The murder of a young man by his girlfriend when both were 21 prompted the Domestic Violence Homicide Retrospective Analysis Group (EARHVD) to warn authorities to step up their fight against dating violence.
“EARMA recommends to organizations responsible for the fields of education, health and the promotion of gender equality, in developing their activities: Pay special attention to educating young people and society about the fight against dating violence, with particular emphasis on psychological violence, stalking, control and violence through social network, as well as its devaluation and even appreciation of some of these behaviors as perceived expressions of affection,” according to a report published this Thursday on the DGS website.
The case analyzed by the EARCHVD concerns the death of a man by his cohabitant on October 17, 2017 in their common home after about a year and a half of relationship and a year of living in an actual relationship in which “the presence of intrusive and controlling behavior” on the part of the aggressor and “family and social devaluation” The toxicity of “this relationship” is often considered an expression of a couple’s youth.
“They had an unstable and problematic relationship, characterized by manifestations of jealousy, controlling behavior and even physical aggression on the part of B. [agressora]and an inability to resolve disagreements and conflicts in an environment of dialogue and mutual respect” can be read in the document, which adds that the friend “showed signs of great inability to cope with the perception of the possibility of a breakup.” “.
According to the analysis, there were several factors that predicted a possible increase in aggression, through the form of risk assessment used in the courts, namely: history of physical abuse, escalation of aggressive behavior, death threats, control, stalking, jealousy. , a history of suicide threats/attempts, financial and/or employment problems, separation or attempts at separation and isolation.
“The risk of re-victimization was not assessed because the violence that exists in these relationships never led to any criminal process prior to the commission of the murder or any other type of intervention,” the team also explained, noting that whenever the victim tried walk away from the relationship, the aggressor’s aggressive behavior intensified, and she was able to regain control over her partner.
As the victim tries to cover up the aggression, which “often happens to male victims” of domestic violence due to the “masculine dominance stereotype”, EARAC stressed: “The fact that the female element is one whose behavior was clearly abusive and controlling may , contributed to its relativization (…) and perception as acceptable, not perceived as risky behavior for a scenario of more serious victimization or even murder, as it eventually happened.
Describing several correspondences between the young couple and the sequence of relationships that led to the murder, the report also mentions suicide threats from the girlfriend, emphasizing that these threats “represent one of the aggressors’ control strategies against the victims.” “… and that they “should always be taken seriously, verbalized one or more times” in the context of a relationship.
Another sign noted by EARCHVD was the message “If you are not mine, you will not belong to anyone else”, which they highlight as “one of the most frequently used phrases by aggressors to intimidate “victims” in the face of the perception of another’s desire to leave, which is, thus “a warning present in many murder cases” in the context of domestic violence.
“The high levels of dating violence that have been identified (…) are worrying, as well as the depreciation and even appreciation of some of these behaviors,” he concluded. In the end, in 2020, the aggressor was found guilty of domestic violence and qualified murder and sentenced to a single term of imprisonment for 14 years.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
