This panel explores some core questions such as why we should make policy interventions for prevention of domestic violence and for helping victims and victimizers, and how policies and strategies can be developed for better securing a safe life free from fear or threat of domestic/interpersonal violence. The developments and challenges of social policy and practices are an integral part of a new safer civil society in Pacific Asia.
Domestic violence occurs in the private life sphere, typically involving family and couple relationships with high intimacy. Distinctive features of DV are characterized by the diverse ways of manifestation of violence, all of them being very harmful in terms of physical, economic and/or mental damage to victims. Grave consequences of DV have already been reported globally as well as locally. However, ideological grounds, policies and strategies for coping with DV problems have not been fully explored in any society. The social makings of domestic violence are deeply rooted in the gender imbalance of power and control, and therefore the essence of domestic violence is not to be reduced into psychological or addiction problems of individual citizens. Instead, better understanding is to be broadly shared on the hierarchical values that shape patterns to one's ways of thinking and behaving in intimate relationships with others. Putting the genie of DV to bottle is the first step of freeing huge potential and emancipating people and therefore bringing the dawn of radically new human relationships and civil society.