VZCZCXRO4264
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHWR #2387/01 3520933
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180933Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5653
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002387 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO G/IWI ANDREA BOTTNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM PL
SUBJECT: POLAND - TAKING ACTION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
 
REF: STATE 142614 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) In an effort to recognize the recent 16 Days of 
Activism against Gender Violence Campaign and the 
International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women, 
Post held a Digital Video Conference (DVC) with U.S. and 
Polish experts to assess major challenges related to the 
eradication of domestic violence and to discuss potential 
solutions.  Through meetings with Ministries, NGOs and other 
agencies engaged in preventing and eliminating such violence, 
Embassy Warsaw has learned about the prevalence of the 
problem and the efforts underway to address the issue. 
 
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Situation Report and Background 
--------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) Domestic violence in Poland is addressed by the July 
2005 Act on Domestic Violence; however, most agree that the 
act is not sufficiently implemented.  No governmental body is 
directly responsible for coordinating tasks related to the 
elimination of violence against women and there are no joint 
action plans among various government agencies, law 
enforcement, and NGOs.  Although government initiatives exist 
to combat domestic violence and violence against women, they 
fall under more general programs for women or programs to 
eliminate violence and crime.  The Ministry of Labor and 
Social Policy,s (MOL) Department for Women, Family and 
Combating Discrimination coordinates efforts with the Council 
of Europe to combat violence against women, although the 
issue is not defined as one of the Department's priorities. 
Ministry of Interior (MOI) statistics on violence are not 
gender segregated, which makes it difficult to assess the 
prevalence of the problem. 
 
¶3. (U) The number of reported victims of domestic violence in 
Poland has risen considerably in the last decade. In 1999, 
there were 96,955 reported victims compared to 156,788 in 
¶2005.  The number of police interventions has almost doubled 
during that same time period from 376,538 interventions to 
608,751. The MOL argues that the increase is attributable to 
well-publicized national campaigns to support victims of 
violence and demonstrates a greater social awareness of the 
problem. Thanks to recent media campaigns, educational 
activities, and institutions and organizations providing 
assistance to victims of violence, society increasingly 
realizes that domestic violence is not merely a private issue 
and should be reported to public law enforcement bodies. 
Campaigns have also worked to raise awareness of the services 
that exist for victims and to spread the efficiency of the 
"Blue Card" system, a police initiative to standardize 
procedures in cases of domestic violence.  Nevertheless, NGOs 
and Ministries recognize that raising awareness continues to 
be a significant challenge.  Studies show that many women 
feel they do not receive enough support.  The number of 
unreported cases remains elevated; a recent study conducted 
by the Warsaw University on gender violence concludeded that 
one third of Polish women experience violence in their 
lifetime and more than 800,000 Polish women are victimized 
annually.  There is a great discrepancy between the numbers 
of women who anonymously admit to having been victims of 
abuse in surveys and those who report cases of violence to 
the police. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Assistance programs for victims of violence are 
limited.  The MOJ is currently running a pilot project with 
11 institutions that provide comprehensive services to 
victims of crimes.  If successful, the project will be 
introduced nationwide; however, these centers are not 
specialized for victims of domestic violence.  There is no 
state obligation to run specialized shelters; those that 
exist are run by NGOs and churches.  In 2004, there were 
approximately 148 shelters for victims of domestic violence, 
which typically offer free legal and psychological 
counseling.  Although resources are available, surveys show 
that only 14% of victims of partner violence turned to an 
organization for help.  Some believe this is because 
organizations have insufficient resources, and many require 
waiting lists to obtain assistance. 
 
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DVC 
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¶5. (U) Based on the input of local contacts who work to 
combat violence against women, Embassy Warsaw coordinated a 
DVC on December 13, 2007 entitled: "Combating Violence 
against Women: Continuing Challenges."  Post worked with 
Washington to engage relevant speakers in discussing best 
 
WARSAW 00002387  002 OF 002 
 
 
practices for advancing the battle against gender violence 
with the Polish audience.  U.S. speakers included Andrea 
Bottner, Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues, 
Department of State; Mary Beth Buchanan, Acting Director of 
the Office of Violence Against Women, Department of Justice; 
and Karen Cunningham, Director of Legal Services at the NGO 
Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE).  Polish 
participants represented the diverse groups involved in the 
combat against domestic violence, including representatives 
from the MOL, MOJ, the police, NGOs, and academics.  The 
discussion focused on what kind of services should be offered 
to victims, raising awareness, sources of funding, and the 
challenges of implementing laws.  It also provided a venue 
for interaction between local NGOs and Ministries. 
Participants praised the timeliness and utility of the 
program and expressed interest in further Polish-American 
cooperation on the issue. 
 
¶6. (U) A representative from the MOJ invited Ms. Bottner to 
open a MOJ-hosted Conference on Emotional Violence, to be 
held in northern Poland on February 22, 2008.  The Conference 
will open a week-long awareness raising campaign for 
victims, support, held annually since 1995.  In addition, 
many Polish specialists were interested in the possibility of 
an International Visitor Program to the U.S. 
 
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Embassy Involvement in the 16-day Campaign 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) Prior to the DVC, PolOff and Pol Intern participated 
in meetings with the various actors relevant to the issue in 
Poland.  As part of the 16 Days of Activism, PolOffs visited 
a Crisis Intervention Center in Bialystok to observe 
first-hand the assistance available to victims of violence, 
attended conferences on the issue, met with the MOL to assess 
government efforts, and visited various NGOs including Blue 
Line, the Women's Rights Center, and La Strada.  These visits 
proved essential in deepening the Embassy's understanding of 
the specific challenges in Poland, but also in creating 
contacts to further Polish-American cooperation on the issue. 
 
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Comment 
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¶8. (SBU) Through meetings with various actors, PolOffs were 
able to assess the situation of violence against women in 
Poland and identify major challenges ahead.  Despite the 
legal framework in place, Poland is having trouble 
implementing sufficient protections for victims.  Government 
organizations lack coordination on the issue and must further 
develop programs specifically aimed at fighting violence 
against women.  Insufficient services and a very low 
conviction rate fail to give women the courage to report 
incidents of violence.  Societal awareness of the problem has 
risen, but should be further encouraged.  The DVC organized 
by Post between U.S. and Polish specialists proved successful 
in initiating Polish-American cooperation on the issue. 
 
HILLAS