The State Duma in the first reading adopted a bill on the decriminalization of domestic violence

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill that excludes punishment for beatings of family members from the Criminal Code. The official website of the State Duma reports this.

According to the bill document, criminal liability for beating close relatives will only occur if the offense is repeated within one year.

If the document is finally approved, the Criminal Code will remain punishable for beatings with hooligan motives or motivated by hatred or enmity. This is punishable by punishment ranging from compulsory labor to two years in prison.

“Intra-family beatings have become more dangerous than beatings of ordinary people. That is, the principle of equality of citizens based on family has actually been violated,” co-author of the bill Elena Mizulina noted during the meeting.

Earlier it was reported that the creators of the portal “Nasiliyu.net” Marie Davtyan and Anna Rivina, together with the founder of the project “W: Women’s Mutual Help Network” Alena Popova, went to the State Duma building with protest pickets against the adoption of the law on the decriminalization of beatings.

“It’s brought to our attention that in order to protect the rights of victims, a lawyer has to stand on a picket line, because other methods will soon end,” Davtyan wrote on her Facebook page. Also, one of the picket participants quoted her conversation with Vitaly Milonov, who, in particular, stated: “You can stand here and freeze, but we will still vote for these amendments.”

At the end of June 2016, the Federation Council approved a law on the decriminalization of a number of articles of Russian criminal legislation. For beatings or committing other violent acts, an administrative fine of five thousand to 30 thousand rubles or administrative arrest for 10 to 15 days, or compulsory labor for a period of 60 to 120 hours is established. At the same time, beatings against close relatives were not decriminalized, just like those committed for hooligan reasons or motivated by national, racial, political or religious hatred, or based on hatred of a particular social group.

In September, the Patriarchal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church on family issues, protection of motherhood and childhood stated that the use of physical punishment for educational purposes that does not harm the child should not be classified as beating.

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