The Ministry of Justice called the problem of domestic violence in Russia exaggerated. Is it so?

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, in response to questions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about domestic violence in the country, has called the scale and seriousness of the problem “rather exaggerated”.

The issues of the ECHR are related to the case on the basis of complaints of four Russians, who became victims of violence from their husbands and partners. Among the applicants: Margarita Grachev, to whom her husband chopped off his hands because of her desire to divorce; Natalya Tunikova, who regularly beaten the partner, and when he tried to drop her from the 16th floor, the woman hit him with a knife-she was convicted of this, but then amnestied; Elena Gershman, who survived nine serious beatings on the part of her husband-she was refused the initiation of the case due to decriminalization of beatings; Irina Petrakova, whom her husband beat and raped, pursued after a divorce and once beaten in a court building. He was sentenced to public work, but was canceled.

The Ministry of Justice’s letter says that women are trying to “incorrectly interpret the general situation with domestic violence in Russia” and “undermine legal mechanisms” with their complaints.

“Such cases” asked the co-author of the Law on the prevention of family violence by Alena Popov to comment on the Ministry of Justice of the ECHR.

Photo: Ilya Talev/RIA Novosti

Alena Popova

Human rights activist, co-author of the Law on the prevention of family violence

“When we are sitting in working groups on the development of the law [on the prevention of family violence], there are no particular objections from the Ministry of Justice. I agree with Marie Davtyan (a lawyer representing the interests of Irina Petrakova and Margarita Gracheva in the ECHR.-Approx. TD ), who said that, most likely, one of the department employees is developing the law, and someone answers international complaints. Of course, this answer against the background of the struggle for the adoption of the law looks extremely odious.

The only important thing they mentioned is that men in Russia do not seek help. This fact shows that our state drove people into the heads of stereotypes about macho, alpha samks-they say that people should not seek help at all, but to men even more so. Naturally, this is not a normal situation. This was said by the candidate of legal sciences Anna Rivina, she conducted a whole campaign that the victims of any gender, age, religions should and can seek help.

In Russia, an epidemic of domestic violence - I emphasize this with two lines

Be sure to need [special] law.

Now there is a struggle of two ideologies - conservative and progressive. Conservatives say that the law is not needed, do not go into our families - this is actually the position of the Ministry of Justice, [set forth in the letter]. However, progressive people understand that there is a constitution in Russia and it is impossible to say to the victims that they are incorrectly interpreted by the norms of legislation.

How can Margarita Gracheva be said with severed hands to declare that she is trying to undermine legal mechanisms?! This is impossible, this is a very strange situation. ”