Bratislava Centre for Work and Family Studies















Domestic Violence and Violence against Women 
in Slovakia

Shorten version of the research report




Bernardína Bodnárová
Jarmila Filadelfiová

















Bratislava, 2004



The Research project  on Domestic Violence  and Violence  against Women in Slovakia appears thanks to the generous support of:

United Nations Population  Fund (RER/99/P06 - Generations and gender: Research into 
their Behaviour and Quality of Life
NOS - Open Society Foundation  - Programme for women in society
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, e.v., the Representative in the Slovak Republic


















Domestic Violence and Violence against Women in Slovakia 
Shorten version of the research report
                   --------------

Authors: Bernardína Bodnárová - Jarmila Filadelfiová

Translation: Daniela Bernátová
Proof-reading: Tor Lindbloom 
Technical co-operation: Helena Podlesná


(c) Bratislava Centre for Work and Family Studies
   (Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies)
   Špitálska 6, 812 41 Bratislava

   Printed: Kartprint, Bratislava
   ISBN 80-89048-13-7







Information on the Research Project


Four organisations shared expenditure on the project:
* NOS - Open Society Foundation  - Programme for women in society
* UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund - Generations and gender: Research into their Behaviour and Quality of Life
* Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, e.v., the Representative in the Slovak Republic 
* Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies (BICFS) 


 Co-operating institutions and experts:
* The Esset Civic Association (now EsFem): expert advice of Monika Zábavniková  Bosá and David Bosý;
* The Slovak Women´s  Alliance: expert counselling and co-operation in the preparation of materials by Adriana Mesochoritisová;
* The Department of Social and Economic Sciences of Comenius University:  expert advice on methodology and data processing by Alojz Ritomsky;
* The Institute for Public Affairs - expert opinion on questionnaires by O3/4ga Gyarfášová 
* S.P.A.C.E. - The Centre for Social Policy Analysis: expert opinion on questionnaires by Iveta Radičová;
* The FOCUS Marketing and Research Agency: consulting and advice on research sample construction and empirical data collecting.

Acknowledgement:
The authors of this report would like to give special thanks to all of the above donors and experts as well as to many other professional, administrative and organisational workers who participated in the preparation and implementation of this research project. We are especially grateful to Mrs Helena Podlesná for her tremendous work on the preparation of this report. 











































Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................................................	....
 7
Part I . 
Domestic Violence - Opinions and Attitudes of the Slovak Population........................................................
 9

1.  Slovakia and the Problem of Domestic Violence.....................................................................................
11
1.1. Objectives of domestic violence research................................................................................................ 
11
1.2. Data collection and research sample........................................................................................................ 
11
1.3. Occurrence of different kinds of domestic violence in Slovakia............................................................ 
12
 1.3.1. Personal experience of Slovak population with domestic violence
 1.3.2. Knowledge of the occurrence of domestic violence in the close and larger family
 1.3.3. Knowledge of occurrence of Domestic violence in households of the broader 
           environment (neighbours, friends,..)
 1.3.4. Occurrence of domestic violence - including personal experience and knowledge 
           of an occurrence of violence
1.4. Opinion regarding the causes of violent behaviour in the household in  Slovakia............................. 
19
1.5. Opinion of Slovak residents on their society's tolerance towards  violence......................................... 
22
1.6. Attitudes of the Slovak population towards the punishment of children............................................. 
25
1.7. Opinion of the Slovak population on violence in the intimate relationship........................................ 
27
1.8. Attitudes of the Slovak population towards strategies aimed to eliminate domestic violence............  
29
1.9. Intervention in cases of domestic violence...............................................................................................
31
1.10. Who should intervene in cases of domestic violence.............................................................................. 
32
1.11. Summary................................................................................................................................................... 
33

Part II. 
Violence Against Women in Slovakia: Women's Experience and Attitudes............................................... 
35

2.1. Slovakia and the problem of violence against women............................................................................. 
37
       2.1.1. Basic information on the survey 
2.2. Men's violence against women outside of intimate partner relationships............................................. 
40
       2.2.1. Attitudes of women in Slovakia to selected forms of men's behavior
       2.2.2. Women's experience of violent behavior from men who were not partners
       2.2.3. Who are the perpetrators of violence against women? 
       2.2.4. Women' s responses to the violent behavior of men who are not their partners
       2.2.5. Experience of women in Slovakia of being followed by men
2.3. Violence against women in intimate partner relationships.....................................................................
47
       2.3.1. Attitudes of Slovaks towards selected types of partners' violent behavior against women
       2.3.2. Women's experience of violent behavior in intimate partner relationships
       2.3.3. Two types of violence against women in intimate partner relationships
       2.3.4. Characteristics of victims and perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships
       2.3.5. Procedures used and means attempted to solve the violent situation
       2.3.6. Causes of violence perpetrated against women by their intimate partners according 
                 to the opinion of Slovak women
       2.3.7. The consequences of violence perpetrated by an intimate partner
2.4. Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 
69

Notes....................................................................................................................................................................
71
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................................
72
















































Introduction

The current situation of an absolute lack of reliable statistics and an absence of research data about various forms of domestic violence and violence against women underlined the necessity of a nation-wide survey on these issues. 
The main reason for this was the commitment of Slovakia to prepare the National Strategy of the Struggle with the Violence against Women and, more importantly, the need for representative data on this important social phenomenon. The research focused on mapping the occurrence of different forms of violence in Slovakia, especially violence against women, including personal experiences with different forms of violence, reasons for violent behaviour, the necessity of intervention in cases of violence, and accepted strategies for eliminating domestic violence. 
The basic intentions of this research were to give relevant information to bodies and institutions, public authorities and also non-profit representatives on the attitudes and experiences of the Slovak population with this lamentable social phenomenon. 
The project preparation started in autumn 2002 and the field work was carried out in November 2002.  While still in its preparatory phase, the research project was divided into two separate empirical  activities. Thus data was collected in two separate research samples, and was separately analysed and interpreted. The first part of this report gives basic information on domestic violence, the attitudes of Slovak population to different forms of violence, and the level of tolerance of the Slovak population towards various kinds of violent behaviour. The second part - violence against women - gives basic information on the occurrence of violent behaviour in intimate partnerships in Slovakia, from the current female partner's point of view as well as from that of the former partner. 
Preliminary results of the research project were first presented to the public at an international conference entitled "Domestic Violence and Violence against Women." It was organised by the Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies (BICFS) as part of the project and held on April 11 - 12, 2002. Ninety experts and professionals working in state administration, self-government bodies, non-governmental organisations, and the academic community attended. It took place under the patronage of the Minister of Work, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic.
The final plenary section was steered by the director of the Department of Equal Opportunity and Anti-discrimination of the Ministry of Work, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic. Intentions and recommendations for the preparation of a National Strategy for the elimination of violence against women were presented, and the conclusions of the conference were drawn up.
All participants of the conference were given materials prepared in advance with basic research data as a starting point for work in sections. 
For the purposes of research, domestic violence has been defined as "any violent act in which the victim and perpetrator are currently or were in the past in a personal relationship". This notion includes not only violence against women, but also violence against children, violence among siblings, the abuse and neglect of the elderly by their children and so on.
This report includes an analysis of the empirical sociological data obtained from the first nation-wide research project on domestic violence and violence against women in Slovakia. 
























Part I.


Domestic Violence - Opinions and Attitudes 
of the Slovak Population























































1. Slovakia and the Problem of Domestic Violence

1.1. Objectives of domestic violence research
The principal research objectives included determining the occurrence of different forms of domestic violence in Slovakia, the attitudes and tolerance of the Slovak society towards violence occurring in households and families and a willingness to intervene in similar situations. The basic areas of research were as follows: 
* Occurrence of different kinds of domestic violence in Slovakia 
* Opinions on the causes of violence in Slovak households;
* Opinions on the tolerance of the Slovak society to different forms of violent behaviour;
* Opinions on the physical punishment of children;
* Opinions on violence in an intimate relationship, perpetrators versus victims
* Attitudes towards strategies for eliminating domestic violence
* Intervention in cases of domestic violence and a knowledge of the assistance services available for victims of domestic violence;

1.2. Data collection and research sample
The data was gathered from October 30th to November 11th, 2002. A standardised questionnaire which consisted of 30 questions (closed or semi-closed questions with the possibility of a free option to complete the answers) was used as a tool for obtaining the information. 
The research sample consisted of 856 male and female participants over 18 years of age. The basic selective characteristics for research sample construction were: region of residence, size of municipality, sex, age, and education. 
The data was collected through face-to-face interviews.
Table 1
Research sample divided according to selective characteristics (in %)
Sex
Male
47.7
Female
52.3
Education
Primary
35.3
Lower secondary
29.8
Secondary
26.5
Colleague, University
8.4
Age
18-24 years
16.3
25-34 years
19.3
35-44  years
20.6
45-54 years
16.9
55-59 years
6.2
60 years and more
20.7


Size of municipality
Up to  2 000 residents
30.5
2 000 -5 000 residents 
13.1
5 000 - 20 000 residents
15.0
20 000 - 50 000 residents
16.2
50 000 - 100 000 residents
12.0
Bratislava, Košice
13.3
Region of Slovakia
Bratislava
11.7
Trnava
10.2
Nitra
13.3
Trenčín
11.3
Banská Bystrica
12.3
Košice
14.1
Prešov
14.3

1.3. Occurrence of different kinds of domestic violence in Slovakia
Occurrence of various kinds of domestic violence was surveyed in three areas. The first area focused on obtaining information based on the respondent's personal experience of violent behaviour from a member of his/her own family. 
The second area focused on gathering information about violent acts  (the same kinds as in the former type) in households of close and large families and the third area was based on collecting data in the households of friends, acquaintances and colleagues. In the second and third areas, the victims of domestic violence were identified according to sex and relationship to the respondent.
11 indicators, which covered 5 basic forms of violence, were selected for monitoring the occurrence of domestic violence in all three areas:
- physical violence: slapping, pushing, threatening to kill, battering, and injuring;
- psychological violence: psychological abuse;
- economic violence: financial abuse, excessive monitoring of expenses, damaging things in the flat/house;
- social violence: restriction of contacts with a member of the family or contacts with friends etc., and control of movement;
- sexual violence: sexual abuse.
Selection of the surveyed items is a result of research carried out abroad and knowledge obtained within the framework of the domestic violence monitoring of clients at Centres for Counselling and Psychological Services in Slovakia (Bodnarová, B. - Filadelfiová, J.: Domestic Violence in Slovakia, BICFS 2001). 

1.3.1. Personal experience of Slovak population with domestic violence
The monitoring of personal experience with violence has been carried out through the recording of occurrences of violence used against male or female respondents. The frequency of occurrence has not been monitored. For all the forms of violent behaviour listed, respondents had to state whether any of their family members had treated them in this way or not. 
Table 2
Occurrence of selected violent behaviour in the Slovak households (in %)
Kinds of violent behaviour
Violence against

Interviewee -respondent
Households of close and large family members
Household of friends, colleagues,..
No one
Do not know


Intimate partner
Daughter
Son
Mother
Father
Sister
Brother

Daughter-in-law
Son-in-law
Other girl, woman in family
Other boy, man in family
Girl friend
Boy friend
Other woman ( female neighbour, female colleague,...)
Other man (male neighbour, male colleague,..)


