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Section 5. Sociology
Shelia Mzia,
Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior researcher, Institute of Demography and Sociology, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia E-mail: mziashe@yahoo.com
Sulaberidze Avtandil, Professor, doctor of economic sciences, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia E-mail: asulaberidze@yahoo.com
Poverty, domestic conflict and violence: Georgia's case
Abstract: This paper is based on the sociological survey conducted in 2014 by the Institute of Demography and Sociology of Georgia which aimed to study students' attitude towards domestic conflicts and violence. Interdependence between poverty and domestic violence has been established. Poverty has been found to be a major factor triggering domestic conflict and violence in Georgia which, on their part, further aggravate poverty.
Keywords: poverty, domestic violence, student, family, Georgia.
Introduction Gini coefficient 0.42, the portion of the population
Country's social and economic development under the poverty threshold 14.6 % and the average considerably influences evolution of family as a so- nominal salary of an employee USD 442. It is note-
cial institution.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakdown of firmly established economic ties in early 1990s coupled with the civil unrest, protensive ethnic conflicts, objective difficulties relating to shifting to market economy, the Russo-Georgian War and the global economic crises have undermined Georgia's economic development and radically deteriorated the standard of living. Poverty remains so far a major challenge in the country. The situation is further aggravated by still very poor social condition of 300 thousand (7 % of the country's population) internally displaced persons (IDPs). Almost 10 % of the country's qualified workforce is mainly in labor emigration (predominantly illegally).
Notwithstanding the reforms undertaken in Georgia, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country is USD 3600 per capita (as of 2013), the
worthy that the self-employed constitute two thirds of the persons generally employed. Under such economic conditions, food and drinks constitute two fifth of consumer costs of households.
Naturally, the grave economic and social situation we have described above has affected the relationship between family members. Scarce household budget and the difficulties in allocating the available contributed to increased occurrence of conflicts and acts of violence in the family. The critical analysis of this issue is the main purpose of this paper.
Research methodology
As known, the issue of conflict and violence in the family has become a subject of intense scientific discussions since 1970s. It has been recognized that such conflict and violence are conditioned by political, legal, economic and cultural factors [12]. According to another viewpoint, violence, in turn, leads to poverty [25]. The studies confirm that the
occurrence of acts of domestic violence is lower in rich countries than in poor countries [14].
To study this issue, both victims of violence (women, the elder, and children [4; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 13; 14; 17; 18] and various social-demographic groups (students, for example [1; 3; 22; 27] have been included in the target group.
Different authors have studied psychological [23] as well as legal, economic [5], sociological [17] and other aspects of domestic violence. Active discussion of the subject in Georgian scientific literature has started only a decade ago. This problem has turned out to be rather acute in Georgia too, and therefore, it requires extension ofthe scope of the research. Our paper is one of such attempts.
This paper is based on materials provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Statistics Office of Georgia, in particular, on information on poverty and gender equality. At the same time, when interpreting various individual issues, we used the information obtained during other studies on the given subject carried out in Georgia.
The paper mainly relies on the sociological survey conducted by the Institute of Demography and Sociology of Georgia in 2014. The survey aimed to study students' attitude towards domestic conflicts and violence. It was assumed that their viewpoints and attitudes can play a major role in the reduction of frequency of acts of domestic violence. 602 students (including 279 men and 323 women) of institutions of higher education were surveyed using a special questionnaire which consisted of 21 questions with 217 optional answers and which aimed to identify students' opinions on the reasons of domestic conflicts and violence and on their prevention.
Study results
In 2007-2014, 1102 acts of domestic violence and 4935 acts of domestic conflict were registered in Georgia. In the acts of violence were involved 2223 persons, while in the acts of domestic conflict 10 118 persons. Males clearly dominate among the abusers, while the majority of victims of domestic violence are mainly women aged 25 through 44. It has been found that most male victims are aged over 45.
Physical (47.2 % ofacts) and psychological (42.8 % of acts) violence prevails among the types of domestic violence in Georgia. Property-related disputes, jealousy and consumption of alcohol are referred to as the basic reason of conflict in the family [15].
We consider it necessary to provide here the results of the studies conducted earlier. According to the research carried out during 1999-2005 under the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 20 % of women admit the fact of verbal violence from their partners, 5 % of women- the fact of physical violence and 2 % of women — sexual violence [6; 7; 10].
