith Perspective on the Myths and Realities of Domestic Abuse,"
information and training pack, was announced in Glasgow to coincide with next Tuesday's (November 25 ) International Day of Action to Eliminate Violence Against Women. It was prepared following a call from representatives in Britain and Ireland who had attended a conference in September last year and a follow up study in May this year.

The group represented:- The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and the Union of Catholic Mothers; The Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland Guild; The Methodist Church Women's Network and The Salvation Army together with Greater Easterhouse Women's Aid.

The pack offers advice on defining domestic violence - a "gendered" crime - committed overwhelmingly by men against women. It points out that in one state of the USA, a fixed part of the marriage licence fee is set aside to pay for the consequences of domestic violence including mandatory programmes for batterers and asks whether £10 or £20 could be added to the current cost of a licence in the UK.

Asking the question, 'why stay?' the information pack comments:- "Abused women are just the same as the rest of us, "trying to make the best of a difficult situation and the decisions they make are no different to those we all make in difficult times and situations."

Some of the disturbing facts revealed in the pack include:-

• Disabled women are more likely to be abused than non-disabled women
  
• There are very clear links between domestic abuse and child abuse, including sexual abuse
  
• Two thirds of boys who grow up in a violent home do not use violence in their own relationships
  
• Most abusers do not come from a violent background
  
• The best way to protect children is to protect the mother; it is the abusive man who should be removed, not the children
  
• Most women leave because of their concern for the children, however abused women are usually unaware of how badly the children have been affected by the abuse
  

The pack offers advice on how to escape from a potentially abusive situation and says 'pay attention to your intuition.' Evidence shows that domestic abuse "should always be seen as a strong indicator of child abuse" it says.