Domestic Violence Against Women in Rural Communities in Poland

Abstract

Domestic violence is a difficult topic to research and to write about. It is assumed that we know about only a small part of the violent behavior that occurs, because the victims of violence often decide to conceal the experience. From the statistics we have, we nevertheless know that the scale of the problem is serious. In addition, it seems to be a contentious ideological and political issue; in Poland there has been resistance by some groups to ratifying the Istanbul Convention. Experience in other countries and the idiosyncrasies of rural communities in Poland suggest that it might be even more difficult to analyze the problem of domestic violence in rural families. The very small number of studies and publications on this topic seems to prove the hypothesis. The goal of this article is first to present definitions of domestic violence, the scale of the problem, and the steps taken to prevent violence in rural areas in Western countries, and then to present research into violence in rural areas in Poland.

Exploring Categories of Family Violence Across the Lifespan: A Scoping Review

“…DFV definitions focus on acts, rather than failures to act, as adults are generally not seen as requiring care from their partner or other family members, unlike children (WHO, as cited by Ali et al, 2016, p. 17; Band-Winterstein et al, 2021, p. 115; Allan & Allan, 2014; Walsh et al, 2015, p. 2; HM Government, as cited by Benbow et al, 2018, p. 187; Kelly & Westmarland, 2016, p. 114; Westmarland & Kelly, 2016, p. 37; CDC, as cited by Crockett et al, 2015, p. 293; Hearn, 2013; Hudson, 2019; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014; Meyer & Frost, 2019; Michalska, 2016; Postmus, 2014; Rao et al, 2017; Winstok, 2016), except for legislation from Poland (as cited by Michalska, 2016) and India (as cited by Rao et al, 2017), which also consider failures to act as a form of DFV. Several theoretical definitions emphasize the intentionality of the behavior and actions as critical to defining DFV, as something that is willfully perpetrated (Allan & Allan, 2014; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014; Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence of 29 July 2005, as cited by Michalska, 2016, p. 145; Postmus, 2014; Winstok, 2016). The overwhelming majority of DFV definitions focus solely on abuse perpetrated by an intimate partner (WHO, as cited by 2016, p. 17, Band-Winterstein et al, 2021, p. 115; Benbow et al, 2018; Burelomova et al, 2018; Walsh et al, 2015, p. 2; CDC, as cited by Crockett et al, 2015, p. 293; Hearn, 2013; Hudson, 2019; Meyer & Frost, 2019; Michalska, 2016; Postmus, 2014; Rao et al, 2017; Winstok, 2016), though several also include violence perpetrated by other adult family members (Allan & Allan, 2014; Hudson, 2019; Meyer & Frost, 2019; Michalska, 2016; Rao et al, 2017).…”

“…Similarly, DFV is also defined as a single incident or pattern of incidents (HM Government, as cited by Benbow et al, 2018 , p. 187; Kelly & Westmarland, 2016 , p. 114; Michalska, 2016 ; Westmarland & Kelly, 2016 , p. 37; Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act of 2005, as cited by Rao et al, 2017 , p. 275), though some definitions exclude single incidents and only focus on patterns of behavior ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Hearn, 2013 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Postmus, 2014 ; Rao et al, 2017 ; Almeida & Durkin, as cited by Walsh et al, 2015 , p. 1). DFV definitions focus on acts, rather than failures to act, as adults are generally not seen as requiring care from their partner or other family members, unlike children (WHO, as cited by Ali et al, 2016 , p. 17; Band-Winterstein et al, 2021, p. 115; Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Walsh et al, 2015 , p. 2; HM Government, as cited by Benbow et al, 2018 , p. 187; Kelly & Westmarland, 2016 , p. 114; Westmarland & Kelly, 2016 , p. 37; CDC, as cited by Crockett et al, 2015 , p. 293; Hearn, 2013 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014 ; Meyer & Frost, 2019 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Postmus, 2014 ; Rao et al, 2017 ; Winstok, 2016 ), except for legislation from Poland (as cited by Michalska, 2016 ) and India (as cited by Rao et al, 2017 ), which also consider failures to act as a form of DFV. Several theoretical definitions emphasize the intentionality of the behavior and actions as critical to defining DFV, as something that is willfully perpetrated ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014 ; Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence of 29 July 2005, as cited by Michalska, 2016 , p. 145; Postmus, 2014 ; …”

“…Several theoretical definitions emphasize the intentionality of the behavior and actions as critical to defining DFV, as something that is willfully perpetrated ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014 ; Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence of 29 July 2005, as cited by Michalska, 2016 , p. 145; Postmus, 2014 ; Winstok, 2016 ). The overwhelming majority of DFV definitions focus solely on abuse perpetrated by an intimate partner (WHO, as cited by 2016, p. 17, Band-Winterstein et al, 2021, p. 115; Benbow et al, 2018 ; Burelomova et al, 2018 ; Walsh et al, 2015 , p. 2; CDC, as cited by Crockett et al, 2015 , p. 293; Hearn, 2013 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Meyer & Frost, 2019 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Postmus, 2014 ; Rao et al, 2017 ; Winstok, 2016 ), though several also include violence perpetrated by other adult family members ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Meyer & Frost, 2019 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Rao et al, 2017 ). The impact of the actions are also critical to deciding if a situation is DFV, as it must cause or have the potential to cause physical or emotional harm ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Hearn, 2013 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014 ; Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence of 29 July 2005, as cited by Michalska, 2016 , p. 145; Postmus, 2014 ; Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act of 2005, as cited by Rao et al, 2017 , p. 275; Winstok, 2016 ).…”

“…The overwhelming majority of DFV definitions focus solely on abuse perpetrated by an intimate partner (WHO, as cited by 2016, p. 17, Band-Winterstein et al, 2021, p. 115; Benbow et al, 2018 ; Burelomova et al, 2018 ; Walsh et al, 2015 , p. 2; CDC, as cited by Crockett et al, 2015 , p. 293; Hearn, 2013 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Meyer & Frost, 2019 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Postmus, 2014 ; Rao et al, 2017 ; Winstok, 2016 ), though several also include violence perpetrated by other adult family members ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Meyer & Frost, 2019 ; Michalska, 2016 ; Rao et al, 2017 ). The impact of the actions are also critical to deciding if a situation is DFV, as it must cause or have the potential to cause physical or emotional harm ( Allan & Allan, 2014 ; Hearn, 2013 ; Hudson, 2019 ; Laeheem & Boonprakarn, 2014 ; Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence of 29 July 2005, as cited by Michalska, 2016 , p. 145; Postmus, 2014 ; Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act of 2005, as cited by Rao et al, 2017 , p. 275; Winstok, 2016 ). Allan and Allan (2014) and Winstok (2016) distinguished between harmful or potentially harmful acts that are consensual (e.g., masochistic activities) and DFV.…”