According to the Caucasian Women's Research and Consulting Network, out of 1000 women surveyed throughout Georgia in 2010, 22.2 % admitted that they had at least once been victims of physical violence from their husbands. 25.5 % admitted that their husbands had sexually abused them. 60 % of women indicated that for all that, this problem needs to be solved within the family and it shall not become a subject of public discussions [8].
During the survey conducted in 2010 by Tbilisi State University Center of Social Sciences, respondents (2391 women of reproductive age) pointed out to two basic reasons of violence: 1) male unemployment, and 2) inappropriate socialization. Unemployment, often accompanied by alcohol and drug addiction, deprives men of their traditional function in the family, while inappropriate socialization also stems from the upbringing in the violent environment [18, 83].
The studies conducted by the Women's Consulting Center "Home" have also found unemployment to be the basic reason of domestic conflict and violence [13]. Although, there are other assumptions as well which argue that the psychological problems caused by hard social situation are underlying reasons for violence and conflict in the family [4].
Thus, according to the available studies, which focus on women, unemployment and the resulting scarcity of financial resources are the main reason of domestic conflict and violence.
As noted, the target group of the study conducted in 2014 by the Institute of Demography and Sociology consisted of students. The study which aimed
to identify students' attitude towards domestic conflict and violence revealed the following:
- Two thirds of the respondents had personally encountered, while every fifth had frequently witnessed conflicts in the family. Frequent conflicts, usually, lead to domestic violence;
- The respondents consider beating, coerced sex intercourse and coerced action against one's will the harshest forms of domestic violence;
- Students have varied views of the reasons leading to domestic conflict and violence. In particular, they consider the use of alcohol and drugs, unfaithfulness and lies to be the reasons contributing to the conflict and violence in the family;
- Gender-specific analysis has revealed that unlike women, the major reason of violence of men is the unfaithfulness of the family member [24].
Here comes the question: To what extent is alcoholism associated to the domestic conflict and violence?
Georgia is considered the homeland of viticulture where production of wine has started 8 thousand years ago. Despite the extensive production, distinct regulations have been imposed on the consumption of wine. Historically, clearly manifested alcoholic intoxication had been regarded as something very rare and shameful in Georgia. A person once seen in a drunken state would be disgraced forever. Nowadays, healthcare professionals in Georgia point out to the disastrous growth of the number of persons addicted to alcohol and note that, according to their research, the consumption of alcohol amounts to 78.5 % (as of 2010) [19].
Unfortunately, it turned out that the National Statistics Office of Georgia does not have reliable information on the share of household costs for purchasing beverages. Although, according to the Office, it can be established that consumption of grapes as food in the form of wine self-produced has risen, and its dynamics is associated with the increase of occurrence of acts of domestic violence [2].
Generally, consumption of alcohol is conditioned by many reasons; however, in Georgia,
poverty seems to lead to the increase of alcohol and drugs addiction. We can draw such conclusion based on the following circumstances:
1. Georgia has had a very high unemployment rate in the post- Soviet period, especially among males. In particular, in 2009-2013, almost every sixth man was unemployed. Women are mainly employed at low-skilled jobs due to which their salaries constitute some 60-63 % of the average salaries of men [11].
2. Our study of satisfaction with household income has demonstrated that such income is 4 times less than is the subsistence minimum required for meeting, more or less, the needs of the household, and 6 times less than is the "free" subsistence level [20].
3. Unstable jobs against low mobility labor market in Georgia keep both women and men under permanent stress. In order to get rid of this disturbing mental condition, many unemployed persons, regrettably, resort to beverages, due to their relatively low prices, since they are relatively easily affordable in the country when wine-production has originated.
Thus, in fact, poverty seems to foster domestic conflict and violence in Georgia; the latter, in turn, is followed by big economic loss, increased costs for legal, police and healthcare services. This is added by the loss caused by the missed workdays, distracting children and the youth from their studies, etc. [9]. It is obvious that violence is a factor which hinders eradication of poverty. It should be noted as well that divorces which are a frequent result of the conflict in the family further aggravates poverty of household economy.
