Psychological violence, the most common in Colombian families

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the most common in Colombian families
the most common in Colombian families

For 48.5% of the study participants, when a person receives abuse it is because “they have asked for it”, they are also “guilty” for staying next to someone who mistreats them.

A new study carried out by the Family Institute of the University of La Sabana, which sought to identify the most common types of violence within Colombian families, was published in recent days.

The investigation counted on the participation of 1,022 Colombians and where four types of intrafamily or domestic violence were addressed: psychological, physical, economic, and sexual.

The results show that 59.6% of the participants affirmed that, in the case of people attacked by a family member, the most reported type is psychological violence, affecting men in 56.1% and women in 61, 8%.

“The highest percentages are observed in women, and these results coincide with the measurements that have been carried out in recent years in the country. This shows the magnitude of the problem that impacts health services, but it also shows that Colombian society faces a social and human rights problem ”, says Victoria Cabrera, professor at the Institute of the Family of the University of La Sabana, and one of the researchers of the study.

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Another of the results that stand out is economic violence, which occupies second place in the reports with 33.1% in the general sample and again it is women (36%), who suffer the most compared to men ( 28.4%). It is followed by physical violence with 21.2% in the general sample which, when disaggregated by sex, shows that women (21.7%) are the most affected compared to men who report 20.6%.

“In the case of sexual violence, in the general sample, this type of violence has a report of 3% that, although it is not a high figure compared to other reports, must be attended by the entities in charge of the issue due to its impact on the lives of those who suffer it ”, emphasizes María del Carmen Docal, co-investigator of this study and professor at the Instituto de La Familia.

Another of the aspects that stand out from the study and that is worrying is that for 48.5% of the participants, when a person receives abuse it is because “they have sought it”, they are also “guilty” for staying close to someone who mistreats him/her. Also, the idea that what happens within a family is private is recurrent: “dirty clothes are washed at home”.

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“Although there are greater social visibility and less social tolerance towards violence among family members, there is still a long way to go. Likewise, the pandemic has turned the world’s gaze towards the phenomenon and has placed it in a relevant place in the public debate despite the fact that it has been historically anchored, hidden and sheltered with the argument of family intimacy ”, emphasizes Professor Cabrera.

Finally, the survey also asked whether respondents consider themselves victims of violence, to which 84% of the participants answered no and 16% yes. When disaggregating by sex, 28% of the participants who report being victims of violence are men compared to 72% of women.

“It is necessary to expand outreach campaigns aimed at the imperative of the duty that we all have to exercise zero tolerance on domestic and gender violence. In addition, the culture of peace must be strengthened as a mechanism to win in spaces where all people feel safe and protected in order to overcome beliefs, schemes, stereotypes or prejudices ”, the researcher Docal points out.