Teacher in Gelnica not protected from husband even after his release from prison
The murder of a woman from Gelnica revealed shortcomings in the system for protecting victims of domestic violence. Institutions failed to take measures that could have prevented the tragedy.
Teacher in Gelnica not protected from husband even after his release from prison
The murder of a teacher in Gelnica revealed serious shortcomings in the system for protecting victims of domestic violence. After the aggressive husband was released from prison, state institutions took no steps to protect the woman.
As Denník N reports, the court defended itself by arguing that since it had not issued a restraining order, the victim could have filed a complaint herself. Law enforcement agencies, meanwhile, stated that they had no data indicating that the woman's life was in danger.
However, the entire case showed that notifications about perpetrators' release from sentence execution arrive at police departments by post. Delivery can thus take several days. Even after receiving such a letter, officers took no steps to determine whether the victim was safe.
The non-profit organisation Fenestra pointed out that courts have the option to order a violent offender to stay away from the victim, even when he is still behind bars and his return to freedom is merely a matter of time. "From our experience, such preventive measures work and truly help protect mothers and their children," the organisation stated.
The tragedy in Gelnica sparked a broad discussion in Slovakia about how the state protects victims of domestic violence and where the system is failing.
Source: Google News SK — Crime (sk)