Russian domestic violence support centre designated ‘foreign agent’ on verge of closure

A leading nonprofit organisation offering support to victims of domestic violence in Russia is on the brink of shuttering its operations due to legal and economic difficulties since being designated a “foreign agent”, Forbes Russia reported on Wednesday.

Nasiliu.net, which offers free legal aid, psychological consultations, and support group services to victims of domestic abuse across Russia and the Russian-speaking world, has been forced to suspend key programmes and cut back its 24/7 support. Without urgent public support, the organisation warns, it may soon have to shut down entirely.

Originally conceived as an awareness-raising initiative by founder Anna Rivina in 2015, Nasiliu.net received its certification as a nonprofit organisation in April 2018, by which time it had already arranged support for thousands of victims of domestic violence. Less than two years later, in December 2020, it was added to the Justice Ministry’s register of “foreign agents”.

Though Russian law does not outlaw the legal or economic activities of organisations designated as foreign agents, the status often has a chilling effect on the willingness of Russian citizens to support and interact with such groups. In Nasiliu.net’s case, it says their designation has created significant “financial and advertising obstacles as well as bureaucratic hurdles”.

Most recently, Nasiliu.net says that partner services which helped provide an SOS messenger service arranging emergency accommodation for victims of domestic assault have stopped collaborating, directly citing the organisation’s status as a “foreign agent” as their reason for doing so.

Additionally, the nonprofit has been forced to limit its previously 24/7 online psychological support and legal aid to working hours during weekdays. It has also experienced difficulties accepting donations in rubles, though it is still able to receive contributions from international bank accounts.

“At present, our goal is to maintain the most important thing — targeted support, that is allowing victims of domestic violence to avail of psychological and legal consultation,” Yekaterina Prokhorova, the head of Nasiliu.net, said on Tuesday.

Since 2017, when Russia’s parliament adopted a law essentially decriminalising domestic violence, it has become even harder for victims of domestic abuse to seek legal recourse unless they are documented to have suffered repeated or severe injury. According to one estimate, between 2020 and 2021, 70% of all murdered Russian women died at the hands of their partners or relatives.