Klaipėdos universitetas

The article analyses the dynamics of domestic violence in the city of Klaipėda during the period from 2010 to 2020. The analysis of reported cases of violence is intended to reveal the functioning reality of the Republic of Lithuania’s Law on Protection against Domestic Violence (LPADV) adopted in 2011, and to evaluate the fact that violence, as a conditionally marginalised phenomenon for a long time, is raised to the level of an actual social problem. In evaluating the dynamics of this phenomenon over the ten-year period, the authors reject the hypothesis that cultural traditions of violence have changed over the years. During the period analysed, domestic violence has established itself as one of the most widespread violent crimes in Lithuania, overshadowing other forms of violence. The article introduces four indicators of sociological assessment, which consist of the abuser’s family situation, gender, recurrent criminality, and associations between age cohorts, in a focused manner, which reveals the social effects of the adoption of the law, demonstrating ‘the disclosure’ of the known but deliberately ‘overlooked’ reality by the LPADV. The analysis of segments of violence presented in the article suggests the development of specific measures for the prevention of domestic violence and programme strategies, because not only is the legal regulation of domestic violence significant, but so is the identification of target groups that go beyond popular stereotypes of this phenomenon.

The article adresses the problem of social work support to domestically violent males. The causes of violence and the process of help and resocialization are discussed. The research results reveal that domestically violent males receive informational, legal, psychological and social help, however, the component of social-psychological help is underdeveloped, lack of involvement of social workers is felt. Possibilities of social work support are underutilized, social workers rarely participate in the whole of support process. Usually the role of social worker is carried out by probation officers.

The article explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the city of Klaipėda over the period 2010 to 2014, with the aim of demonstrating how the Republic of Lithuania’s Law on Protection against Domestic Violence (LOPADV), passed in 2011, raised a relatively marginalised phenomenon to the level of a relevant social problem. The statistical data presented in the article call for a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the phenomenon in order to identify the social and legal causes of changes in domestic violence, and to anticipate prerequisites for strategies related to the safety of the victims of violence and the prevention of violence. The article analyses cases of violence registered with Klaipėda city’s Chief Police Commissariat, in an attempt to evaluate the social profile of domestic violence, and to highlight the essential characteristics of perpetrators and victims. By transcending the rather narrow boundaries of the psychological treatment of this phenomenon, an attempt is made to identify the most important empirical characteristics that would lead in the long run to an opportunity for the sociological interpretation of the phenomenon.