Slapping...
19.9
3.8
7.6
8.6
7.3
0.8
7.5
6.9
1.0
0.5
9.7
5.7
10.8
5.0
19.8
4.9
36.3
9.5
Pushing, jostling,...
12.1
2.6
5.4
3.4
5.7
0.7
5.2
3.5
0.7
0.2
6.5
2.3
7.9
3.4
16.0
4.8
44.1
11.8
Threatening with death
4.9
0.7
1.0
0.4
2.7
0.5
1.6
0.8
0.1
0.1
2.1
0.6
3.3
0.9
7.3
1.5
68.8
12.0
Beating
8.9
1.3
4.5
3.5
5.2
0.6
5.4
2.4
0.8
0.5
7.5
1.8
7.0
2.1
17.0
2.7
47.6
9.4
Health injuries 
5.0
0.7
2.6
1.3
2.9
0.3
2.6
1.0
0.2
0.2
4.0
1.4
5.2
1.0
11.8
2.3
59.8
11.3
Psychological abuse 
9.3
1.4
3.9
2.0
5.7
0.8
3.8
1.2
0.6
0.2
6.6
1.7
7.7
1.3
14.6
1.4
50.7
11.7
Financial abuse (refusal to contribute  to household expenditure,..)
8.4
0.9
2.2
0.7
5.8
0.9
3.1
1.1
0.9
-
6.1
1.7
8.6
1.9
15.3
2.9
46.8
10.9
Excessive control over household expenditure
6.8
0.5
2.0
0.5
4.3
0.6
2.6
1.1
0.5
0.1
3.1
0.3
7.6
1.3
9.4
1.8
51.4
15.9
Restriction of social.  contacts, excessive monitoring of every step
6.9
0.5
2.4
0.7
2.7
0.2
3.7
1.1
0.5
-
2.7
0.2
7.8
1.2
9.6
1.0
53.9
13.9
Damaging objects in the household
6.0
0.7
1.6
0.1
3.0
0.8
2.6
1.2
0.1
-
3.3
0.3
5.4
1.4
15.1
1.7
56.0
11.4
Sexual abuse
1.0
0.1
0.5
-
-
-
0.1
-
-
-
0.3
-
1.5
-
2.5
-
72.8
22.6
Note: The concrete formulations quoted in the questionnaire were as follows:
Has it happened to you or anyone in your family that he/she was:
A: ... slapped by a member of the family
B: ... pushed by a member of the family
C:... threatened  with death
D:     beaten  by a member of the family 
E: ... suffered injuries (bruises, fractured limbs... even death) by a member of the family
F: ... psychologically abused (humiliated, trodden down...) by a member of the family
G: ...financially abused by a member of  the family (did not share the household expenses, took money...)
H: ... excessively controlled by a member of the family (monitored his / her expenses)
I: ...  restricted in social contacts by a member of the family, excessive monitoring each of  his/her steps
J: ... suffered from things in the flat being damaged or broken by a family member
K: ...sexually abused by a member of the family
Results from the data collected show that the population of Slovakia has a very rich personal experience with different kinds of physical violence. Among them, the experience of being slapped by a member of the family was admitted by 19,9% of the respondents, and being sometimes pushed was admitted by 12.1% of the research sample. Occurrences of the other forms of physical violence were admitted by less than 10% of the respondents: battering 8.9%, health injuries 5%, and threatening with death 4.9%.
Psychological abuse by members of the family has been cited by 9.3% of the respondents, restricting contacts with relatives and controlling every step being admitted by 6.9% of the respondents. Financial abuse by a member of the family, including restriction of expenses for the household, has been revealed by 8.4% and the excessive control of expenses by 6.8% of respondents. 6% of the population of the Slovak Republic experienced deliberate damage to household items. Results from the collected data show that the smallest number of respondents admit to a personal experience with sexual abuse by a member of the family. 
Table 3
Personal experience with violent behaviour in the family in Slovakia according to the selected variables of sex, age and size of settlement (in %)


 Kinds of violent behaviour
 
Sex
Age
Size of settlement

Male
Female
18-34 years
35-54 years
55 and more
Up to 2 thous.
2-5 thous.
5-20 thous.
20-50 tthous.
50-100 thous.
Bratislava Košice
Slapping...
17.1
22.5
22.3
22.0
13.9
14.9
23.2
11.7
28.1
21.4
25.7
Pushing. jostling,...
8.1
15.6
11.1
13.7
10.9
8.8
16.1
7.8
17.3
12.6
14.0
Threatening with death
3.4
14.5
6.6
12.1
9.1
5.0
5.4
8.6
15.8
10.7
15.0
Beating
6.1
11.4
8.2
12.5
4.3
6.9
8.0
3.1
15.8
8.7
13.2
Health injuries 
4.9
11.6
5.9
11.2
7.4
7.6
7.1
1.6
10.8
10.7
14.2
Psychological abuse 
 3.2
10.5
6.9
8.7
4.8
6.9
4.5
4.7
8.6
6.8
9.7
Financial abuse (refusal to contribute to household expenditure,..)
4.2
8.9
5.6
9.0
5.2
7.3
5.4
3.1
7.9
5.8
10.6
Excessive monitoring over household expenditure
1.7
7.8
2.6
8.1
3.9
2.7
4.5
2.3
10.1
7.8
5.3
Restriction of social contacts, control of every step
2.4
7.1
1.6
8.1
4.8
4.6
2.7
2.3
7.9
5.8
5.3
Breaking things in the household
2.4
9.2
2.6
9.3
5.7
3.4
3.6
3.1
9.4
6.8
12.3
Sexual abuse
-
2.0
0.7
1.2
1.3
1.1
-
-
1.4
3.9
-

The answers of respondents in the 11 monitored forms of behaviour differed according to socio-demographic characteristics. The biggest difference was between the sexes. In general, it is possible to say that in all of the above violent acts, the victims were more often women than men. 






Graph 1
Personal experience with violent behaviour in the family in Slovakia according to sex (in %)

The personal experience of those interviewed with domestic violence also differed according to age. People between the ages of 35 and 54 were the most frequent to admit to a personal experience of violent behaviour from a member of their family. The only exceptions were "being slapped by a member of the family" where there was a slight prevalence of younger age groups and "sexual abuse" (more answers in persons over 55).
Graph 2
Personal experience with violent behaviour in the family in Slovakia according to age (in %)

Size of settlements also made a difference in the respondents' answers about their personal experiences of violent behaviour from family members. While inhabitants of the biggest cities in Slovakia (Bratislava and Košice) have admitted more personal experience with economic violence (financial maltreatment and damage of household items), those residing in settlements of 20,000 to 50,000 have had more experience with battery. Sexual abuse occurred most frequently in towns of 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants.
Graph 3
Personal experience with violent behaviour in the family in Slovakia according to size of settlement (in %)

1.3.2. Knowledge of the occurrence of domestic violence in the close and larger family
In addition to personal experiences with domestic violence (a male or female respondent personally being a victim of domestic violence), knowledge about the occurrence of various kinds of domestic violence against other members of the family, or relatives, has also been surveyed. The same set of violent behaviour as in the previous case was used. In each case, the victim of violence was categorised by gender and kinship to the respondent.
Also in this case, slapping was revealed to be the most frequent. This form of violent behaviour within the family has been applied in Slovakia against all family members regardless of sex, but it has been most frequently applied to sons. Pushing, as well as threatening with death, have been most frequently experienced by mothers of the respondents, then by daughters and sisters. Mothers, daughters, sisters or other women and girls from the family have also been more frequently victims of the strongest forms of physical violence (battery and injuries), and also of all other forms of violence: economic, psychological, sexual, and social. (see table 2)
According to the results achieved, people have not only had personal experience with violent behaviour but also have knowledge of violent behaviour in the households of their relatives. And in both cases women have been targeted much more. Women more often find themselves in the role of victims of domestic violence in Slovakia. The same tendencies have been exposed through monitoring knowledge of violence in families of friends and acquaintances.

1.3.3. Knowledge of occurrence of Domestic violence in households of the broader environment 
          (neighbours, friends,..)
Knowledge of the occurrence of violence in the households of friends, colleagues, neighbours, and acquaintances represented the third area of data collected on domestic violence in Slovakia. Not only was the occurrence of such behaviour monitored, but the gender of the victim was recorded as well.
Occurrence of the listed forms of violent behaviour has again been recorded. In the families of the respondents' acquaintances and friends, physical violence has been the most frequent, but financial, psychological, sexual and social violence has been extensive as well. It is also still true that women (female friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and neighbours) have been more frequently designated as victims. (see table 2)
Of violent behaviour in families in their broader neighbourhood, Slovaks have the most frequent awareness of slapping. 10.8% of inhabitants have a girlfriend who has been slapped by a member of her own family; and 19.8% of those interviewed reported having a female friend, or neighbour who was slapped  by a member of her family. As far as female friends are concerned, the girlfriends of  7% of the population participating in the survey have been battered by a member of their families; 8.6% have a girlfriend who has been financially abused;  and 5.2% of the population have a girlfriend whose health has been harmed by a member of the family. According to the survey, exposure to violence has been much more frequent against other female acquaintances. As many as 17% of the Slovak respondents have a female acquaintance (colleague or neighbour) who has been battered by one of her family members.  Over 15% of them are acquainted with someone whose family member has damaged items in the household, 14.6% identified a woman from work or their neighbourhood who has been psychologically abused, and 11.8% of Slovak residents have an acquaintance whose health has been harmed by a member of her family. Comparing the frequency of violence in families of friends and acquaintances in terms of the sex of the victim has confirmed that the case of women is considerably more critical in all of the listed forms of violent behaviour. 

1.3.4. Occurrence of domestic violence - including personal experience and knowledge of an 
          occurrence of violence  
Surveying personal experiences with violent behaviour as well as knowledge about occurrences of domestic violence in families nearby and in larger neighbourhoods has revealed that, in Slovakia, the less harmful forms of physical violence are the most common. 54.2% of the examined sample stated that they have had personal experience with or have a knowledge about being slapped by a member of the family; out of that 19.9% have had a direct experience, and 34.3% have had an indirect experience. 44.1% of respondents are familiar with pushing in their family; out of them, 12.2% have personal experience with such a situation, and 32.4% identified a person in his/her environment who has experienced it. 43% of Slovak residents have reported battery in their households. 8.9% have experienced it personally, and 34.1% have knowledge about its occurrence.
After the three items of physical violence mentioned above, financial abuse by a member of the family follows. 42.3% of respondents have admitted to an experience with financial misuse; 8.4% of this is personal and 33.9% is indirect. Next, with a share of 37.6%, is psychical maltreatment by a family member. 9.3% have stated a personal experience with such behaviour while 28.7% have experienced it indirectly. Almost one third of Slovaks interviewed have had their own experience or have known someone in their environment whose expenses are excessively controlled by a family member (32.7%), who has things in their flat that were broken (32.6%), or who is excessively restricted and controlled (32.2%).
However, the most clean-cut forms of physical and sexual violence are not unknown to Slovak society. Experience with health injuries caused by a family member has been stated by 28.9% of the adult population of Slovakia and 5% have admitted that they have experienced such an act personally, while 23.9% know a person in their environment who has also experienced it. A personal experience of being threatened with death by a family member has been stated by 4.9% of the examined set and knowledge of such a threat by 14.3%. 4.6% have had some experience with sexual abuse in the family; 1% admitted personal experience and 3.6% have had indirect experience of this violent act.
Table 4 
Occurrence of domestic violence  (personal experience and knowledge of occurrence) in Slovakia (in %)
 
Personal experience  or knowledge of occurrence of violent behaviour
Of which 


Personal experience
Knowledge on occurrence in other family
Slapping...
54.2
19.9
34.3
Pushing, jostling,...
44.1
12.1
32.0
Threatening with death
43.0
8.9
34.1
Beating
42.3
8.4
33.9
Health injuries 
37.6
9.3
28.3
Psychological abuse 
32.7
6.8
25.9
Financial abuse (refusal to contribute to household expenditure,..)
32.6
6.0
26.6
Excessive monitoring over household expenditure
32.2
6.9
25.3
Restriction of social contacts, control of every step
28.9
5.0
23.9
Damaging items in the household
19.2
4.9
14.3
Sexual abuse
4.6
1.0
3.6

In all monitored dimensions and for all monitored indicators of violent behaviour in families, it has been shown that women are definitely more frequent victims of domestic violence in Slovakia. 







Table 5
Knowledge of  the occurrence of domestic violence in the households of  close  and large family members and the households of friends, colleagues,... (in %)

Male
Female
Slapping...
32.4
63.7
Pushing, jostling,...
18.3
47.4
Threatening with death
4.8
18.1
Beating
13.6
47.4
Health injuries 
7.5
29.3
Psychological abuse 
8.6
42.9
Financial misuse (refusal to contribute to household expenditures,..)
9.2
42.0
Excessive monitoring over household expenditure
5.7
29.5
Restriction of social contacts, control of every step
4.4
29.4
Breaking things in the household
5.5
31.1
Sexual abuse
-
4.9

A higher occurrence of domestic violence against women has not only been shown in personal experiences with violence by a member of the family.  Even the experience of Slovaks with violent acts perpetrated in the families of their relatives, friends or acquaintances have definitely confirmed that the domestic violence is more frequently aimed against women. For the less harmful kinds of physical violence, its frequency is double; for all other examined violent acts it is 3 to 7 times more. The biggest differences have been shown in damaging items in the flat (7 times more frequently aimed against women), restricting socialising (meeting other people) and controlling every movement (6 times more frequent), and economic violence and psychological maltreatment (5 times more frequent). Sexual abuse has been reported in women only.

