Government changes mind on domestic violence

The government has proposed a bill aimed at limiting domestic violence. Under the bill, someone convicted of violence could be evicted from the house he jointly owns with his wife or forbidden from seeing her. According to rough estimates, one third of Polish women experience domestic violence. Police were called to domestic disturbances 100,000 times last year, 128,000 people suffered from attacks by spouses or parents and at least three hundred and twenty were killed. Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, a government spokeswoman, reminded that protecting people from domestic violence was part of the government's program "Safe Poland" program. As she admitted, "A year and a half has passed since the introduction of the program and nothing has changed for the victims of domestic violence". The adoption of any new regulation has been blocked thus far by the Minister of Justice, who felt satisfied with the current level of protection. But, "My beliefs have been weakened upon getting acquainted with the laws in Austria and Sweden", confessed Minister Wołek recently. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) M.K.