Domestic violence is a serious problem in Russia. According to Human Rights Watch, citing RIA Novosti, up to 36,000 women and 26,000 children clashed daily. Last week, Russia's Constitutional Court ruled that punishment for domestic violence and victim protection were inadequate, and ordered lawmakers to update relevant legalization The Kremlin has effectively considered groups fighting domestic violence as “traitors” and demands that those who receive foreign funding and participate in “political activities” declare themselves foreign agents, a derogatory Soviet-era term for political dissidents. Cases can be prosecuted under various legal provisions, but Russia does not have a specific law on domestic violence.
These legislative gaps only reinforce the impression that the government views domestic violence as a “family matter,” something that happens in private and in which it does not have to interfere, rather than being a significant crime that requires a full response from the government, as if a stranger were responsible for the violence. Petersburg Crisis Center) proposed a bill that identifies mechanisms to protect women from domestic violence. In April, the Kremlin denied that domestic violence was a problem and claimed that it had declined, even as Russian organizations reported that they were struggling to keep up with the increase in calls for help. The exercise, which puts users in Nastya's shoes and asks them to choose options to manage Kirill's anger, is an attempt to highlight domestic violence that activists say has skyrocketed in Russia during the pandemic.
Moscow (AFP) — Russia on Thursday rejected calls for tightening domestic violence legislation, despite a European court ruling ordering Moscow to act on the staggering scale of women's abuse in the country. Verba had reported domestic violence to the police six months earlier, but the police did not take any action because her husband worked in law enforcement. And without a progressive and systematic response to the problem of domestic violence from parliament to the courts and the police, Russian women will continue to die at the hands of those close to them. Russia could take a crucial step towards fulfilling that responsibility by immediately adopting a comprehensive law against domestic violence that guarantees the necessary protections for survivors and accountability for their perpetrators.
Activists also use social media and digital campaigns to change Russians' views on domestic abuse. She stressed that she is able to continue seeking justice thanks not to law enforcement agencies, but to the support provided by one of the few shelters in Russia and the legal advice of a group of independent women. Katulska, 39, says domestic violence was seen as normal growing up, she shrugged her shoulders with the attitude of “if he hits you, it means he loves you. Generally, once a state begins to protect its women from domestic violence, it doesn't back down by removing those protections.
State media can avoid a number of problems, but horrific cases of domestic violence such as those of Mrs. Gracheva and Ms. Pekhteleva do make and stay in the headlines, especially when law enforcement failures are so clear to see.