1.4. Opinion regarding the causes of violent behaviour in the household in Slovakia
In surveys of domestic violence, great attention is usually given to an examination of its causes. Discovering these causes may significantly contribute to the elimination of this deplorable phenomenon. According to international studies on domestic violence as well as information on the monitoring of cases of domestic violence at Centres for Counselling and Psychological Services in Slovakia (Bodnárová, B. - Filadelfiová, J., 2001), 12 issues which were often cited as causes have been selected. In each of them, respondents were supposed to state whether they considered it the cause of domestic violence or not.
Out of the options offered for the cause of violence in the family, the alcoholism of the violent person has been most frequently specified (87.6% of respondents). The frequency of female and male answers barely differed.  Nor did age or education differentiate the research set. In terms of the size of the respective respondent's municipalities, inhabitants from cities with a population of 50,000 to 100,000 have designated alcoholism of the perpetrator as the cause of domestic violence less frequently (82.5%). It was more frequent in settlements of 2 to 5 thousand inhabitants (90.1%). Alcoholism of the perpetrator was more often cited by those belonging to an Evangelical denomination (90%) and less often by respondents claiming no denomination (80.6%).
Table 6
Opinions of Slovak population on the causes  of domestic violence (in %)

%
1. Alcoholism
87.6
2. Incorrect rearing in childhood
68.0
3. Personal characteristics - violent character
63.2
4. Various addictions - drugs, gambling...
61.9
5. Bad socio-economical situation in the family
56.1
7. Unemployment,  failure in professional life 
55.1
8. Experience with  violent behaviour  in parents' family
42.1
6. Sense of supremacy /predominance of violent person (physical, social, economic,...)
37.2
9. Low self-esteem of violent person
36.2
10. Traditional opinions on the role of children, men and women in the family 
32.4
11. Financial dependency on violent person
28.7
12. Success in profession, business
15.5
99. Do not know
2.2

The second most frequently mentioned cause of domestic violence was incorrect rearing during childhood (68%). This reason has been designated more often by women and the elderly and is more frequently cited by university educated people (75%) than those with only a primary education. Relatively great differences exist according to the size of the municipality.  Inhabitants of small villages with a population of no more than 2,000 considered bad upbringing as the cause of violence less frequently (58.2%), greatly differing from the opinion of inhabitants of cities with a population of 50,000 -100,000 (78.6%). Denomination also differentiated the opinion of incorrect upbringing during childhood as a factor of violent behaviour in adulthood.  It was more frequent in respondents without confession. 
The personal characteristics and violent character of the perpetrator have been placed as third in succession among violent behaviour causes (61.9%). There were only small differences between the numbers of male and female responses which was also true of age. University educated people agreed with listing the personal character of the violent person among the causes of domestic violence the most (69.4%) and people educated through secondary school without the school-leaving examination agreed the least (59.2%). According to the size of municipality, there were differences in opinion, as well as according to the confession of the respondents .
More detailed information on this issue is recorded in table 7.





Table 7
Opinions of Slovak population on the reasons of domestic violence according to the selected  variables of sex, age, size of residents and confession (in %)

Sex
Age
Size of settlement
Confession

Male
Female
18-34 years
35-54 years
55and more
Up to 2 thous.
2-5 thous.
5-20 thous.
20-50 thous.
50-100 thous.
Bratislava,
Košice
Without confession
Roman catholic
Evangelical
Other
Incorrect rearing during childhood
65.9
69.9
66.4
68.9
68.7
58.2
72.3
69.0
73.4
78.6
68.1
66.7
67.5
71.4
85.2
Various addictions - drugs, gambling...
61.3
62.5
65.9
62.1
56.3
52.5
60.7
62.5
71.2
68.9
65.8
66.7
60.9
68.6
55.6
Low self-esteem of violent person
33.1
39.1
39.0
35.1
33.9
25.3
39.3
31.3
50.4
42.7
40.7
38.8
34.6
43.5
29.6
Traditional opinions on the role of children, men and women in the family 
30.4
34.2
29.9
34.8
32.5
31.8
39.3
28.9
37.0
29.1
28.1
34.1
30.4
47.8
37.0
Personal characteristics - violent character
62.8
63.5
63.3
64.0
61.9
57.5
71.4
60.9
70.3
63.1
63.2
61.2
64.3
65.2
51.9
Sense of supremacy /dominance of violent person (physical, social, economic,...)
34.8
39.3
13.8
38.8
32.6
31.4
37.8
36.4
47.5
33.0
42.1
43.4
35.5
47.8
29.6
Financial dependency on violent person
24.9
32.2
27.9
30.2
27.8
31.8
26.1
26.6
34.1
30.1
19.3
26.4
27.1
42.9
51.9
Bad socio-economic position in the family
54.9
57.1
54.4
58.3
55.2
49.8
53.2
53.9
64.0
61.2
61.9
52.7
57.4
50.0
66.7
Experience with  violent behaviour in parents' family
41.1
43.1
44.9
41.3
39.6
34.1
45.0
44.5
42.4
48.5
49.1
47.3
41.1
47.1
29.6
Alcoholism
88.0
87.3
87.5
87.9
87.4
89.3
90.1
89.1
84.8
82.5
88.6
80.6
89.2
90.0
85.2
Unemployment,  failure in professional life
53.8
56.3
57.9
55.1
51.7
51.9
50.9
60.9
63.8
48.0
48.0
59.2
54.0
54.3
70.4
Success in profession, business
13.2
17.6
13.8
18.1
14.3
16.1
14.3
17.8
16.7
15.7
11.4
16.9
15.1
18.6
18.5

Even though great differences between the opinions of women and men for the causes of violence in family have not been shown, especially with regards to the most common responses, the results still point to their different experiences. The women gave higher preferences to all of the above causes except alcoholism. Alcoholism of violent person was the only item in which male preferences prevailed. This means that women see the problem of domestic violence as more complex and indicated more factors as causes of domestic violence than men.  The tendency of men to find an excuse for violence in alcoholic intoxication was high and a lower importance was given to "gender-based" factors. The greatest differences between the opinions of Slovak men and women towards domestic violence were in the categories of financial dependence on the violent person, then in traditional opinions for the role of women and men in family, a low self-evaluation and the perpetrator's sense of supremacy.
Results in individual versus social causes and the opinion of men and women are more or less related; differences in evaluating those factors which refer to the status of women and men in society and family are obvious. The sensitivity of women to these determinants was substantially higher. 
1.5. Opinion of Slovak residents on their society's tolerance towards  
        violence
Different social and cultural environments have different rates of tolerance towards individual violent acts. Violent behaviour that is taken as a common phenomenon in one community, the occurrence over which no one demurs, can be considered a criminal act or an act that is strongly condemned in another. 
This research project tried to determine the opinion of Slovaks in regards to their society's tolerance towards the selected items of violent behaviour. Tolerance had been evaluated in 14 selected violent situations and the participants in this survey were asked to evaluate it on a five-point scale.  The selected items of violent situations covered as wide a range of domestic violence as possible and the mutual relationship between the perpetrator and the victim (partners' and parents' relationship) was specified. Different acts of domestic violence among relatives were supplemented by some examples of public violence, such as damage to public property, the mistreatment animals, mobbing, racial or ethnic intolerance and disregard towards the elderly.
Table 8
Opinions of Slovak population on the tolerance of their society towards violence (in %)

The Slovak community's attitude towards these violent behaviours is:

Very tolerant
Rather tolerant
 Indifferent
Rather condemnatory
Very condemnatory
Do not know
Battering of woman by her male partner
9.6
17.0
29.9
26.2
14.4
2.9
Child abuse by parent
5.8
13.1
21.6
28.4
29.0
2.0
Racial or ethnic intolerance
6.0
16.4
36.4
28.9
8.0
4.3
Battering of man by his female partner
7.1
12.0
34.7
21.6
8.6
15.9
Parent abused by child
3.4
12.5
27.2
28.2
19.5
9.1
Damage of public property
7.4
12.4
40.5
25.8
11.9
2.1
Psychological abuse of male partner by female partner
4.1
13.5
38.8
19.2
9.1
15.3
Financial abuse of elderly parents by their children
8.6
19.5
35.8
20.7
8.5
7.0
Animal abuse
7.8
12.4
34.7
28.9
12.8
3.3
Unscrupulousness against the elderly 
6.0
13.3
38.0
29.0
11.2
2.4
Psychological abuse of female partner by male partner
7.3
14.7
30.2
28.6
13.9
5.3
Sexual harassment of women
5.5
13.3
26.9
28.2
22.3
3.9
Mobbing in the workplace
5.8
17.8
38.1
21.6
8.3
8.4
Sexual harassment of male
4.0
10.8
33.5
16.3
8.4
27.1

Almost in all of the listed violent situations, the opinion that the Slovak society was indifferent towards them prevailed. The highest measure of indifference was reported by respondents for the item damage of public property (40.5%).  Immediately following were the cases of psychological abuse of female partner by male partner (38.8%), mobbing in the workplace (38.1%), and unscrupulousness against elderly people (38%).  In only three situations out of 14, maltreatment of a child by a parent, maltreatment of a parent by a child, and sexual harassment of women did Slovak residents express the opinion that their society condemns these violent acts.
	Through the calculation of an index (an average value for all valid answers in the interval of 1 to 5, where a higher index denomination means a higher rate of condemnation and vice versa), a ranking of the examined forms of violence has been created:
Child abused by a parent - 3.63 score; 
Differences according to sexes were not demonstrated in responses, only the age and education differentiated the answers of the research sample. The share of responses that consider Slovak society tolerant or careless towards the maltreatment of children increased with age. 
Graph 4
Opinions of Slovak population on the tolerance towards child abusing by parents according to age (in %)

In terms of educational groups, the greatest share of supporters of the opinion that are intolerant or tolerant towards this form of maltreatment prevails in our country has appeared among people with a lower secondary education.
Graph 5
Opinions of Slovak population on the tolerance towards child abusing by parents according 
to education (in %)

	
	Parent abused by a child - 3.53 score;
	According to age and sex, there were no differences in the responses; the differentiation in answers appeared only according to the size of settlements and education. The opinion of a low tolerance towards abuse of the parent by the child in the Slovak Republic (condemning such violence) is represented in a higher rate among inhabitants of smaller and middle-sized settlements (5,000 - 20,000 and 20,000 - 50,000 inhabitants). Respondents living in towns with a population of 50,000 or over are more critical. They more often preferred the opinion that the Slovak residents are apathetic towards this phenomenon.
Graph 6
Opinions of Slovak population on the tolerance towards parent abusing by children according to size 
of settlement (in %)

Sexual harassment of women - 3.50 score;
Opinions about the sexual harassment of women have mostly differed according to education and the size of the municipality where respondents live. With an increasing educational level, the share of respondents expressing the opinion that the sexual harassment of women is condemned by the Slovak society decreases and the share of those who express the opinion that Slovak society is benevolent towards it increases. Among university educated respondents, the opinion that Slovak society tolerates this phenomenon or neglects it prevailed. In connection with the sexual harassment of women, highly educated people were more critical in evaluating their society's attitude. 
The data received also showed that inhabitants of small rural settlements (up to 2 thousand inhabitants) and residents of smaller towns of 20,000 to 50,000 inhabitants have evaluated the rate of tolerance towards the sexual harassment of women more highly.  Residents of settlements consisting of 2,000 to 5,000 inhabitants evaluated it the most critically.



Graph 7
Opinions of Slovak population on the tolerance towards sexual harassment of male according 
to  education (in %)

	Psychological violence of a man towards his female partner - 3.29 score;
The rate of tolerance among the people of Slovakia towards a male's psychological violence against his female partner received a score of 3.29 points. This means that a positive opinion in this issue prevails among Slovak residents (41.5%). Another 30.2% of respondents expressed opinion that Slovak society is indifferent towards this psychological form of violence perpetrated against women by their intimate partners and 22% felt that Slovak society condemned it. 
Unscrupulousness towards the elderly and the mistreatment of animals- 3.27 score;
The opposite tendency has been shown in the youngest and middle-aged groups in which the most favourable view prevails (that Slovak society condemns unscrupulous behaviour towards the elderly), the opinion of people from secondary schools being the closest to such an evaluation.
According to the size of their municipalities, inhabitants of larger cities with a population of 50,000 and over consider Slovakia as a society with a high tolerance and negligence towards violence against the elderly. The opinion that Slovak society assumes a condemnatory attitude towards such behaviour has been more frequently expressed among residents of middle-sized and smaller settlements. 
The other types of violence listed received scores of less than 3 points.

