In case of concern that children are exposed to violence or that guardians in other ways fail in their care towards children; contact the social services and report a concern. Knocking can be vital! If you do not want to be left alone, get help and call the police. Knocking can be enough to stop ongoing violence. You can save lives!
Violence in close relationships is classified as a global public health problem.
National security surveys show that the vast majority of people who are exposed to violence in a close relationship do not report the perpetrator.
Many therefore live with violence every day. Every year, about 20 people are killed by the violence used against another party in a close relationship, the majority are women, but also children and men are killed by relatives. In Sweden, 50 cases of violence in close relationships are reported every day. It is violence perpetrated by a close relative, usually in the home, that should be the safest place on earth.
In Sweden, Save the Children estimates that every tenth child lives in a home with violence. There are at least 200 children in Sweden. What we know about these children is that they run ten times the risk of later in life being the ones who themselves are exposed to physical violence and many times also expose others.
We can stop this chain of violence and we therefore need help to enable a better life for these children. What we also know is that at least 300 children live in homes with substance abuse and / or mental illness. This may mean that these children do not receive the care they are entitled to and therefore develop harmful behaviors towards themselves or others. We also need to care for and help those children together as best we can.
It can be about offering the children a coffee when we know that the adults are not able to take care of either themselves or the children. It can be to offer the children a sanctuary when they do not get peace at home and it can be to make a report to the Social Services so that the children will be made visible and helped. This is what we call micro-actions which in someone's life can involve strategies for survival and thus it has macro effects.
What we also know is that at least 100 rapes are committed every day. Of these, 17 rapes are reported. The majority of all rapes (especially those that remain unreported) are committed by someone you have a relationship with. Together we can prevent the rapes that take place in a close relationship. Research shows that those who are exposed dare to put up more resistance if they know that help is available. They will thus dare to make greater resistance (such as is heard and seen) if they know that neighbors will come to their rescue. That knowledge gives us the opportunity to help our fellow human beings together.
By neighbors together deciding to act, lives can be saved and children can be helped to a brighter future.
Act by calling the neighbor you are worried about, find out how everything is and contact the police if it is an emergency or threatening situation.
