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Domestic abuse

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Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, anywhere,
at any point in their lives.

If you feel your relationship is difficult, you don't always feel safe, or you are aware that you are experiencing abusive and/or violent behaviours of your partner, spouse, or any member of your household, please contact your staff counsellor or the ​Domes​tic Violence Intervention Centre Vienna​ directly. You will be listened to confidentially and without judgement and be in full control over what happens next. You can also confidently call the police, as they have the policy to remove the aggressor from the home, even against their will, for 14 days, which will give the survivor time to sort things out, pack, and find a safe place to go. 

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Domestic Abuse Awareness and Response Event ​

​In December 2023, the IAEA held an event to inform about domestic abuse and available support. 
If you missed it, you can watch the recording below:


What is domestic abuse?​

Domestic abuse happens when a person uses physical or psychological violence to exert power and control o​ver their partner and/or children. It can take many different forms such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological and emotional abuse, social abuse and economic abuse. It can happen to anyone regardless of gender or background. ​

  • Physical abuse includes inflicting injuries, beatings or holding a person against their will.
  • Psychological and emotional abuse includes controlling a person by shaming, humiliating or manipulating them.
  • Social abuse involves isolating a person from their friends, family or community.  
  • Economic abuse involves controlling another person's finances, or if and where they can work. 
  • Sexual abuse occurs when a person forces a partner to be intimate against their will ignores their discomfort.

​While women and children are disproportionally affected by domestic abuse and violence, it can ​affect people of any gender identity or ​sexual ​orientation. Some might even be subjected to domestic abuse without realizing that their partner's behaviour actually classifies as such, they might have just assumed that what they are experiencing is just a “difficult personality" or might have found excuses, such as “when my partner does not drink, everything is ok, it is just the alcohol", or “once my partner has overcome the stress in the office, things will be happy again" etc.

If domestic abuse was ongoing in a relationship all the time, it would be easy to leave and cut ties. The challenges to find a way out are due to the cyclic nature of abuse as shown in the graphic below. Typically, there is a rise in tension, which may or may not be due to notable stress factors. In this phase, emotional and verbal abuse slowly increase, the survivor feels like walking on eggshells, feels the need of being cautious and choose words very carefully. This phase can last a few days or up to weeks and months, until eventually it erupts in escalation of violence and/or verbal and/or emotional abuse. After the escalation, things usually calm down, the abuser becomes apologetic and tries to make up for what happened or turns the interpretation around in a way to make the survivor believe to have been at fault, then they “forgive" the survivor. This phase is called “honeymoon phase" and is particularly problematic from psychology's point of view, as it gives a false sense of hope that the abuser will change after all, which is only rarely the case without systematic and long-term psychological support. It is only during the acute explosion phase that the survivor will feel the necessity to leave the strongest. In other phases, there will be an awareness and memory of how wrong it is what happened, but hope for a happier future, excuses and forgiveness for the partner's outburst, and fear of the legal, financial, and social consequences of a separation usually dominate the decision-making process. On average, a survivor will temporarily leave between 7 and 12 times, before leaving the abuser permanently. This process can take years and involve legal proceedings.

Always remember
NO ONE deserves to be abused. The abuse is not your fault. You are not alone.
DON'T worry about threats to your visa. We have information about visa options for your situation.
DON'T worry if you do not speak the local language. We can get you help in many languages."(https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse)

 

The good news is: There is support available, survivors are not alone! If you know or suspect that you are experiencing abuse by anyone in your close environment, contact your agency's staff counsellor to share your situation confidentially, to understand more about the dynamics of your unique situation, and to learn more about what support options are available to you. You will be in full control over what happens next and you will not be pushed towards any decision you can't stand behind at the given moment. If you prefer seeking support outside of your organization, you can always contact the domestic violence support hotline, who will be assisting you just as well. There are shelters available across Vienna in secret locations where you and any children you may have can live until your situation is sorted out. 

Below the graphic, you will find links to selected topics on the issue to learn more about what constitutes abuse, how to reach out for help and where to find help beyond your agency's staff counsellor.        

 



​Graphic adopted from the Green Haven 4 Help​​


Click on the images below for helpful external addresses to seek information, guidance and support in every location:



Vienna picture.jpg Monaco Picture.jpg   pexels-james-wheeler-1519088.jpgpexels-aleksandar-pasaric-2339009.jpg

        Vienna                             Monaco                         Toronto                           Tokyo   
        
picture:UNIS Vienna                               




HELPFUL INTERNAL ADDRESSES TO SEEK INFORMATION, GUIDANCE, AND SUPPORT:

  • IAEA Staff Counsellor
     sco@iaea.org  

  • VIC Medical Service for support, medical assistance and referrals to next-level treatment 

    01-2600-22223; medicaladmin@iaea.org

  • UN Security and Safety Service (UNSSS) for safety and security assistance inside and outside the VIC 

    vicsecurityinvestigations@un.org  ​





MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DOMESTIC ABUSE:

 

 

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DISCLAIMER

​All links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not automatically constitute an endorsement or an approval by the VIC Medical Service of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. The VIC Medical Service bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

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