1.6. Attitudes of the Slovak population towards the punishment of children
The history of using punishments of different kinds by parents or by other responsible people against children is very long. In the past, various kinds of punishments have been commonly used in rearing children and no one perceived them as violence against children. As a consequence of medical workers' activities and later because the discussion about children's rights became more widespread, these attitudes gradually started to change.
Given the fact that physical (and other) punishments against children have a long tradition in Slovakia, the discussion about whether physical punishments should or should not be used has opened only recently. It was also for this reason that the problem has been included in research about domestic violence. In this research project, 13 different ways that parents punish their children were selected. In ascertaining the attitudes of Slovak residents towards different kinds of punishments, the respondents were asked to decide whether these kinds of punishment may be used by parents in the upbringing of their children or not. Among the selected forms of behaviour, physical punishments predominated, but others were not uncommon. Physical punishments ranged in intensity from occasional spanking on the bottom by hand" to "repeated battering". Non-physical punishments were also surveyed.  Such punishments included shouting at the child, non-verbal forms like various prohibitions or commands, restricting contacts with mates or not talking to the child. In each situation, respondents were asked to state whether parents may use the punishment when they think appropriate, only when it is absolutely inevitable, or not at all. The questions aimed to find the attitudes of the Slovak population towards different ways of punishing children.
Table 9
Opinions of Slovak population to the selected forms of parents' behaviour against children




They may use it each time they consider it convenient
They may use it only when it is inevitable
They cannot use it at all
Do not know
Occasionally spanking child's bottom by hand
68.8
29.8
1.3
0.1
Screaming, scolding
25.6
51.7
21.1
1.6
Forbidding favourite activity (TV, PC, toys...)
50.1
41.9
7.2
0.8
Slapping now and then
26.6
48.7
23.6
1.1
Putting in the corner
33.3
41.3
23.1
2.3
Refusing to give food
2.0
9.8
87.1
1.1
Kneeling (on a log, in the corner) 
7.6
25.9
64.4
2.2
Battering (with a belt, wooden spoon) now and then
8.1
33.6
56.9
1.4
Not talking to the child
8.1
28.1
60.8
3.0
Punishment by working (cleaning the  flat, doing the garden)
45.4
36.6
16.6
1.4
Grounding (ban to go out, to meet friends)
34.0
46.2
18.7
1.2
Repeated battering
2.8
20.1
75.5
1.5
Refusing to buy things
40.1
44.4
13.8
1.7

The most tolerant attitude was expressed by the Slovak population towards "spanking the child's bottom by hand" and "banning a favorite activity". To spank a child's bottom is considered a legitimate means of punishment by the absolute majority of Slovaks. 
The more unambiguously physical forms of punishments were at the opposite end of the spectrum, and condemnation is the strongest here (the greatest share of answers being that parents cannot use it at all): refusing to give food (87.1%), repeated battering (75.5%), kneeling on a log in the corner (64.4%), beating with a belt or wooden spoon now and then (56.9%), but not talking to the child as well (60.8%). 
 Towards some punishments, the opinions of the respondents were not clear cut. These included screaming and scolding, slapping now and then, putting in the corner and the ban to go out. Among them, there are physical, verbal and other punishments as well. Scolding and screaming at the child was totally refused by 21.1% and totally accepted by 25.6% (51.7% accept it only when it is necessary). A completely tolerant attitude towards occasional slapping was expressed by 26.6% and an attitude of complete refusal by 23.6% (48.7% accepted it with limitations). Putting the child in the corner was unacceptable to 23.1% and for one third of respondents it was acceptable anytime (41.3% accept it only in necessary cases). A similar distribution of opinion is found regarding whether the child can be forbidden to go out: 18.7% expressed a total refusal, 34% total acceptance, and 46.2% of Slovaks tolerate it only in necessary cases.
The data gathered shows that there exists a relatively large group of people among the Slovak population who have a tolerant attitude towards the punishment of children. It can also be said that the tolerance towards punishments increases with age; the elderly definitely held more favourable opinions. The level of education was also a differentiating variable.  The higher the education, the lower the approval of punishment of children. The most evident differences in attitudes towards the punishment of children were shown to correspond with opinions about sharing duties and rights by parents in the family. Those respondents who did not agree with the opinion that "a married couple should share duties and rights equally" were more likely to have tolerant attitudes towards the punishment of children and vice versa. 

1.7. Opinion of the Slovak population on violence in the intimate 
 relationship
Surveys carried out anywhere throughout the world have confirmed that in violence among intimate partners  - current or past -the male is more frequently a perpetrator and the female is more often a victim in the violent relationship. 
What do the Slovak people think of a gender-based violence among intimate partners? 
Graph 8
Opinion of being victim in intimate partnership according to sex

While 82.1% respondents have designated the female as the more frequent victim of violence in the partner relationship, the male was considered to be the main victim of violence in the intimate relationship by 3.6% of the respondents. 
The opinion of a higher occurrence of women as victims of violence in intimate relationships was more frequently expressed by younger and middle-aged respondents, university educated and college educated respondents, and by the residents of middle-sized towns (20,000 - 50,000). The opinion that both sexes were victims in equal measures occurred most often within the over 55 age group. The man was designated as the most frequent victim between partners most commonly by those who had a lower secondary education and those residing in small villages. Those supporting the opinion that the man is supposed to have the main word in the family designated the woman as a victim of violence in the intimate relationship less frequently than respondents who refuse the dominance of men in the family.
The male was designated as a more frequent perpetrator of violent acts by the absolute majority of Slovak inhabitants (81.1%).  4.1% designated the female. The opinion that both sexes - male and female - share about the same part in perpetrating violence in a relationship was expressed by 11.2%. The remainder (3.6%) did not know.
Few respondents (4.1%) designated the woman as a more frequent perpetrator of violence and they were more frequently male. The opinion that the perpetrators of violence are more often men was prominent among women (This opinion was supported by 86.6% of the women and 77.2% of the men.) Men and women were considered equal in terms of committing violent acts in the intimate relationship by twice as many men as women (13% of men and 7.1% of women).    
Graph 9 
Opinion on who is the perpetrator in an intimate partnership according to sex

	The opinion that the man is the more frequent perpetrator of violence was more frequent among university educated people and in municipalities of 20,000 - 50,000 inhabitants; the least support came from people of the smallest towns (up to 2,000 inhabitants).
Graphs 10 
Opinion on who is the perpetrator in intimate partnership according to education
	
1.8.  Attitudes of the Slovak population towards strategies aimed to 
        eliminate domestic violence
Abroad, experience in working towards the elimination of domestic violence has a twenty-five year history. During this time different strategies have been developed and carried out by various bodies on different levels. 
	The attitudes of Slovak inhabitants to 9 selected measures designed to reduce or eliminate domestic violence were ascertained in this research project. 
Table 10
Attitudes of Slovak population towards strategies for eliminating domestic violence

I definitely agree
I rather agree
I rather do not agree
I definitely do not agree
I do not know
 Punishment for the violent act should be stricter, if it is perpetrated in the household 
37.5
40.0
13.4
2.7
6.5
The violent person should be evicted from the flat by law
47.6
36.8
8.2
1.4
6.0
Children should be taught at school that no one may  harm another person in the home 
67.0
28.1
2.2
0.5
2.2
Any perpetrators of violence should be forced to undergo a cure
53.4
33.9
6.0
2.8
4.0
Enough homes should be established where people affected by violent acts could find refuge
45.6
37.0
8.8
2.1
6.5
A net of phone lines where people could call should be established
51.7
39.8
4.2
0.8
3.5
Police should intervene more effectively
68.2
25.8
3.3
1.1
1.5
The violent person should be registered and should be under police surveillance
53.7
35.3
6.1
1.1
3.8
The environment  (residents, neighbours) should not accept the violent person
31.3
36.7
20.0
3.4
8.7
No one should interfere in the case because the internal problems of the family are concern of the family only which is supposed to solve it by  themselves
5.8
14.9
36.6
38.0
4.6

	One fifth of respondents in the research sample adopted a standpoint of refusal or hesitation to resolve the problem of domestic violence.  20.7 % expressed the view that no one should interfere in cases of violence because they are internal family matters and the family is supposed to solve them by themselves, 5.8% expressing definite agreement and 14.9% agreed to a limited extent with such an opinion. Such a standpoint was often taken by men, by respondents with an elementary education and by people from smaller and the smallest settlements.
	The majority of the population (almost 80%) strongly agreed that society should adopt measures for the elimination of domestic violence. Such an attitude was stronger among respondents with a higher level of education, and among those residing in larger settlements.
	More effective intervention by the police received the highest number of votes among the selected measures.  68.2% of respondents shared the idea that police should intervene more effectively. The second rank was accorded to the answer children should be obligatorily taught at school that no one may harm another person at home at 67.0%. More than half of the respondents definitely agreed that a violent person should be registered and under police surveillance at 53.7%.   
Table 11
Share of respondents who agreed (very and rather) with supposed measures according sex, age, education and size of settlement (in %)

Sex
Age
Education
Size of  settlement

Male
Female
18-34 years
35-54 years
55 and more years
Primary
Lower secondary
Secondary
Colleague, university
Up to   2 thous.
2-5 thous.
5-20 thous.
20-50 thous.
50-100 thous.
Bratislava, Košice
 Punishment for the violent act should be stricter, if it is perpetrated in the household 
35.6
44.5
40.4
39.7
40.4
37.8
39.7
43.3
40.8
41.9
39.0
39.5
38.3
32.6
46.7
The violent person should be evicted from the flat by law
42.8
57.6
52.2
53.1
44.8
46.0
47.9
58.9
49.3
45.6
49.0
46.3
58.2
49.0
60.6
Children should be taught at school that no one may  harm another person in the home 
63.4
73.0
69.2
69.2
66.2
66.3
66.4
72.5
72.2
67.1
67.0
71.0
74.1
57.1
73.8
Any perpetrators of violence be forced to undergo a cure
50.5
60.3
55.6
59.1
51.2
53.9
56.5
57.5
52.1
54.9
55.6
52.8
63.8
49.5
55.0
Enough homes should be established where people affected by violent acts could find refuge
43.2
53.9
48.4
50.0
47.7
47.8
50.9
48.2
47.9
50.2
46.5
47.2
53.3
41.2
50.0
A net of phone lines where people could call should be established
48.1
58.4
54.6
55.5
49.8
47.2
54.9
58.3
59.7
54.0
48.5
56.8
48.9
46.9
65.8
Police should intervene more effectively
67.7
70.9
68.8
70.8
67.1
65.3
70.9
70.3
76.4
64.3
67.3
73.4
69.6
62.7
84.8
The violent person should be registered and should be under police surveillance
52.0
59.3
56.7
57.9
51.8
48.4
58.5
58.9
67.6
51.8
58.7
53.2
60.6
48.5
66.4
The environment (district's residents, neighbours ) should not accept the violent person
30.9
37.2
29.8
38.0
34.6
32.2
34.5
34.6
40.3
27.2
40.8
32.0
38.9
35.3
40.8
No one should interfere in the case because the internal problems of the family are concern of the family only which is supposed to solve it  by  themselves
7.2
5.0
3.8
5.5
10.0
8.9
5.8
4.2
1.4
8.1
7.7
4.9
9.8
1.1
0.9
Various measures which may be used to reduce domestic violence are extensively supported by the population. The attitudes of inhabitants are more definite regarding the activities of official institutions (the police, the school system, and social services), while more hesitation is expressed in  connection with legislation in this sphere. Differences in attitudes corresponded mainly to sex, age, education, and the place of residence. 
	This analysis has shown that gender stereotypes regarding women's and men's status in the family and traditional opinions about the family still survive among a certain group of Slovaks. It is necessary to dedicate an effort to prevent violence through the elimination of these stereotypes.

1.9. Intervention in cases of domestic violence
Data received in this research project showed that various members of the family can become the victims of domestic violence: children, parents, wives, husbands, and the elderly. According to the family member involved, opinions about the necessity for intervention in cases of domestic violence were measured. 
Table 12
Attitudes towards external intervention in cases of domestic violence (in %)

I agree strongly
It is exclusively a matter for the family
Do not know
If a child is abused or battered
82.2
14.9
2.9
If a woman is abused or battered
76,0
19.7
4.3
If a man is abused or battered
60.6
26.4
13.0
If an old person is abused or battered
83.5
12.3
4.2
If a handicapped member of the family is abused or battered
82.3
13.7
4.0

	In all 5 monitored issues, the opinion that external intervention is necessary in cases of battering or abusing of a family member prevailed. Attitudes differ according to the family member concerned. The highest measure of agreement with external intervention was shown in cases of abusing or battering of an old person, then a handicapped member of the family and then a child. Over 80% of Slovak inhabitants were convinced that it is necessary to intervene in these particular cases of household violence. 
	In all examined cases of abuse or battery of a family member, the opinion towards the necessity of external intervention has been more clean-cut among women. Even in the case of violence directed against men, external intervention was considered necessary by 65.7% of male and 73.4% of female respondents.  Again in this case, the influence of other demographic signs besides gender has been manifested.  




Table 13
Attitudes towards external intervention in cases of domestic violence according to sex, age, education and size of settlements (in %)

Sex
Age
Education
Size of  settlement

Male
Female
18-34 years
35-54 years
55 and more years
Primary
Lower secondary
Secondary
College, university
Up to 2 thous.
2-5 thous.
5-20 thous.
20-50 thous.
50-100 thous.
Bratislava  Košice
If a child is abused or battered
81.1
87.8
86.4
86.2
80.4
78.3
86.1
90.5
88.6
82.2
82.7
82.9
83.1
85.3
96.3
If a woman is abused or battered
76.0
82.5
82.9
79.8
74.2
72.3
79.0
88.5
81.7
78.0
72.7
82.9
78.0
77.0
88.8
If a man is abused or battered
65.7
73.4
72.5
70.4
65.0
64.6
67.4
77.6
75.0
67.3
63.7
75.0
71.7
66.7
76.0
If an old person is abused or battered
84.5
89.6
87.7
87.9
85.5
81.7
89.7
92.7
84.3
86.9
83.5
90.3
84.3
85.0
93.2
If a handicapped member of the family is abused or battered
82.5
88.7
86.8
87.3
82.3
79.6
88.4
91.8
84.5
82.1
83.5
87.8
88.1
85.0
93.1

	The amount of support has mostly differed according to the respondents' opinion about man's dominance in the family.  Those who agreed with the opinion that the husband is supposed to have the decisive word in the family agreed with external intervention in cases of maltreatment or battery of a family member less frequently. Regarding individual forms of violence, the share of supportive opinions decreased by 20%. Those holding traditional opinions about the family and the position of its individual members have manifested the least sensitivity to domestic violence.

