501 responding.
On board with patrol 2-11-501,
with city police officers Denise Lehmann and Christoph Meyer in Baden.
Deployments relating to domestic violence have become routine for them.
In the evening, when people are spending time together,
we get these kinds of calls.
We're called out for family conflicts.
This can be due to the holidays and also the warm weather.
This has an effect as well. - Has it increased over the years?
Yes, I think that we have more deployments relating to this now
than we did a few years ago. It's increased.
Previously it was definitely a taboo subject.
That isn't the case any more,
Because more women or victims – if we should call them that –
are reporting incidents, taking the initiative and defending themselves.
The latest figures from victim support centres in Switzerland
reflect this trend:
In total, the number of consultations has doubled.
Domestic violence has led to a dramatic increase in the
number of people seeking help, especially for crimes such as
bodily harm, assault, extortion, threats and coercion.
Throughout Switzerland,
most victims turn to the counselling centre in Zurich.
When it comes to domestic violence,
we frequently hear of threats such as: "I'm going to kill you",
"I'm going to hit you", "I'm taking the kids away from you."
Or in relationships: "If you leave me,
I'll put nude photos of you online."
Has it really got that bad?
Is society really that brutal? Why are there so many more reports?
Overall there has been a slight increase, but it's mainly
due to the fact that society is much more aware of it now
thanks to police campaigns and also victim support centres.
These are prevention campaigns such as this one by the Solothurn cantonal police,
which made people more aware of domestic violence.
Those affected often include young people.
They're seeking help here at the Schlupfhuus shelter home in Zurich.
Lukas Meissen runs the institution and shows us a room
where young people can find temporary refuge.
When you start working here it's shocking to see
the matter-of-fact way in which
young people talk about serious violence.
They're regularly beaten with a belt or a wooden spoon.
It's an everyday occurrence for them.
And if you dig deeper,
you notice that the verbal abuse, the psychological abuse -
"You're no son of mine", "I should have had you aborted" -
runs even deeper. This can really destroy a person.
And how do young people react?
It's not unusual to see
that in their helplessness they eventually retaliate,
defend themselves and decide that enough is enough.
Or they turn to substance abuse
as a way of switching off and running away from it all.
The young people are given psychological counselling.
They can stay here for up to three months
and adapt to an abuse-free life.
Police presence and prevention campaigns
have made people more aware.
Shame and fear are fading
and people are no longer turning a blind eye to domestic violence.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét