Slovakian Policy on Domestic Violence
Violence against women is a serious problem, impacting upon the whole of society. According to statistics of the Presidium of Police Force of Slovak Republic women represented 76.5 % of all victims of the crime classified as torture of a close person or person in care in 2005, and 88.3 % in 2008.
Violence against women has important social causes as well as consequences, therefore its prevention and elimination must inevitably be approached from viewpoints applying to society as a whole.
The prevention and fight against domestic violence in the Slovak Republic is included in the National Strategy for Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and in Families (2004), which represents the first step toward a systemic solution of the issue of gender-based violence. The National Strategy is followed-up by two National Action Plans for prevention and elimination of Violence against Women, one for period 2005 – 2008 and the second for period 2009 – 2012. In 2009 the Government of the Slovak Republic adopted the National Strategy for Gender Equality for the Period 20009 – 2013, where violence against women is also included in one of its objectives.
To contribute to the increased level of information the general public had about violence against women, there was carried out the first National Campaign “Stop Domestic Violence against Women” funded by the Government of the Slovak Republic in 2007 – 2008. The goal of the campaign was to raise public awareness about the gender-based violence.