1.10. Who should intervene in cases of domestic violence
The expectations of Slovaks as to who should intervene against domestic violence were directed to official institutions or bodies as well as to people from their close family environment. The police were most frequently designated with 72,3 % of the examined set choosing this response (the score includes 3 options for answers).
Table 14
Institutions and persons pointed to as those who should intervene in cases of domestic violence (only 3 items could be designated; in %)


1. Police
72.3
2. Members of the family
64.2
3. Social department
36.8
5. Any close relatives or those closely acquainted, friends,...
34.0
7. Organisations providing assistance to victims of violence
25.4
4. Municipality
19.4
11. Anyone who has knowledge about such a case
12.6
8. Medical doctor
11.3
10. Someone else
9.3
6. School
6.3
9. Church representatives (nun, priest,...)
2.0
	The idea of members of the family as intercessors in cases of domestic violence received support from 64,2 % of the respondents. 
Table 15
Institutions and persons pointed to as those who should intervene in cases of domestic violence according to sex, age, education and size of settlements  (in %)

Sex
Age
Education
Size of  settlement

Male
Female
18-34 years
35-54 years
55 and more years
Primary
Lower secondary
Secondary
College, university
Up to 2 thous.
2-5 thous.
5-20 thous.
20-50 thous.
50-100 thous.
Bratislava, Košice
1. Police
74.7
69.7
72.7
70.2
74.1
72.9
77.6
65.9
72.5
66.8
77.0
74.9
70.5
78.2
73.2
2. Members of  the family
67.4
61.6
65.1
62.9
65.3
65.7
64.8
64.5
56.8
62.5
65.0
63.5
64.9
71.5
62.0
3. Social department
32.9
40.0
40.1
35.5
33.5
34.7
33.9
40.4
43.1
30.6
37.0
42.6
37.4
40.4
37.6
5. Any close relatives or those closely acquainted, friends,...
33.2
34.6
37.2
34.1
30.0
33.9
33.9
35.1
30.4
36.7
24.0
34.9
37.4
30.2
37.6
7. Organisations providing assistance to victims of violence
21.6
26.7
27.6
26.7
19.3
18.1
16.2
16.9
11.1
20.4
14.6
26.9
21.4
17.6
22.5

	Expectations towards individuals and institutions varied, especially according to sex, education, age and size of settlements.  In the cases of police and family relatives, a slight prevalence among male, older age groups, inhabitants with lower education, and residents in small districts has been shown. Departments of social affairs and organisations providing assistance to victims of violence were selected more frequently by women, younger age groups, respondents with a higher education level and people from bigger cities.

1.11. Summary 
Any form of domestic violence, in any social environment, impacts the victims in different ways. Some victims suffer from trauma for their whole life, some become reconciled to it, others suffer silently since they do not want to share their experience with anyone else or even blame themselves for such an experience. The health condition of some victims deteriorates to the extent that they become chronically ill and addicted to medicine, while others leave their family.  In the most extreme cases, it can result in an end to their life.
Not only does the individual suffer, but society suffers from the consequences of violence as well. At first sight, it may seem obvious that society suffers financially (expenses of therapists, curative stays, treatment, medicines, absence from work, workforce turnover, expenses of police, judicial affairs, etc.), but violence also affects interpersonal relations and sometimes leads to casualties. The role of the state is to protect victims and adopt strategies for the elimination of violence. 
The results of this research project have shown that a great number of Slovak inhabitants have personal experience with different kinds of domestic violence. Many of them know of violence having occurred in the households of their close family members, neighbors, friends or colleagues. They are aware of physical violence in the family, but they also know about other forms of violence. It cannot be said that any form of domestic violence is an unknown phenomenon in Slovakia.
Through their personal experiences and their awareness of other occurrences of domestic violence, the respondents pointed to violence as a trend which has been on the rise in Slovakia over the last 10 years. A majority of respondents believed that external interference is necessary in cases of domestic violence, if the situation develops unfavorably. The police, family members, and social departments were most frequently cited as agents that can help in such cases. A majority agreed with the punishment of perpetrators, and expelling them from the home, but also on the necessity to work with the violent person. The research has proved that a great number of respondents do not know where to look for such assistance.
The problems of violence, perpetrated in public places, the household or at work cannot stay unnoticed. It is necessary that this issue cease to be taboo and needs further research. This research project has responded to some issues, but many have only been touched upon. It has confirmed that Slovakia is still in the beginning stages of solving these problems.



































Part II.

Violence Against Women in Slovakia: 
Women's Experience and Attitudes










































































2.1. Slovakia and the problem of violence against women
Violence against women is a very sensitive social problem which is not easy to examine. This is doubly true in countries where silence about this problem has existed for a long time, and where research practices, experience, and possibilities for comparison or testing are missing. Slovakia had belonged to this group of countries until recently. Under socialism this problem was taboo (since the ruling Communist Party did not accept the existence of such a negative phenomenon in the socialist community) and it was pushed into the private sphere. Thus it was treated as a problem of individual families, and not as a social problem nor as a gender-based problem (i.e. a manifestation of a historical inequality of power in relationships between men and women).
Through the efforts of some women's Non-governmental Organizations, it began to appear in public discussion in the 90 's.  However, it did not become part of the political agenda until the second part of 90 's, in connection with the 4th Conference of UN about Women (Beijing, 1995) and the Beijing Action Platform (which included a National Action Plan for Women of the Slovak Republic in 1997 and for the first time contained objectives focused on violence against women). The first attempts to offer support for victims (the first SOS lines and asylum homes for victims resulting from the activities of voluntary non-governmental organizations) did not start to appear until this time as well. Publications on violence against women were not produced until after 1998 (on the non-governmental organizations' initiative, especially "Aspekt" which produced translations of foreign studies and research reports). Attempts to tackle the research problem more extensively and to understand the Slovak specificity of violence did not appear until after the year 2000.
Solving the problem of violence against women inevitably includes evidence and research activities. Monitoring the occurrence of violence and examining its core, characteristics, and consequences assist in the development of an institutional and legislative net, and of necessary policies and services which can provide aid and protection to victims. What is the current situation in the Slovak Republic regarding this? 
Statistics: The monitoring of violence against women is still minimal in Slovakia. In criminal statistics, reported crimes are monitored and published. In criminal cases before the year 2002, crimes were not classified under violence against women, and the overall statistics were not organised by sex, location of the crime, or relationship between the perpetrator and victim. Other statistics were completely non-existent, such as medical and judicial statistics, and statistics from asylum homes, refuges, and hotlines for the victims of violence.
Surveys of latent victimization: Because statistics tend to record only reported and published violent cases, surveys of latent victimization focusing on the assessment of non-reported and unpublished cases are used in foreign countries to decrease or overcome this difficulty. Experience from implementing such surveys confirms that they are an efficient method of ascertaining all violence and violence against women in particular. However, to be able to cover forms of violence perpetrated by a person related to the victim by a close relationship, special definitions must be used.  A description of the complete models of physical, sexual, psychological, social, and economic violence which characterize the domestic violence or violence within an intimate relationship is also needed. Surveys of latent victimization are not performed in Slovakia.
Specialized surveys: Due to limited statistics and the absence of criminological surveys, different specialized research projects focusing on the collection of qualitative and quantitative data about individual forms of violence against women are inevitably necessary. In Slovakia, the first isolated attempts to record women's experiences with domestic violence or the attitudes of the Slovak population towards violence against women did not start appearing until the end of the 90's.  These included a dissertation (Šintalová, 1997), and some isolated questions in pool surveys (IVO in 1995, 1999, and 2002, and an association of women's NGO's in "The Fifth Woman," a campaign against violence against women in 2001).
The first survey, which focused primarily on domestic violence and monitored violence against women in the home, was carried out in 2001 - 2002. The research was based on an analysis of violence experienced by the clientele of Centers of Counseling and Psychological Services, and on the expertise of representatives of the so-called helpful professions (Bodnárová & Filadelfiová, 2002). However, a representative sociological research project on violence against women has been missing until now. This research project has arisen from the necessity to reveal the extent of this problem in Slovakia, its nature, type and frequency.

2.1.1. Basic information on the survey 
The approach is based on the UN's definitions of violence against women1. For the needs of research, violence has been relatively broadly defined as manners, acts, gestures or words which together can create violent behavior. As theoretical starting-points, it is necessary to differentiate between the notions of "violence" (an attack on another person), and "conflict" (directed in order to achieve a change). In order to differentiate between violence and a current conflict in the partnership, a helpful criterion has been chosen: the recurrence of the violent act.
The research has been focused on two basic forms of violence against women, divided according to the intimacy of the woman's relationship with the perpetrator:
a) Violence against women perpetrated by men who are not partners: This has been defined as an experience of physical, psychological or sexual harassment, pressure or attack from a man regardless of whether a member of the family is concerned or not, and regardless of the environment (work, school, street, or home). Within this group, 12 types of violent behavior against women by 12 categories of men have been monitored. 
b) Violence against women perpetrated by the intimate partner: For the purposes of this research project, this has been defined as the experience of physical, psychological, sexual, economic or social pressure, abuse or attack from the intimate partner. 22 types of violent behavior from current and former partners have been monitored in this category. Most of the research was focused on this type of violence against women.
In the selection of individual violent acts, foreign research experience was primarily relied upon (especially from Canada and France and WHO's report). The Penal Code of the Slovak Republic could not be used with any consistency because the criminal law does not define many forms of violent behavior as criminal acts2. The selection of violent behavior perpetrated by the intimate partner was adjusted according to the results of the domestic survey and expert opinions and consultations with NGO experts who offer aid to victims of violence. Five forms of violence have subsequently been included in the survey which were then further described:
- physical violence: from threats to physical attack with serious consequences 
- sexual violence: from assault and coercion to commit sexual acts to rape 
- economic violence: from restricting consumption and misusing funds to damaging things 
- social violence: from constantly excessive monitoring social life, through restricting socializing to bans 
- psychological (including verbal) violence: from insults to orders 
For two basic types of violence against women, five kinds of violence have been monitored. They have been further sub-divided into violent situations of different levels of intensity. Such a structured approach through graded forms of violent acts, which was derived from foreign experience and which was corrected by partial information based on the specificity of the phenomenon in Slovakia, was selected for practical and methodological reasons. Due to the fact that this was the first specialized research project in the Slovak Republic, it could not be linked with previous analyses. However, for other research activities it was necessary to establish as extensive a basis as possible. The effort to create a typology of violence against women in intimate relationships was based upon implicit methodological objectives.
Data was collected between 15th and 20th November 2002 from a representative sample of 891 adult Slovak women between the ages of 18 and 65.  This represents almost 0.05 % of the total population of relevant women. The quota sample was selected on the basis of age, education, region, and type of residence.
A pre-coded questionnaire was used, and was completed by face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire consisted of 43 questions which were for the most part closed and semi-closed. The violent acts to be surveyed were not designated as "violent" in the questionnaire. (The term "violence" was not used. Rather, a description of the situation in intelligible language was presented.) An introduction to the questionnaire focused on men's violent behavior of different categories and in different environments - work, school, family or public places. The core of the questionnaire was dedicated to the intimate partner. The occurrence of individual events was monitored, as was the frequency of these acts by the intimate partner over the whole course of the relationship. The respondents answered for current as well as for former partners. The last part of questionnaire contained questions aimed at monitoring the causes and consequences of the violence, ways of solving the problem, and social and demographic characteristics of the victim and perpetrators. 
In examining social phenomena of this type (sensitive and concerning an intimate side of the lives of individuals), much depends on the way in which questions are formulated and posed as well as on the way in which the interviews are conducted. The research team utilized several strategies in an effort to avoid misunderstandings3. According to the written reports of female interviewers, they encountered few people who refused to participate, in spite of the extensive nature of the questionnaire and its contents. The quality of the sample was guaranteed by the FOCUS surveying agency. The agency adhered to all standard demands for a representative selection. Analyzing the sample and comparing it with the total population of women in Slovakia from the ages of 18 to 65 has shown that its structure complies with the selection criteria. Only a minimum of deviations have been exposed (e.g. in education) for which correctional precautions were adopted.

2.2. Men's violence against women outside of intimate partner 
       relationships

2.2.1. Attitudes of women in Slovakia to selected forms of men's behavior
Twelve violent types of behavior against women by men who were not partners were selected, being the most current types in foreign studies on the subject. Out of these, nine represent different grades of sexual harassment and violence, two can be considered physical violence and the last one is mobbing. Not all of them are specified as either offences, transgressions or criminal acts by the Penal Code of Slovakia. 
The tendency to perceive the above acts as violence increases with the violent act's intensity. Women in Slovakia have an unambiguous attitude towards acts of physical violence and clean-cut forms of sexual violence. Almost all women consider them violent. They are the least sensitive to improper remarks regarding their figure and their sexual life, sexual hints and comments, and obscene correspondence. 
Over 90% of adult women have categorized a physical attack and threatening to harm health as well as rape and an attempt to rape without any restrictions as violence. Only 3 - 7% of women have assumed a conditional attitude towards them - i.e. they may be considered violent under certain circumstances. An explicit attitude was also prominent in sexual harassment with physical contact, which is considered violent by three fourths (3/4) of women and one fourth of women (1/4) think that it is violence under certain circumstances. 




