No to women's silence

Concepts..
Violence against women is a global phenomenon whose rate increases in developing societies, particularly the third world. Violence against women has taken many forms that have led to the killing of hundreds of women, and Palestinian women have had a large share of this, where the human rights centres recorded 37 cases of killing during 2007.
With the growth and spread of this phenomenon, particularly in our Palestinian society, we carried out a campaign to combat violence against women in order to convey a message to stop and criminalise violence against women and to call for the laws to be amended and applied.
The definition of violence against women..
"Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
Forms of violence …
There are several forms of violence directed against women, among them physical violence (punching, slapping and so on), psychological and emotional violence (by belittling a woman's importance and giving her labels and epithets). Psychological violence is also defined as any behaviour that works to prevent a woman from doing things she wishes to do, such as completing her education or wanting to work. And finally there is sexual violence, of which rape is considered one form, even if it occurs rarely in our societies.
The perpetrator..
For many years the perpetrator was an unknown person and a stranger, but this picture has changed today after studies confirmed that 95% of perpetrators are known to the victims and in most cases are from the same family. In 82% of cases the perpetrator is the husband, in 10% the father and in 8% the brother.
The reasons that drive a man to abuse a woman..
A weak character, a feeling of inadequacy, selfishness, addiction to alcohol and drugs, emotional and human immaturity, which has nothing to do with educational attainment and higher degrees, as well as psychological disturbances and a mistaken understanding of manhood as domination.
Family breakdown, social pressures, unemployment, the woman's conduct, the man being influenced by his domineering father, since research has confirmed that 67% of husbands who use violence against their wives saw their fathers beating their mothers before their eyes when they were young. Nor should we forget the narcissism complex, with its selfishness and self-love, so that the man believes a woman, however high her standing, can only be put right by beating.
The environment in which violence against women is common..
It is a mistaken belief that violence against women rarely occurs, when in fact violence is common in our society, particularly as recent studies have confirmed that one woman in four is subjected to violence.
It is also repeated that violence against women occurs in poor areas and among all uneducated groups, but the truth is that it occurs in all areas and among all groups. In wealthier areas the violence is hidden and hard to detect because the houses are further apart. And because violence still takes place within the circle of family affairs, only 7% of women report it.
The reasons women do not turn to the law when they are subjected to violence..
Fear of scandal.
The threat of divorce and of losing the children
Therefore a woman should not meet violence with violence, and should turn to trustworthy people who may help her. What matters is that she does not stay silent about violence, because silence gives the abusive man greater power.