Pope Francis denounces domestic violence against women; calls it 'almost Satanic'

Pope Francis on Sunday publicly denounced those who engage in domestic violence against women, saying that the act is "almost Satanic." Speaking to a victim named Giovanna, at a programme broadcast on the Italian TG5 network, the Pope used some of the strongest words ever to lambast the accused. In his second public condemnation of the heinous crime, the head of the Catholic Church, said that "it is very humiliating," The Guardian reported.

The Pope made a strong-worded statement while addressing three women belonging to different backgrounds and subjects to abusive homes. When Giovanna revealed that she recently escaped her home with four children after she was beaten and harassed, the Pope raised a strong message against it.

“The problem is that, for me, it is almost satanic because it is taking advantage of a person who cannot defend herself, who can only [try to] block the blows,” he said. “It is humiliating. Very humiliating," The Guardian quoted the Pope, as saying.

Noting the increased number of reports that are today logged physical and verbal abuses occurring in a domestic setting, the Pope also emphasised that "The number of women who are beaten and abused in their homes, even by their husbands, is very, very high." The Pope had also spoken against abusive homes and victims trapped in the setting, earlier in February after the European Institute for Gender Equality reported that nearly 13.6% of women in Italy "have been victims of physical or sexual abuse" from their intimate partners.

Domestic violence escalated amid pandemic in almost every country: UN

On November 25, United Nations AIDS published a report on the eve of International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women calling for urgent scale-up of efforts to eliminate the "neglected pandemic of violence against women and girls" in all diversity. As per statistics highlighted in the report, 243 million girls and women aged between 15-49 had been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the 12 months. Additionally, there has also been reflective evidence of the blasphemous rise in domestic abuse cases as the pandemic pushed many into restrictions in their household.

“The growing evidence confirms that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are not gender-neutral,” Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, had said in a statement, adding, “The impacts of lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed in many countries to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,  the failure to designate sexual and reproductive health services and services for survivors of violence as essential services, and the undermining of women’s economic security have  compounded the barriers for women and girls experiencing abuse, especially those who are trapped at home with their abusers.”

Image: AP