Table 16   
The evaluation of selected ways of man's behaviour towards women* (total women in %)
 It is definitely violence
It is violence under certain circumstances
It is definitely not  violence
An "obscene" telephone call, e-mail, letter,...
20,8
52,2
27,1
Exhibitionism (disrobing in front of a woman in a public place)
34,5
43,9
21,6
Improper remarks about figure or sexual life
20,3
48,8
30,8
Coercion to date
28,5
45,9
25,6
Sexual hints and comments (clamoring, whistling, air kisses,...)
20,3
49,9
29,9
Sexual proposals
33,5
50,0
16,4
Sexual harassment (touching, rubbing with one's body,
intimacies, kisses,...)
73,2
25,2
1,6
Coercion to have sexual intercourse (by threats, rolling on the 
floor, pushing into the corner,...)
94,1
5,6
0,3
Coerced sexual intercourse, rape
99,1
0,9
0
Threatening to harm health (by battering or killing)
91,9
7,6
0,6
Physical attack (throwing things, thumps, slaps, battery, cutting, 
shooting,...)
96,6
3,4
0
Mobbing (slandering, rumoring, scorning the work,...)
48,5
40,2
11,3
* Women were supposed to evaluate the 12 selected acts, if they consider them violent or not. They had three options for their response: it is definitely violence, it is violence under certain circumstances, and it is definitely not violence.
The attitude of women in Slovakia towards the following six ways of man's behavior is less explicit. Obscene correspondence, exhibitionism, improper sexual remarks, coercion to date, sexual comments, and sexual proposals have been filed among them. About half of women think that these acts may be considered violent under certain circumstances, one fourth of women definitely think they are violent, and one fourth of women do not consider them violent under any circumstances. 
Only 11.3% of women do not consider mobbing violent. The approach of other women is divided into explicit and "conditional" classification of mobbing as violence: 48.5% consider mobbing at work violence under all circumstances and 40.2% under certain circumstances only. Such an ambiguous attitude reflects the overall situation in society where a discussion on "mobbing" is still in its infancy.

2.2.2. Women's experience of violent behavior from men who were not partners
The direct personal experience of women in Slovakia with different manifestations of violent behavior from men who had not been and were not their partners was monitored for the 12 selected acts. Any man who had treated them in this way was specified according to category for every individual act. Only the occurrence, not the frequency of the specific type of behavior was ascertained, as was the relationship of the man to the female respondent (altogether 12 categories of men from different environments). 

* Women's experience of sexual harassment and sexual violence from men who were not 
partners
Sexual violence is generally defined as any sexual act or attempted sexual act, unwanted comments, practices or acts of trading or any other coercive acts against the natural sexuality of the individual perpetrated by any individual (regardless of their relationship to the victim) in any environment including the household, workplace and elsewhere. All levels of force, including physical force, psychological intimidation, extortion or other threats such as the threat of physical harm, dismissal from work or a refusal to work can be understood as coercion. Coercion may also exist if the person submitted to an attack is not able to adequately respond, e.g. they are drunk, under the influence of drugs, asleep or incapable of comprehending the situation. Sexual violence including rape and attempted rape is understood as any coerced act (not restricted only to the penis or vagina).
Analysis of attitudes towards different forms of violent behavior has proved that less explicit forms of sexual violence are definitely not considered violent by one fourth of women in Slovakia and one half of women consider them violent only under certain circumstances. Nevertheless, women's real experience of this type of behavior is relatively rich. Up to 52.6% of women stated that they had experienced sexual hints or comments from the part of men who were not their partners. Over 40% of women have experienced improper remarks concerning their figure or sexual life and almost 45% of women have encountered sexual proposals from such men (44.7%). 38.1% of adult Slovak women have personally experienced coercion to date with a man who had never been their partner. One third of women has had an experience of exhibitionism and one fifth of women have received obscene correspondence or a telephone call. 
Table 17 
Women's experience in sexual harassment and sexual violence from men-not partners  (occurrence in %)
Yes
No
No answer
An "obscene" telephone call, e-mail, letter,...
20,7
77,2
2,1
Exhibitionism (disrobing in front of a woman in a public place)
30,9
67,9
1,2
Improper remarks about figure or sexual life
41,9
54,8
3,3
Coercion to date
38,1
60,2
1,7
Sexual hints and comments (clamoring, whistling, air kisses,...)
52,6
45,7
1,7
Sexual proposals
44,7
53,3
2,0 
Sexual harassment (touching, rubbing with one's body, intimacies, 
kisses,...)
36,4
60,5
3,1
Coercion to have sexual intercourse (by threats, rolling over the floor, 
pushing into the corner,...)
18,0
79,3
2,7
Coerced sexual intercourse, rape
3,0
95,3
1,7

However, the women's experience did not end with the more moderate forms of sexual harassment or violence. In spite of the well-known difficulties of empirically measuring sexual violence (due to the sensitivity of the topic, the bashfulness of women to talk about these issues, etc.), this research project made an effort to ascertain its more explicit forms. Three such acts were monitored: rape, attempted rape and sexual abuse with physical contact. Coerced sexual intercourse (rape) perpetrated by a man who was not a partner has been admitted by 3% of the women surveyed. Attempted sexual intercourse accompanied by threats, rolling on the floor or pushing into the corner and similar practices has been experienced by 18% of women over their lifetime. Sexual abuse including touching, pushing or rubbing, and different intimacies or kisses has been encountered by 40% of adult Slovak women aged 18 to 65.
Graph  11
Women's overall experience of severe forms of sexual violence from men who were not partners (in %)        

And what is the overall "outside partnership experience" of Slovak women with severe forms of sexual violence like? Up to 38.9% of them have experienced at least one of the three monitored acts of explicit sexual violence from men who have never been their intimate partners. Moreover 13.6% of Slovak women have experienced some of these acts from different men: 10.6% of women stated that more than one man had sexually harassed them; 3.4% said the same for attempted rape and 1% for coerced sexual intercourse. It is obvious that women's direct experience in explicit forms of sexual violence from a non-partner male is considerable and not restricted to only one experience. Several women had experienced the same act of violence from more than one man. 
Comparing women's direct experience with certain types of men's behavior and their attitude towards these acts has proved that a personal experience radicalizes their evaluation. Women who have once undergone a certain act consider it violent more frequently than women who have not had such an experience. Besides personal experience, education and age also influenced their evaluation - the attitudes of younger women and more highly educated women were more critical.

* Women's experience of physical violence from men who were not partners
In addition to sexual violence, two acts of physical violence were also included in the section dedicated to male non-partner's violence: threatening to harm health and physical attack. Up to 19.1% of women admitted that they had experienced at least one of these acts of sexual violence which was perpetrated by a man who was not or had not been their partner. (1.7% of women had experienced some of the acts from more men).


Graph  12
Women's overall experience of physical violence from men who were not partners (in %)    

11.6% have once in their life encountered threatening by battering or killing from a man who was not their partner. Even more women (15%) are personally familiar with a physical attack.
Table 18  
Women's experience of physical violence from men - not partners 
(occurrence in %)
Yes
No
No 
answer
Threatening to harm health (battering or killing)
11,6
86,0
2,4
Physical attack (throwing things, punches, slaps, battering, cutting, shooting,...)
15,0
82,7
2,3

The attackers were predominantly family members (father or brother) or men from the extended family. However other categories of men appeared as well. Specifically these were classmates, friends, colleagues, or strangers. Supervisors (bosses) or landlords were more rarely identified as perpetrators of violence. Even though physical violence against women usually experienced within the family, women are not protected against it in any environment.

* Women's experience of mobbing from men  who were not partners
The last violent act from non-partner males that was monitored was mobbing at work. Mobbing at work belongs to a group of issues that are currently just beginning to be discussed in Slovakia. In spite of the fact that people spend the largest share of their life at work, no research has been dedicated to bad relations at the workplace so far. This was the reason for its incorporation in this research project. 
Table 19  
Women's experience of mobbing from men - not partners (occurrence in %)
Yes
No, and did not concern
No answer
Mobbing (slander, rumors, scorning work,...)
26,5
69,5
4,0

Even though the total experience of Slovak women with this phenomenon has not been researched (but only if a man is the originator of the mobbing), the results prove its common occurrence. More than one fourth of women stated that their colleague or supervisor had treated them in such a way that could be called mobbing at the workplace. Such a high figure does not say much about good relations at work. Moreover, the issue did not concern women who had not experienced mobbing at work since they had not been started working yet (8.2%). The data obtained shows that "mobbing" is a problem in Slovakia to which the highest attention must be dedicated. 

2.2.3. Who are the perpetrators of violence against women? 
Slovak women encounter men's violent behaviour in all environments. Besides partners (see Chapter 2.3), other men also treat the women they are in touch with daily violently. These are unknown men as well as men they know from school, work, and the neighborhood, or the men who were or are their friends, acquaintances, or family members. Who are the men who perpetrate violent acts against women the most frequently? 
Out of all 12 monitored categories of men, strangers were most frequently designated as the originators of violent acts. This means that each woman experienced, on average, two acts of violence perpetrated by strangers. Out of a total number of designations, strangers accounted for 39.2%; the other 60.8% is formed by men the women were familiar with. 
Graph 13 
Share of different categories of men - not partners who have committed acts of harassment and violence against women (women in Slovakia in %)

Of familiar men, men connected to the workplace (colleagues, supervisors, clients or patients) were often alleged (24.7%). 9.3% of the violent acts mentioned above came from men connected to the school environment (classmates, teachers or educators). Friends, acquaintances and neighbors appeared very often in the role of perpetrator (17.2% altogether). 7.8% of the violent acts came from members of the close or extended family and 1.8 % of the perpetrators were categorized as men which the woman had a client or customer relation with.
Various violent acts and exposures to violence are quite often perpetrated by totally unknown men. However, these were primarily the perpetrators of weaker forms of sexual harassment, especially obscene correspondence and telephone calls, exhibitionism, improper remarks about the woman's figure and sexual life, coercion to date, sexual hints or comments, and sexual proposals. They were also designated as the perpetrators of acts of clean-cut physical and sexual violence, but in much lower measure. Slovak women more often undergo explicit forms of violence by men they know very well. Sexual harassment or attempted rape came from friends, neighbors, classmates, or colleagues, but also from supervisors and relatives. Men of the close or extended family were perpetrators of physical violence most frequently.
Violence from non-partner males represents a serious public problem that concerns a large group of women. No environment is absolutely safe against men's violence. Prevention against more explicit forms of violence against women must begin by protecting women against different forms of sexual harassment, since they are frequent in Slovak society. However, the society's position towards harassment is not completely condemnatory, even among women themselves. The data shows that men focus their violent behavior against women they know from their work, school, neighborhood, or family. Many forms of violent behavior are perpetrated by young men, either classmates or friends. Therefore it is necessary to begin education about this issue at an earlier age.

2.2.4. Women' s responses to the violent behavior of men who are not their partners
Up to three fourths of Slovak women between the ages of 18 and 65 have experienced at least one of the 12 abusive or violent acts monitored and only one fourth of women has never had such an experience. How do women react to these men's behavior?	
Of all women who have had personal experience of violence and harassment by a man who was not their former or current partner, only one third of them solved the situation in some way. 14.1% solved the situation without informing anyone of the act and 19.6% not only solved the problem, but made it known to others. The remaining two thirds of women did not resolve the situation of violence or harassment at all. Moreover 24.6% of them did not tell anyone about their experience. The most frequent response of Slovak women is to tell someone about the act, without solving it. 
Table 20  
Women' s responses to the men's  - not partners' violent behaviour 
Women in Slovakia (in %)
Told no one and did not resolve the problem
24,6
Told no one but resolved the problem
14,1
Told someone but did not resolve the problem
41,5
Told someone and resolved the problem
19,6
Do not know
0,3

The data suggests that violence against women outside of an intimate relationship in half of the cases stays hidden, unrevealed and that the situation is rarely solved in Slovakia.  If women inform someone, they contact their family or friends, not institutions. The fear of possible repercussion or ostracism from their community or group probably still persists.

2.2.5. Experience of women in Slovakia of being followed by men
The section dedicated to men's behavior outside the partner relationship concluded with the issue of the unpleasant experience caused by being followed by a man. The type of pursuit which would result in frightening a woman was focused on. Only the occurrence of such an experience was measured (not its frequency) and the "age", i. e. when it happened in the woman' s life most recently.
Graph 14 
Unpleasant experience of being followed by strange men according to selected groups of women (in %) 

46.6% of Slovak women have had a personal experience of being followed by a man which made them worried or afraid. More than one fourth experienced this incident some time during the last year and the experience of more than half of women is within the past five years. Women aged 35 to 40 most commonly have this experience (52.6%), followed by younger women. The experience of elderly women was lower (41%).
The frequency of the occurrence varied according to where the woman lived. The bigger the city, the bigger the share of women who had been frightened because they had been followed by a man. 60% of the female inhabitants of larger cities have had this unpleasant experience. Fear induced from being followed was less frequent in smaller settlements.  Still, 30% of the women from these towns have had a similar experience. No environment can ensure women total safety. Not only can women meet with harassment and violence in any environment in Slovakia, but also with feelings of fear.

