Domestic violence conference

An international conference on domestic violence against women took place in London on Tuesday
2nd December. Experts and policy makers from twenty different countries hope to share ideas on how to
deal with the problem.

1. Listen to the report and fill in the gaps.

Domestic violence is a worldwide problem, which cuts across social, ________ and class barriers.
Social workers, magistrates and women's agencies from around the world have been invited by the
British government to share their knowledge and experience of how to ________ violence in the home.
One project in Zimbabwe takes drama workshops into ________ and ________ schools. These have
helped to change ________ attitudes.

In many countries, domestic violence is seen as a ________ matter that should remain behind closed
doors. Another scheme in Ghana - where according to non governmental organisation statistics,
________ in ________ women suffer domestic violence - has succeeded in ________ the lives of
women in three rural communities. A pilot study has seen tribal chiefs agree to the training of local
community teams, who counsel women and have their ________ husbands arrested.

These are models ________ policy makers hope to learn from. Here, ________ in ________ women
are likely to be physically or psychologically abused by their current or ex-partners. According to the
charity Womankind, by the time a woman goes to the police, she'll have been hit, on average, ________
times. Last year there were more than ________ ________ reported incidences of violence in the
home in Britain. The British government is tabling new legislation which aims to prevent domestic
violence, and offer women better ________ within the legal system, to help them if they are attacked.

2. Match the words and the definitions

1 domestic violence a) good examples

2 cuts across b) putting forward proposals for new laws
3 barriers c) obstructions; obstacles; something that stops progress
4 behind closed doors d) occurences
5 a pilot study e) treated cruelly
6 counsel f) here, not restricted by; is not stopped by; is not affected by; pays no
attention to
7 models g) here, private; not discussed in public
8 abused h) behaviour within the home and family which is intended to hurt, injure or
kill people
9 incidences i) give careful advice to
10 tabling new j) a project which is done as a test on a small scale in order to see whether it
legislation will be successful on a larger scale

3. Discuss with your partners

- Do you know any schemes in your country to help people who suffer domestic violence?
- Do you do any activities at school to raise awareness on domestic violence among students? How do
they respond to these activities?

KEY
Domestic violence conference
An international conference on domestic violence against women took place in London on Tuesday
2nd December. Experts and policy makers from twenty different countries hope to share ideas on how to
deal with the problem.

Domestic violence is a worldwide problem, which cuts across social, economic and class barriers.
Social workers, magistrates and women's agencies from around the world have been invited by the
British government to share their knowledge and experience of how to reduce violence in the home. One
project in Zimbabwe takes drama workshops into primary and secondary schools. These have helped to
change cultural attitudes.

In many countries, domestic violence is seen as a private matter that should remain behind closed
doors. Another scheme in Ghana - where according to non governmental organisation statistics, one in
three women suffer domestic violence - has succeeded in changing the lives of women in three rural
communities. A pilot study has seen tribal chiefs agree to the training of local community teams, who
counsel women and have their violent husbands arrested.

These are models British policy makers hope to learn from. Here, one in four women are likely to be
physically or psychologically abused by their current or ex-partners. According to the charity
Womankind, by the time a woman goes to the police, she'll have been hit, on average, 35 times. Last
year there were more than 6 million reported incidences of violence in the home in Britain. The British
government is tabling new legislation which aims to prevent domestic violence, and offer women
better protection within the legal system, to help them if they are attacked.

domestic violence behaviour within the home and family which is intended to hurt,
injure or kill people
cuts across here, not restricted by; is not stopped by; is not affected by; pays no
attention to
barriers obstructions; obstacles; something that stops progress
behind closed doors here, private; not discussed in public
a pilot study a project which is done as a test on a small scale in order to see
whether it will be successful on a larger scale
counsel give careful advice to
models good examples
abused treated cruelly
incidences occurences
tabling new legislation putting forward proposals for new laws