Complaints of domestic violence in the second quarter of 2022 were more than two thousand in the city of Buenos Aires, a figure that represents an increase of 36% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to a report released this Monday by the Office of Domestic Violence (OVD) of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
“Information inquiries increased by 11%,” said the OVD, which, from April to June, received a total of 2,415 complaints “more than one per hour”, involving 3,154 people, since a fact can have more than one affected .
“In response to this situation, the Civil Justice issued 8,453 protection measures, among which are the delivery of 769 anti-panic buttons,” the statement said.
The OVD detailed that “6 out of 10 people affected were adult women”while “Children and adolescents (NNyA) represented 32%”.
Silvina Lico, a lawyer and part of the Child, Adolescent and Gender Care Program of the Ombudsman’s Office of the City of Buenos Aires, told Télam that the report shows “clearly the phenomenon of violence against women and gender violence “.
The most affected age group was that of adult women between 18 and 49 years old, with 54%, while 7% corresponds to men, and girls and boys from 0 to 17 represented 32% of the affected people.
75% of the people reported were men and in almost half of the cases between them and those affected there was a relationship (49%), followed by filial-type violence (33%).
Also, The report specified that 6 out of 10 people denounced were young men and adults between 18 and 49 years old, among which 77% are of Argentine nationality.
On the other hand, men between 22 and 49 years old are the most reported age group, representing 58% (1,503 people) of the 2,614 total reported.
Although the OVD receives complaints of domestic violence, and therefore also receives complaints from men, children, adolescents or the elderly, for Lico “we can see the unequal power relations of men towards women, boys, girls and adolescents in family relationships, a characteristic of our social organization”.
The OVD interdisciplinary teams evaluated the risk faced by the affected people and determined the presence of different types of violence: psychological (96%), symbolic (51%), physical (49%), environmental (30%), economic and patrimonial (27%) and social and sexual (11% in each case).
While 5 out of 10 people affected were victims of physical violence, 42% of confirmed injuries were to the face, and 70% of injured people had a history of physical injuries resulting from situations of violence.
Regarding the increase in complaints in the city of Buenos Aires, the specialist said that “we always have doubts about whether there are more cases or if people report more.”
“There have probably been more cases due to the consequences of the pandemic, but much more violence is identified now,” continuous.
For Lico, this process of identifying violence is a “positive” process since “the violence that was naturalized before is now not overlooked.”
“Of course it is not positive that there are more complaints, but it is important that they can now be identified, and that they can resort to Justice for some type of protection,” the lawyer concluded.
According to the OVD document one-third of all cases were considered “extremely high” and “high” risk (33%), and “medium to moderate” (56%).
Among the affected people, 42% come from 4 of the 15 Communes of the city of Buenos Aires, being Commune 8, made up of the neighborhoods of Villa Soldati, Villa Riachuelo and Villa Lugano, and Commune 1, Retiro, San Nicolás, Puerto Madero, San Telmo, Montserrat and Constitución, the most affected with 12% each.
They are followed by Commune 4 -La Boca, Barracas, Parque Patricios and Pompeya- and Commune 7 -Flores and Parque Chacabuco- with 10% and 8% respectively.
The remaining 11 Buenos Aires communes accumulate 49% with figures that do not exceed 6% each.
The commune with the fewest complaints was Commune 2, Recoleta, with 2%, representing 70 complaints of the total.
Likewise, 7% of the people affected come from places outside the city of Buenos Aires.
Almost all the complaints were referred to the National Civil Justice (99.5%); to the National Criminal and Correctional Court (17%), to the Criminal and Misdemeanor jurisdiction of the city of Buenos Aires (67%) and to the Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (39%) and 175 cases were referred to the Protect Program of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.
The prohibition of approaching the complainant was ordered in 71% of the cases; prohibition of telephone or mail contact (66%); and the delivery of anti-panic devices was ordered in 32%; the cessation of acts of disturbance and intimidation (28%) and the prohibition of approaching children and adolescents (23%), among other measures.
The OVD, based at 1,250 Lavalle Street, ground floor, in this capital, provides care 24 hours a day, throughout the year.
