Experts expect domestic violence to increase during the holidays
2,777 criminal proceedings on domestic violence were recorded in 11 months of 2024, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The number of cases has been growing every year since the start of the great war. About 80% of cases go to court. In 76% of cases, women seek help. However, recently, there has been an increase in reports of domestic violence against the elderly: now it is every third call for help.
The level of domestic violence dropped sharply in 2022, probably due to the beginning of the full-scale invasion: 1,500 cases were opened under Article 126-1 “Domestic Violence” throughout the year. Since then, the number of cases has only increased. Thus, 2.7 thousand cases have been recorded this year, while last year there were 5% fewer cases. The number of appeals is 17% higher than in 2021.
It is worth noting that the detection rate in such cases is quite high: 85% of all cases opened this year have already been served with a notice of suspicion, and 80% of proceedings have been referred to court.
According to Alyona Kryvuliak, director of the National Hotlines and Social Assistance Department at La Strada-Ukraine, the most common causes of domestic violence include an increase in the level of aggression among Ukrainians due to the war, excessive alcohol consumption, and a deteriorating financial situation.
In 2024, the highest number of appeals was in January: 435 criminal cases were opened. For comparison, on average, 250 cases were opened per month. Alyona Kryvuliak notes that the winter holidays are the peak period for reports of domestic violence, and alcohol is the most common provoking factor. Usually, such an aggravation is observed in families where violence is a common practice.
This is not to say that alcohol is the root cause of domestic violence. At the same time, there is a problem that Ukrainians are not trained to relieve stress in a safe way, and many people reduce it with the help of various substances. Human aggression, even without a state of altered consciousness, takes on serious dimensions against the backdrop of war, and under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the level of aggression becomes more threatening.
Understanding the practice of previous years, this problem, unfortunately, will not go away. That is why it is very likely that on the night of December 31 to January 1 at one in the morning or at half past two, we will already receive calls about domestic violence.
76% of all victims of domestic violence this year are women. However, since the beginning of the full-scale war, there have been more cases where men seek help. For example, before the start of the full-scale war, 80% of appeals were from women and 20% were from men.
Among men, the most frequent callers are elderly people who face violence from their adult children and grandchildren, mainly for financial reasons.
Overall, the level of domestic violence against older Ukrainians has been gradually increasing since 2021. The hotline received 9.8 thousand calls from people aged 60 and older in the first 9 months of this year. Every third appeal comes from people of respectable age. This is already more than in the whole of 2021, when there were 9.3 thousand calls.
If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, call the special hotlines: 0 800 500 335 or 116 123.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/domestic-violence-elders
