MAGAZINE AMNESTY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

MAGAZINE AMNESTY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

«PERSONAL MATTERS» ALSO IN RUSSIA

70 percent of women in the Russian Federation experience violence from their partner or husband at least once in their lives. Despite this alarming frequency, the state offers no systematic protection for victims and still considers the problem a "private matter".

Anastasia is a lawyer. Her husband teaches as a professor at a university. A successful, respected couple. But appearances are deceptive. Anastasia has been beaten by her husband for seven years. "When I earned more than him, he started extorting money from me and hitting me to humiliate me." He's never drunk. And he specifically selects parts of the body where signs of violence are less visible. "He says there's nothing I can do about him, that nobody will believe me," she said as a witness in a December 2005 report by Amnesty International (AI) on domestic violence in Russia.

Not an isolated case

Anastasia is not an isolated case: domestic violence against women exists in Russia in every social class and in every ethnic group. The violence is often justified with alcoholism, poverty or the precarious living conditions in many places. While these reasons certainly contribute to increasing the likelihood of violence, the main cause lies in the socially accepted patterns of behavior that have existed for centuries. The brutalization of society through wars, such as in Chechnya, has also played its part.

In a 2003 opinion poll, around 40 percent of male and female respondents said that beating by a husband was justified depending on the circumstances. The majority did not consider forced marital sex to be a criminal offence. "From the moment you live with him, people think it's your fault," says Liuba.

“Violence is our destiny”, many women in Russia are convinced of that. And the state is doing little to change that. In the Russian Federation there is no law against domestic violence, it is considered a «private matter». And this despite the fact that 14,000 women die every year as a result of violent attacks by husbands or partners. According to a study, 70 percent of women in Russia experience violence at least once in their marriage. However, the perpetrators are only held accountable in the rarest of cases.

Insufficient protection

Although Russia has signed numerous international human rights treaties, including the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" (CEDAW), Russia does not adequately fulfill its duty to protect. The Russian state has only eight women's shelters. There is none to be found in Moscow, a city of nine million. In addition, access is only granted to women who can show local registrations and a medical certificate. In emergency situations, this is an unjustifiably high demand. Most women's shelters or women's institutions arise from private initiatives and often have to be closed again for lack of money.

No priority

The women can expect little help from the police either. Almost all police officers interviewed admitted to AI that domestic violence is far less important to them than offenses such as robbery, theft or terrorist activities. "I called the police 16 times in a single night, but they never came," says Liliana.

Many women feel trapped in fear of even greater violence from their partners. In only 5 to 10 percent of spousal abuse cases do women report it to the police. The vast majority subsequently withdrew their charges. In addition, AI is not aware of any reports of spousal rape. Faced with housing shortages, a lack of women's shelters, and financial and emotional dependency, many women see no way out and continue to endure violence and humiliation. Experiences with the authorities are often so bad that the women have lost confidence in them.

There is a lack of a systematic approach to protecting women at both national and local level. However, in a few places the problem is being actively addressed, for example in Petrozavodsk, a city in the Republic of Karelia. One women's shelter offers protection to victims of domestic violence and victims of trafficking in women. Close cooperation between the staff and the police enables the women to make the best possible decision on further steps. The police actively conducts public awareness-raising work, undergoes ongoing training and is well networked internationally. With success: The crimes against women registered in 2004 had increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year, which indicates increasing trust in the policesignalled. The message conveyed is clear: violence can never be a private matter.

Published in the magazine AMNESTY! from February 2006

Published by Amnesty International, Swiss Section