2.3. Violence against women in intimate partner relationships
The husband or intimate partner's violence belongs to the most frequent forms of violence against women.  It encompasses acts of physical aggression, psychological abuse, coerced sexual intercourse, and other forms of sexual pressure as well as different ways of controlling behavior such as isolating from family or friends, excessive monitoring of behavior, or withholding access to information or support. The form it takes ranges from physical and sexual, to psychological (verbal), social, and economic violence. If ill-treatment in the same relationship occurs repeatedly, the situation tends to be compared to a "battlefield". Violence against women perpetrated by their intimate partner is a particular form of violence, especially since women are emotionally linked to the violent person and often emotionally dependant on him. This fact has an impact on the course and development of the violence itself, and also on how the violence is treated. 
Violence against women perpetrated by their intimate partners was the main subject of research.  Attention was especially focused on measuring the occurrence of this phenomenon in Slovak society, as well as on analyzing causes and consequences. A structured approach based on scrutinizing the frequency of occurrence of different violent situations was selected for monitoring this form of violence. On the basis of knowledge obtained from the research of domestic violence in Slovakia (Bodnárová & Filadelfiová, 2002) and foreign experience, 22 violent acts of different intensity have been selected for 5 kinds of violence: physical, sexual, psychological (verbal), social, and economic violence.

2.3.1. Attitudes of Slovaks towards selected types of partners' violent behavior against women
Attitudes towards different forms of partners' violent behavior were ascertained not only for women, but for both genders in order to compare the opinions of men and women. A three-grade scale was used for the evaluation of the selected types of the male partner's behavior towards the woman: it is definitely violence, it is violence under certain circumstances, and it is definitely not violence.
The people of Slovakia have expressed an explicitly negative attitude towards all of the surveyed forms of physical and sexual violence against women by their partners (an index of 90 points and more). The absolute majority of Slovaks definitely consider them violent. A more moderate approach appeared sporadically (it is violence under certain circumstances). A negative attitude was dominant regarding explicit forms of economic and psychological violence, which received a total evaluation of 75 - 80 points.
The Slovak population has a more circumspect approach to some violent acts (preventing meetings, controlling movement, and a ban on talking to men) and to some forms of economic and psychological violence (restricting finances and economic abuse, incessant criticizing, orders, and bans). The evaluation index did not go above 70 points in these acts. About 40% of the scrutinized set deemed them violent and about 10% did not consider them as violence. The others assumed a conditional attitude - they may be violent under certain circumstances. 
A comparison the approach of women and men to these forms of a man's violent behavior against his female partner showed considerable differences. Women perceive all of the above acts much more sensitively. They labeled them as violence more frequently (with the only exception being battery with harm to health). The smallest differences appeared in all acts of physical violence, then in rape, damaging things in the flat, not contributing to household finances and humiliating. On average, the difference ranged from 1 to 5 points for these acts. 
Table 21 
The evaluation of selected ways of partner' s behavior against the woman (population of Slovakia, index 0 - 100 points)
Total population
Men
Women
1.  Strangling
98,80
98,09
99,45
2.  Battering with serious health consequences
98,57
98,93
98,18
3. Threatening with a weapon (knife, gun/pistol,...)
98,57
98,18
98,92
4. Rape
97,17
96,04
98,21
5. Threatening to kill or harm health
94,34
92,60
95,92
6. Pushing, shoving, dragging by hair,...
94,28
93,30
95,18
7. Slaps, punches,...
93,26
90,58
95,70
8. Battering without serious health consequences
92,37
90,14
94,41
9. Denying or restricting food
88,34
86,87
89,66
10. Coercion to have sexual intercourse (against someone' s will, unwanted sexual practices,...)
87,98
83,71
91,88
11. Damaging, selling the things in the flat
80,13
77,99
82,09
12. Restricting and banning going to work
79,37
74,28
83,92
13. Vulgar insults
74,72
70,53
78,52
14.  Indecent, undignified behavior towards the female partner
71,86
67,60
75,74
15. Humiliating the woman before family members, acquaintances,...
71,79
69,19
74,17
16. Restricting finances (wanting very detailed records to be kept, wanting 
       to be begged for each crown,...)
70,56
65,67
75,04
17. Incessant bans, orders (what clothes or make-up to put on, how to do 
things,...)
68,59
63,10
73,56
18. Not sharing the household expenses or the feeding of children 
       (not providing finances, just consuming)
66,49
63,85
68,87
19. Incessant control (over what she is doing, where she is going, who she 
       is going with,...)
66,49
61,37
71,20
20. Restricting meetings (friends, members of the family,...)
65,48
60,87
69,68
21. Ban on talking to other men
64,57
59,71
69,07
22. Incessant criticizing (she does not do anything properly, she is 
      a burden,...)
63,21
57,54
68,38
The index of evaluation 0 - 100: it is definitely violence = 100 points, under certain circumstances it is 
violence = 50 points, it is definitely not violence = 0 points.

The evaluation of women and men differed by 10 or more points on average regarding other types of the man's behavior against his female partner. These included acts of psychological and social violence as well as weaker forms of economic violence and coercion to commit sexual acts.  These types of a partner's behavior are thus more often considered violent by women than by men. This has confirmed once more that the attitudes of women towards various negative forms of their partners' behavior are more explicit and more critical.

2.3.2. Women's experience of violent behavior in intimate partner relationships 
Slovak women's personal experience of different types of their partners' violent behavior was monitored in 22 acts covering 5 basic forms of violence. For research purposes, a partner was not defined only as a husband.  Consorts or boyfriends were also considered intimate partners. The frequency of each act's occurrence was monitored during the whole period of the relationship. Individual women responded to questions about either their current or former partner (depending on which was relevant).

* Slovak women's experience of physically aggressive acts in intimate relationships
Physical violence was monitored by means of 7 types of behavior representing different grades of physical attack: from threats to harm health, and threats with a weapon to attacks resulting in serious medical consequences. The frequency of the occurrence of these acts for the current and former partner was evaluated for every item. 
Graph 15
Slovak women's overall experience of physically aggressive acts in intimate relationships 
(% of relevant women)

The data on overall physical aggression against women in intimate relationships shows that 24% of all adult Slovak women from the ages of 18 to 65, who at the time of research had a partner, have experienced one to 7 monitored acts from their current partner at least once. 19.9% of women have undergone at least one of the situations repeatedly. The statements regarding former partners showed even higher values: up to 48% of relevant women (who had had the partner in the past) had at least once undergone a form of physical aggression by their partner. For 42.9% of women, this had happened repeatedly. 
Monitoring the level of occurrence of individual violent acts has proved that along with the increasing importance of the violent act, the share of women who have experienced such behavior in their intimate relationship is decreasing (see table). On the other hand, a relatively small difference between the overall and repeated occurrence of physical aggression suggests that physical attacks in the partnership could be repeated soon. Most victims of physical aggression have undergone or had undergone acts of physical violence over a longer period of time.


Table 22  
Acts of physical aggression by the current partner (in %, N=571)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Slaps, punches,...
22,4
14,8
77,6
Pushing, shoving, dragging by hair,...
18,9
13,8
81,1
Battering without serious health consequences
14,2
10,0
85,8
Threatening to kill or harm health
8,8
7,4
91,2
Strangling
5,8
4,2
94,2
Battering with serious health consequences
5,1
2,5
94,9
Threatening with a weapon (knife, gun/pistol,...)
4,0
1,9
96,0
Acts of physical aggression by the former  partner (in %, N=433)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Slaps, punches,...
44,4
34,7
55,6
Pushing, shoving, dragging by hair,...
36,6
30,1
63,4
Battering without serious health consequences
32,6
26,6
67,4
Threatening to kill or harm health
25,0
19,9
75,0
Strangling
13,7
9,3
86,3
Battering with serious health consequences
14,6
7,7
85,4
Threatening with a weapon (knife, gun/pistol,...)
11,1
6,5
88,9

The share of women who have experienced a physical attack by their intimate partner is on average much higher than the share of women who have been threatened with physical harm by their partner. For all of the selected forms of violence, the occurrence of aggressive behavior is two to three times higher concerning former partners.

* Slovak women's experience of acts of sexual violence in intimate relationships
According to many foreign studies, a large portion of sexually violent acts also occurs in the intimate relationship, i.e. between husband and wife, or between partners. Two such acts were monitored in this research project: the coercion to commit sexual acts (against the woman' s will, unwanted sexual practices, etc.) and rape.
Graph 16
Slovak women's overall experience of acts of sexual violence in intimate relationships (% of relevant women) 

Of adult Slovak women who had a partner at the time of the research, 16.1% declared that they had undergone some of the monitored acts of the sexual violence at least once. 12.5% of women stated a repeated occurrence of such behavior by their current partner. In the case of the former partner, the frequency was twice as high. The share of women who have experienced any of the monitored violent acts of sexual behavior from their previous partners at least once was as high as 34.8%, while 27.8% of relevant women (who had a partner in the past) have repeatedly undergone sexual violence from their former partner.
Table 23  
Acts of sexual violence from the current partner
(in %, N=571)
At least once 
Repeatedly
Not at all
Coercion to have sexual intercourse (against someone' s will, unwanted sexual practices,...)
17,6
14,1
82,4
Rape
3,5
2,8
96,5
Acts of sexual violence from the former partner
(in %, N= 433)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Coercion to have sexual intercourse (against someone' s will, unwanted sexual practices,...)
36,1
29,4
63,9
Rape
10,0
7,0
90,0

A big difference between overall and repeated occurrence has not been shown with regards to sexual violence either. This means that once sexual violence appears in an intimate relationship, it has a tendency to repeat itself. It is obvious that sexual violence is very hard to record using the questionnaire method.  In all likelihood, we have not succeeded in making a record of reality. In spite of this fact, the measure for rape admitted by 10% of women among those who had had a partner in the past and by 3.5% among those who responded for their current partner is high enough. Acts using coercion against the natural sexual inclinations of the women are a few times more frequent among former partners than current ones (twice as often in the case of coercion to commit sexual acts and three times as often in the case of rape).
It is obvious that sexual violence against women in an intimate relationship is not a rare occurrence in Slovakia. According to a study of the WHO, Slovakia does not differ in this respect from the rest of the world, where the proportion of women who have experienced coercion to commit sexual acts or coerced sex by an intimate partner is between 8% and 46% of those who have ever had an intimate relationship (also true in developed countries).

* Slovak women's experience of psychological violence in intimate relationships	
Psychological violence is explicitly mentioned by our definitions of violence against women. Five different types of psychological maltreatment were selected for research and the frequency of their occurrence during the partnership was monitored. Their selection was based upon a knowledge of women's experience - from information about victims of domestic violence in Slovakia who were CPPS clients and who had turned to non-governmental organizations for assistance.