It is noteworthy that unlike previous studies conducted in Georgia, our research has demonstrated students' alternative attitude towards the question: "shall the fact of domestic violence be disclosed?". 45 % of the respondents agree with such suggestion. It is particularly noteworthy that 55 % of women agree with such disclosure, while 32 % consider that due to various circumstances, women shall avoid doing so. According to earlier studies, 60 % to 78 % of women shared the position of disclosure. It is obvious that within some five years, new generation has developed a radically different mentality. The patriarchal dominance has considerably weakened in the family. Furthermore, the majority (54.1 %) of the
respondents who believe that "the fact of violence should not be disclosed" have seldom encountered domestic conflict. Men ascribe the necessity to keep confidential the facts of violence to "self-esteem", while women note that this is "the internal problem of the family".
If the fact of violence is revealed, students consider regulation of relations between the family members as the basic tool for assisting the parties to the conflict (42 % of the respondents), while 25 % of the respondents prefer calling the patrol police believing that victims of violence shall first apply to the police and then to their parents and relatives. Bringing the abuser to liability and subsequently, giving a warning of divorce if the act of violence is committed once again, are naturally regarded as a response from the victim. 6 % of the respondents answered that the victims must bear the violence.
Frequent, unresolved domestic conflicts are a source for domestic violence. Only 55 % out of the respondents studied, have tried to reconcile parties to the conflict during the domestic conflict; 45 % of them have tried to do this on their own, while 8.4 % have sought assistance from the people who, in their opinion, were in the best position to regulate the conflict. It is noteworthy that 45 % of the respondents prefer to be passive; every six of them considers that interfering with domestic conflict is not his/her business, while the rest admits that they have suffered emotional stress (cried, felt distressed for the victims (9.2 %), have become unmanageable (4.7 %), have preferred avoiding contacts with people (1.5 %)), and instead of fighting the problem, have tried to avoid it (left home (12.9 %)) [24].
It is noteworthy that the youth look rather negligently at the contribution of NGOs and public social agencies in the area of provision of assistance to the victims of violence; only 8 % of them indicate that the victim must seek assistance from the social agency, while 3 % note that the victim must apply to NGOs.
The study of domestic violence in the light of conflict in the family has demonstrated that the attitudes of the students which have often encountered domestic conflict and the attitudes of those of them which have never or seldom witnessed conflict in the family do not vary much. However, the students take clearly
different attitudes towards the ways of solving the issue of domestic violence. In their opinion, raising the awareness of the youth of domestic life and family relationship is the major precaution against this problem. In the second place, the students (mainly women) point out to the importance of upbringing based on cultivation of the idea of gender equality, as well to the necessity of improvement of social and economic situation in the country. The respondents who have seldom or never witnessed domestic violence give more priority to the latter measure.
Domestic conflict and violence negatively influence mentality of the youth mentality. It degrades the family as a value, contributes to accumulation of negative emotions and to development of negative attitude towards the way of domestic life. Therefore, we consider that in order to further cultivate the practice of family relationship, the youth must obtain more information on healthy family relations in order to see clearly the benefits of such life style. They shall master the manners in which the problems which have emerged within the family relationship can be solved smoothly, without letting domestic violence and conflict to happen. Mass media shall take an active part in this process by producing respective scientific-popular literature, films and TV programs.
The studies have demonstrated that the majority of students are not familiar with the Law of Georgia on Prevention of Domestic Violence, Protection of and Providing Assistance to Victims of Domestic Violence. In order to prevent domestic conflicts and violence, it is necessary to improve the legal education of the younger generation in this direction.
Conclusion
- Poverty is a major factor for domestic conflicts and violence in Georgia up to present, the two circumstances which further aggravate the poverty. This, in turn, requires from the state to take more active steps to identify ways for overcoming it.
- At different stages of the country's socio-economic development, various factors exert different influence on domestic conflict and violence. Furthermore, viewpoints of various social-demographic groups about the reasons of the conflict and violence are different. The approach towards studying this problem is rather unsystematic because ofwhich we
believe that it should be analyzed in a more complex and systematic manner and include all social-demographic groups. Both abusers and victims and their family members need to be studied. Activities of the social network responsible for protection from violence, of public institutions in this direction shall be critically assessed.
- Domestic violence is associated with frequent conflicts in the family, and therefore, its prevention start with eradication of the reasons underling such conflicts.
- The youth shall be provided with more practical information on the difficulties arising in domestic life and on the ways to overcome them. They shall be raised based on increased cultivation of the idea of gender equality.
- Legal education of the younger generation, raising of its awareness of social, psychological and legal aspects of the domestic life, rights and obligations towards their family members shall start right from the childhood. Authors of the curricula of institutions of secondary education shall also consider these issues.
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