European Churches" "
“For how long will our society tolerate these innumerable acts of violence? For so long as these victims be abandoned to their suffering, reduced to silence, and stripped of any desire to live?” These are the painful questions posed by a book published by the social Commission of the French Episcopal Conference with the title “Violence against Women”, and recently presented in Paris. The outcome of a project conducted together with Catholic Action for women and the ‘Mouvement du Nid’ (a Christian association that campaigns against prostitution), the text denounces the two most widespread forms of abuse against women: conjugal violence and prostitution. “In France today would it be less risky to beat one’s wife than to beat one’s dog?” is the question provocatively posed by the members of the Commission, noting that “as part of the amnesty decreed after the presidential election of 2002, convictions for conjugal violence were abolished, while the same did not occur for cruelty against animals”. With this publication, says a communiqué issued to coincide with its launch, the bishops wish to “express solidarity with women who are the victims of violence” and “help break the wall of silence by denouncing often hidden abuses”. They appeal to “all Christians and people of good will to acknowledge the phenomenon” in order “to restore dignity, freedom and identity to the victims”. An appeal is also made to the government authorities, accompanied by the hope that “sex education would always place the emphasis on the affective dimension of personal relationships”.