Graph 17
Slovak women's overall experience of psychological violence in intimate relationships 
(% of relevant women)    

Of the women who at the time of research had a partner, 46.5% had experienced at least one of the 5 monitored acts by their current partner. In the cases of 39.5% of these women, some of these acts were repeated. Again, the experience of women with their former partners is considerably worse. 69.3% of these women have experienced at least one of these acts; they have occurred more than once for 60.4% of women with their former partner. 
Table 24  
Acts of psychological violence from the current partner
(in %, N=571)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Indecent, undignified behavior towards the female partner
36,4
29,9
63,6
Vulgar insults
31,8
26,5
68,2
Incessant criticizing (she does not do anything properly, she is a burden,...)
29,9
24,1
70,1
Humiliating the woman before family members, acquaintances,...
29,3
24,0
70,7
Incessant bans, orders (what clothes or make-up to put on, how to do things,...)
20,1
17,0
79,9
Acts of psychological violence from the former partner
(in %, N=433)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Indecent, undignified behavior towards the female partner
60,4
53,7
39,6
Vulgar insults
53,4
47,6
46,6
Incessant criticizing (she does not do anything properly, she is a burden,...)
48,6
43,7
51,4
Humiliating the woman before family members, acquaintances,...
46,2
42,3
53,8
Incessant bans, orders (what clothes or make-up to put on, how to do things,...)
40,5
34,2
59,5

Indecent or undignified behavior of the partner and vulgar insults appear most frequently in the partnerships of Slovak women. One third of women has experienced them from their current partner and two thirds of women from their former partner. However, incessant criticism of the woman, humiliating, and different bans and orders are frequent as well. The difference between the overall and repeated occurrence of individual forms of behavior is higher than in the previous cases. Still, these acts are usually repeated in the relationship.
* Slovak women's experience of acts of economic violence in intimate relationships 
The attitudes of the Slovak public towards economic abuse in partnerships are not as explicit as they are in the cases of physical or sexual violence. A relatively large portion of the Slovak population does not consider such behavior violent and men support this opinion considerably more than women. A legislative amendment to the 2002 penal code even includes abusive acts of an economic character towards a close person (e.g. restricting entrance to the property, denying clothing, hygiene, etc.). The frequency of the occurrence of all four types of a partner's economic violence (restricting finances, not sharing household expenses, damaging or selling things of the flat, and denying food) was monitored as part of the research.
Graph 18
Slovak women's overall experience of acts of economic violence in intimate relationships 
 (% of relevant women)
      
29.6% of women declared the occurrence of some form of the monitored types of  economic violence from their current partner at least once; it appeared repeatedly for 24.5% of women. The values concerning the former partner for this type of violence are higher as well: 47.7% of women have undergone such behavior with their former partner at least once, and 44% repeatedly.
Table 25   
Arts  of economic violence from the current partner
(in %, N=571)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Restricting finances (wanting very detailed records to be kept, wanting to be begged for each crown,...)
21,8
18,6
78,2
Not sharing the household expenses or the feeding of children (not providing finances, just consuming)
20,4
17,2
79,6
Damaging, selling the things in the flat
9,1
7,3
90,9
Denying or restricting food
4,4
3,3
95,6
Acts of economic violence from the former partner
(in %, N=433)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Restricting finances (wanting very detailed records to be kept, wanting to be begged for each crown,...)
36,5
33,0
63,5
Not sharing the household expenses or the feeding of children (not providing finances, just consuming)
40,1
38,2
59,9
Damaging, selling the things in the flat
21,9
18,2
78,1
Denying or restricting food
9,7
7,4
90,3
The above table shows an overview of Slovak women' s experience of individual acts of a partner's economic violence. Each fifth woman who had a partner at the time of the research has had her finances restricted and a partner who has not shared in the household expenses. And each third woman has experienced such behavior from her former partner. More extreme acts of economic violence occurred less often, however, a relatively large group of Slovak women has also directly experienced them. Over 20% of women had things in their flat damaged or sold by their former partner and less than 10% by their current partner. Denial of food has been experienced by 10% of women in past relationships and by 4.4% of women in current relationships. In all acts of economic violence, it has been proved that there is a strong tendency for such behavior to be repeated.

* Slovak women's experience of acts of social violence in intimate relationships 
The Slovak public expressed divided and gender differentiated opinions towards acts of social violence in an intimate relationship. A considerable portion of Slovaks definitely does not consider them violent and this attitude is more frequent in men. The practical experience of women with these forms of a partner's behavior is relatively rich. The occurrence of all four acts of social violence was monitored, i.e. incessant control, restricting encounters with female friends and family, a ban on speaking to other men, and a ban on going out to work.
Graph 19
Slovak women's overall experience of acts of social violence in intimate relationships 
 (% of relevant women)     

At least one of these four acts has been experienced by 18.3% of relevant women from their current partners; it has been repeatedly experienced by 11.6%. Former partners' acts of social violence were at a higher level and were declared by more than half of women who had had a partner in the past (for 55.3% at least once and for 51.6% repeatedly).



Table 26  
Acts of social violence from the current partner
(in %, N=571)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Incessant control (over what she is doing, where she is going, who she is going with,...)
29,2
24,4
70,8
Restricting meetings (friends, members of the family,...)
26,6
20,8
73,4
Ban on talking to other men
20,9
16,7
79,1
Restricting and banning going to work
7,7
5,8
92,3
Acts of social violence acts from the former partner
(in %, N=433)
At least once
Repeatedly
Not at all
Incessant control (over what she is doing, where she is going, who she is going with,...)
55,9
49,2
44,1
Restricting meetings (friends, members of the family,...)
49,8
44,7
50,2
Ban on talking to other men
41,7
36,8
58,3
Restricting and banning going to work
17,9
15,8
82,1

Men's control over their female partner's behavior has occurred at least once for 30% of Slovak women who have a partner currently. Out of these, 24.4% of the practices occurred repeatedly. Concerning the behavior of former partners, the overall share of women increased to 56% (have experienced it at least once) and repeated occurrence to 49.2%. Almost one fourth of women have had their meetings restricted by their current partner and a half of women by their former partner. More than 20% of women have experienced a ban on speaking to other men by their current partner and almost 42% of women by their former partner.  Restricting the employment of the women or its ban by their partner was the least frequent.   It was experienced by 7.7% of women from their current partners and by 17.9% from their former partners.

* Slovak women's experience of other violent acts in intimate relationships 
The option of free responses has proved that the 22 violent acts monitored for five forms of violence do not reflect the whole reality of partner's violent behavior towards women. A relatively large group of the women examined declared that they had experienced other forms. There were acts of both physical and sexual violence among them, but acts of psychological, economic, and social violence were more prominent. The most frequent were: threatening to take the children away, threatening to commit suicide, inciting the children against the woman (mother), a ban on leaving the house, jealous scenes, not accepting the woman's opinion, unwillingness to work but getting money where he finds it, throwing things out of cupboards, bringing friends home who must be served and entertained by the woman, not allowing the woman to contradict, throwing plates of food on the floor, throwing the woman out of the flat, mocking and humiliating the woman before the children, incessant mockery, stealing jewelry or money, suspecting the woman of infidelity, switching on the light and slamming doors during the woman's sleep, but also abducting or harming the children, and others.
In some cases "isolated" acts were concerned (one form of the violence), but types of behavior which combined elements from more than one form of violence were dominant. Though these free responses could not have been worked out statistically since they formed a very heterogeneous list and included various forms of violent behavior, they are evidence that the "creativity" of perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships is practically without limits.

2.3.3. Two types of violence against women in intimate partner relationships
In practice, individual forms of the violence do not exist in isolation. A relationship cannot be found in which one form would exclusively occur, such as physical violence unaccompanied by acts of another type (psychological, social or economic violence). The outcomes of this research project have confirmed a tendency towards the accumulation of violent acts of different forms of violence in Slovakia. Physical violence is often linked with an increase of the male partner's control over the woman's behavior (in women who have not experienced a physical attack the controlling behavior of the partner occurred less frequently) and is often accompanied by psychological maltreatment or sexual violence, for example. There exist infrequent cases when acts from all the forms of violence monitored were present. Thus different forms of violent behavior coexist in one intimate relationship. 
The multi-variable analysis enabled the researchers to simultaneously evaluate all 22 monitored acts of the partner's violent behavior according to the frequency they had occurred in each woman's relationship.  It revealed three basic patterns of the partners' behavior in Slovakia. The relationships in which acts of violent behavior had not occurred at all or in which some more moderate forms of violence had occurred infrequently were ranked into the first one. The latter two types represent violent relationships and with an increased to high frequency of the occurrence of violent acts.

* Type 1: acts of violent behavior monitored did not occur at all, or a less frequent occurrence of acts of the psychological, economic or social violent behavior and or a slight occurrence of some less severe acts of physical or sexual violence;

* Type 2: more frequent occurrence of acts of psychological, economic or social violence, and/or an occurrence of repeated acts of physical or sexual violence; 

* Type 3: an almost continual occurrence of more acts of psychological, economic or social violence and a greater frequency of repeated acts of physical or sexual violence.








Table 27

Typology of intimate partner relationships of women according  to the frequency of partner's violent behaviour (order of violent acts according to the average occurrence)

Occurrence by frequency
TYPE 1
TYPE 2
TYPE 3





Almost continual occurrence





0





0
- Indecent behavior 
- Vulgar insults
- Incessant criticizing,...
- Restricting finances
- Humiliating before relatives,...
- Incessant control
- Not  providing finances
- Incessant bans 
- Restricting meetings
- Ban on talking to men



Often repeated occurrence



0
- Incessant control 
- Vulgar insults
- Restricting meetings
- Indecent behavior 
- Ban on talking to men  
- Slaps, punches,...
- Battering (- health cons.)
- Pushing, shoving,...
- Coercion to sexual act (coercion to sex)
- Threatening to kill,...




Less frequent
occurrence



- Vulgar insults
- Incessant criticizing,...
- Indecent behavior
- Incessant criticizing,...
- Not  providing finances
- Humiliating before relatives,...
- Incessant bans
- Coercion to sexual act (coercion to sex)
- Slaps, punches,...
- Pushing, shoving,...
- Restricting finances
- Damaging things in flat
- Battering (- health cons.)

- Restricting to work
- Restricting food
- Damaging things in flat
- Battering  (+ health cons.)
- Rape  
- Threatening with a weapon 
- Strangling  




Isolated occurrence

- Incessant bans 
- Not  providing finances 
- Humiliating before relatives,...
- Incessant control
- Slaps, punches,...
- Restricting meetings
- Restricting finances
- Coercion to sexual act (coercion to sex)
- Ban on talking to men
- Pushing, shoving,...


- Restricting to work
- Threatening to kill,...
- Restricting food
- Battering  (+ health cons.)
- Threatening with a weapon
- Strangling







0
Not at all
- Restricting food
- Damaging things in flat
- Battering (- health cons.)
- Restricting to work
- Rape
- Battering  (+ health cons.)
- Threatening to kill,...
- Strangling
- Threatening with a weapon





- Rape


Note: For precise wording of used violent acts see table 21

The first type covers a relatively wide range of intimate relationships including those in which partners were not applying the monitored acts of behavior against women at all.  It also includes relationships in which some of the three forms of psychological violence were repeated with lesser frequency (vulgar insults, undignified behavior or criticism of the woman) or where there was a sole occurrence of a weak form of physical aggression or of coercion to commit sexual acts. None of the violent acts in this type of relationship appeared often or almost all the time and the more clean-cut forms violence did not appear at all. This first category of partners' behavior could be called "from ideal to a single failure" and represents non-violent relationships. 
Those intimate relationships in which some of the stronger forms of physical and sexual violence had occurred once were filed into the second type. The more minor acts of physical and sexual violence were repeatedly present and some acts of psychological and social violence appeared many times in the relationship. However, none of the acts monitored were continually present (almost all the time) and only rape did not appear in this type of relationship at all. 
The third type represents those intimate relationships where many of the monitored acts of a partner's violent behavior are almost constant and where acts of physical and sexual violence, including their explicit forms, were repeated -- some of them many times.
 The presence of a  second occurrence of some acts of physical and sexual violence and a frequent occurrence of acts of psychological, social, and economic violence define a relationship as "violent." In terms of this classification, the second and third types of behavior show signs of violence. They are violent relationships which represent two grades of violence: "less severe violence" (type 2) and "severe violence" (type 3). Tougher, more clean-cut forms of violent relationships are characterized by a variety of forms of maltreatment, bullying and threatening, and a higher measure of possessing and controlling behavior by the violent partner against the woman. A second occurrence of sexual violence, or a male partner's persistent frustration and anger which grows into physical aggression against the woman, characterize the more moderate forms of a violent relationship.
Foreign studies tend to differentiate between so-called "acceptable" and "unacceptable" levels of violence. Individual countries differ considerably in this manner. There are countries where already a sole attack is considered violent (e.g. Sweden), but also countries where a single attack or more moderate forms are overlooked. Slovakia belongs to the second group. The attitudes of the population to different forms of the male's violent behavior against his female partner, show that weaker forms of violence are often not classified as violence. Opinions are less divided regarding more severe forms, i.e. when the violence goes beyond certain limits. Thus the cultural norms of Slovakia give the man a certain measure of control over the woman's behavior. A violent man is then he who has gone beyond these "common" norms. The results obtained suggest that much work needs to be done in Slovakia to reach a zero tolerance level for violence in intimate relationships.

* The number of women who have experienced violent relationships 
The following chart presents the proportion of the three intimate relationship types in individual groups of women. Based on the individual histories of women's intimate relationships, four different overlapping groups of women may be specified in the examined set:
- the group of women who had a partner at the time of research (the current partner);
-  the group of women who had had a partner in the past (the former partner);
- the group of women who had a partner and once had had a former partner as well (the current and the former partner);
- the group of women who once had a partner (either the current or the former partner).
The first three columns of the chart state absolute and relative data on the share of women in each group which fall under the three individual types of relationships according to the frequency of the partners' violent behavior. The last column, which comprises the combined data for two levels of violent relationships (type 2 + type 3), represents the total share of women who have experienced or had experienced violence by their intimate partner.
Table 28 
Representation of the three types of intimate relationships for relevant groups of women
TYPE 1
TYPE 2
TYPE 3
TYPE 2 + TYPE 3

Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
With the current partner
N = 571
427
74,8
79
13,8
65
11,4
141
25,2
With the former partner
N = 433
238
55,0
86
19,9
109
25,1
195
45,0
With the current AND former partner
N = 208
102
49,0

52

25,0

54

26,0
106
51,0
With the current OR former partner
N = 796
563
70,7
113
14,2
120
15,1
233
29,3
Note: TYPE 1 = not violent relationship, TYPE 2 = less severe violent relationship, TYPE