Senators and deputies introduced a bill on domestic violence. How do they propose to solve this problem?

The Federation Council published on its website a draft law on the prevention of domestic violence. There are no statistics on domestic violence in Russia, but thousands of people are subjected to it. This follows from the fact that of the three thousand Russian women convicted of murder in 2016-2018, 79 percent were subjected to violence by a partner who was subsequently killed.

To be honest, it's not entirely clear. The document states that this concept refers to violence by an adult against relatives and friends . According to the logic of the bill, if the victim has experienced physical or mental suffering from the actions of a loved one, this is domestic violence. And also if property damage was caused: for example, the husband took some valuables from his wife and refuses to return them.

However, what is considered physical violence in this case is unclear, since the bill clearly stipulates that beatings are not included here. As well as any other violence that is punishable under the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses. That is, if a husband beats his wife, she will no longer be able to count on help from the state as a victim of domestic violence.

What is written in the bill

Domestic violence is an intentional act that causes or contains a threat of causing physical and (or) mental suffering and (or) property damage, which does not contain signs of an administrative offense or a criminal offense.

Then this bill does not apply to her. Domestic violence can only be recognized if the couple has a child together.

Ultimately, this is the prerogative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police will review the allegations and decide whether there was violence or not.

The victim can also seek help from doctors or the social welfare department. They themselves will first have to decide whether it is worth helping the person who has applied, and then report the fact of violence to the police. In addition, the document assumes that organizations will be created for the socio-psychological rehabilitation of victims of domestic violence. You can go there too.

No, not only that. In its current form, it follows from the bill that anyone can complain about domestic violence.

What is written in the bill

Article 17. Grounds for implementing measures to prevent domestic violence

1. The basis for implementing measures to prevent domestic violence is one of the following circumstances:

3) information received from federal government bodies, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local government bodies, organizations, officials and other persons;

For a wide variety of purposes: from a preventive conversation with the offender and a protective order to social adaptation and rehabilitation of victims. How exactly to help victims will be up to the regions to decide on their own.

This is a document that a police officer is required to issue when he has established the fact of domestic violence. But only if the victim does not mind. This document may contain a ban on any contact with the victim (including by telephone or the Internet), as well as a ban on attempts to find out where the victim now lives.

Such a protective order is valid for 30 days; at the request of the victim, this period can be extended to 60 days.

If this is not enough, both the victim and the police can apply to the court for a protective order. It can be valid for up to one year. In addition, a protective order can force the offender to attend special psychological courses, return the victims' personal property, and even leave home (if he has the opportunity to live elsewhere).

We don't know. The bill states that the violator will bear “responsibility established by the legislation of the Russian Federation,” but does not specify it.

This is unknown. Formally, it has not even been submitted to the State Duma yet. And the text even omits the approximate date of entry into force of the law.

What is written in the bill

Article 28. Entry into force of this Federal Law

This Federal Law comes into force on

It is still unknown why the authorities chose such a strange procedure for considering the bill. It was published on the website of the Federation Council instead of immediately being submitted to the State Duma. At the same time, it states that both deputies and senators worked on the document - both have the right to introduce bills to the State Duma. It is also unclear who the final author of the document is: this is not indicated on the parliament’s website. Deputy Oksana Pushkina, who is called one of the authors, has already criticized some of the wording of the bill . Other members of the working group also spoke out against the current version of the document, saying that this is “the result of the Federation Council’s flirting with various kinds of radical conservative groups.”

The previous bill on the prevention of domestic violence did not reach the first reading. It was returned to the authors - deputy Salia Murzabaeva and senator Anton Belyakov - due to the lack of a conclusion from the Russian government.

Contact the police or one of the specialized crisis centers that provide psychological and legal assistance. Call the all-Russian hotline of the Anna center 8 800 7000 600 . They help all victims of violence, including finding crisis centers in the regions. In Moscow, for example, there is a center for helping women who have survived sexual violence “ Sisters ” or the Moscow Crisis Center .

Denis Dmitriev