Seite 34 [34]
IZOLDA TAKÁCS: THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
today reguires women to have an ethical attitude that has long been out¬
moded at the level of society as a whole.°®
It is true that the law states that (a) the offending conduct of the victim does
not, in itself, mean that resistance to violence is not serious (BH 1993, 281). At
the same time, the law also states that: “The alleged involvement of the victim
is an attenuating circumstance. This may include gross, violent, defiant or
grossly abusive behaviour or unlawful conduct; violation of the rights of the
victim; light-hearted, defiant behaviour in relation to sexual freedom and
sexual crimes.”
The problem, in this case, can only arise from the fact that in the relevant
section it mentions frivolous defiant behaviour, which can be assessed as
“subjectively objective”. The latter implies that the interpretation of the law
often conceals the traditionally based value judgment (sexism) of women in
society, so that the judiciary practice directly or indirectly reflects the afore¬
mentioned social beliefs.
As Andrea Sebestyén wrote referring to this: “a decent woman does not
dress provocatively, does not walk alone on dark streets, or does not go to clubs
where there is a significant majority of men etc.”*” Argumentation of this na¬
ture identifies with the viewpoint of the male utilizing the opportunity, and
women are blamed for being a victim. This is a serious mistake in her view,
and also raises the suspicion that women’s freedom of sexual self-determina¬
tion is not recognized. The expectation may violate a fundamental right, all
things considered. The traditional requirement for women in this sense is
restraint, passivity and abstinence.*
This is also confirmed by the statement that “tricks” of the authorities include
a procedure aimed at the “disappearance” of the abuser and the redirection of
the investigation onto the victim. As Olga Toth has pointed out, this mecha¬
nism makes use of all possible means of victim-blaming, with the investigation
ultimately focusing on the victim’s behaviour rather than the perpetrator and
the act. Not infrequently, they focus on investigating how the victim’s habits
prior to the crime may have caused the particular tort. Moreover, abused
women find themselves confronted with a situation where law enforcement
officers do not even believe them because of the gender stereotypes.
It can thus be concluded that there are clearly structural causes of violence
against women, which reflect the archaic male-female relationship (manifes¬
tations of male-dominance), unequal power relations between the sexes, and
shed light on long-overdue habits even to this day. Since similar opinions have
5° Sebestyén: Kisérlet a hazai joggyakorlat..., 260-268.
57 Ibidem, 265.
58 Cf. ibidem.
+ 32e