“Any form of violence perpetrated against women is beyond the pale and I am glad Slovakia can demonstrate this principled position again by its joining of the global UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign,” said Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. He added that violence against women reflects the state of society. The Foreign Ministry is also supporting the campaign by lighting up the Palugyay Palace in orange.
The UN campaign lasts every year from the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25) until the International Day of Human Rights (December 10).
Also on the same occasion Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová encouraged women experiencing violence from their partners to seek help. "I know that the journey out of violence is far from easy. But it is always an incomparably better choice than a life of violence," Čaputová wrote on social media. She also stressed that if violence is taking place in someone’s neighbourhood, anyone can help. "We can also contribute with an attitude that doesn't make light of violence or blame women for bringing violence on themselves with their behaviour," reads the President’s status.
Almost half of Slovaks have in their immediately circle a person with an experience of violence in a partnership relationship, according to a survey on violence against women by the Kantar Hoffmann agency for Ikea. The quantitative on-line survey was carried out in cooperation with Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak non-governmental organisation Fenestra with the participation of 1500 respondents aged 18-65.
The results have also shown that more than a third think that if the woman does not leave the violent household, she is partly to blame. Almost 80% of respondents said that violence in partner relationships involves a large part of society, and more attention should be devoted to it. More women than men encounter this problem.
