Poverty, unemployment and insecurity bring Greece in the first place among eight European countries with regard to physical and psychological violence between couples. These data are derived from a survey among citizens of Spain, Hungary, Belgium, UK, Sweden, Portugal and Greece. According to the survey, «the rates of both physical and psychological domestic violence in Greece appear elevated in comparison with earlier data and compared with the corresponding last elements of other European countries”. In Greece the survey was conducted the Society for Research and Communication MARC.
Surprisingly the percentage of men saying that they were victims of domestic violence was high than of women. Specifically, 72% of men and 70.7% of women said that they suffered psychological abuse at least once within one year. 31.7% of men and 23.4% of women said they were victims of physical aggression. Up one level the results seem to be affected by the crisis, while the perpetrators are people of all educational and economic levels.
According to the survey makers, Greeks have higher rates in the kind of “slight physical assault” which is understood as to pull shortly the hand of the partner, to push, to throw an object or slap on the face.
Interestingly, however, the survey evidence in Greece, as well as in Hungary, Belgium and Spain, the victims of psychological abuse are mostly men.
This is explained by experts in the context of the economic crisis. When a man gets unemployed, his traditional role within the family is “canceled”*. This results to derogatory comments – like “useless”, “incapable”- and attacks or blackmailing with psychological background.
source: skai.gr
* I think, I had written about it … but when? Vaguely I remember it was last year…
