Love is not abuse

By maria Francisca and Roberta (Portugal)() Write the World

APP’s FOR GOOD - Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a pattern of controlling behaviours that one person uses against another in order to gain or maintain power and control in the relationship.

This problem is related to SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

In 2018 the statistics said that in Portugal 86% of the victims from domestic violence are women. In 64% of the cases, the place of the crime is the common residence. Only 41,2% of the victims report their situations.

The World Health Organization says that in 2013, worldwide, almost one third (30%) of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. In 2016 the UN Women said that in Portugal, the prevalence of data on different forms of violence against women is 19%, which means that it’s lower than worldwide statistics (30%). According to statistics, 54.7% of young people in Portugal have already suffered at least one act of dating violence. For example, there was a recent case in Portugal that ended up with the victim dead, in 2020, in which a man showered his girlfriend with flammables and set her on fire while she was sleeping.

Generally, there are a number of psychological, physical and social consequences that manifest after victimization. However, the victim is generally not the only person affected. Witnesses of this victimization may also be affected. The physical effects include not only the direct results of the aggression suffered by the victim, but also our body's responses to the stress it has been subjected to.

Psychologically, the effects can lead the victim to consider the possibility of losing psychic balance and even commit suicide.

This problem could be solved with mandatory sessions where a psychologist or a member of the police talked about this problem with the victim.

For that, organizations like APAV were created to help and support the victims of domestic violence.

The initial help of a friend or family member can be crucial for the victim of domestic violence to speak up and ask for help in trying to get out of the situation of violence in which she lives and has to deal with alone.

When we looked for apps we found the application, AppVD. This app allows supporting victims of domestic violence and dating. With it, it’s possible to know the services available and closer, make a complaint, request information or find entities that can provide legal support or accompany victims of domestic violence.

Another app we thought that was helpful app is HereForYou, an app where you can find information about behaviors, causes and consequences of domestic violence. Furthermore, there’s a part where you are able to get help for yourself or inform yourself of how you can help others. For those that don’t know if they’re actually being victims of dating violence, there is information about how a healthy relationship should be.

We also found a portuguese app ”Apoio vítima”.This app has two parts, a manual where you can clarify doubts about what is and what isn't Domestic Violence and if you are in an unhealthy relationship and an inquiry where you can answer some questions to find out if you should get help. When you finish the inquiry the app will tell you if you are suffering from domestic violence and if you are the app will give you advice to be saved. The app will also give you the location to support the victims’ centers and cell phone lines.

SOURCES:

UN Women (2016) - Global Database on Violence against Women, accessed on March ninth 2020. Available on https://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/countries/europe/portugal

World Health Organization (2017) Violence against women, accessed on March ninth 2020. Available on https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

Carla Bernardino (2020) Homem regou namorada com inflamáveis e ateou-lhe fogo. Ela dormia, accessed on March ninth 2020. Available on https://www.google.pt/amp/s/www.delas.pt/ela-dormia-homem-pega-fogo-a-namorada-depois-de-a-ter-regado-com-gasolina-e-diluente/atualidade/778002/amp/

State of Michigan (2020) Defining Dating Violence, accessed on March ninth 2020. Available on https://www.michigan.gov/datingviolence/0,4559,7-233-46553-169521--,00.html

National Domestic Violence Hotline (2017) Dating Abuse Statistics, accessed on March ninth 2020. Available on

https://www.loveisrespect.org/resources/dating-violence-statistics/

Natália Faria (2019) Mais de metade dos jovens já sofreram violência no namoro em Portugal, acessed on March eightennth 2020. Avaiable on https://www.publico.pt/2019/02/13/sociedade/noticia/metade-jovens-ja-sofreram-violencia-namoro-1861829