“The fight against protecting the rights of victims of violence.” What do human rights activists think about the bill proposing up to five years in prison for libel?

On December 14, a bill on imprisonment for libel was introduced to the State Duma. In one of the paragraphs, the author of the bill, deputy Dmitry Vyatkin, proposes to impose up to five years in prison for libel combined with charges of crimes against sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the individual.

“Such Cases” asked human rights activists to comment on the deputy’s proposal and tell us how this bill could be dangerous for victims of violence.

Marie Davtyan

Lawyer, head of the center for the protection of victims of domestic violence at the Consortium of Women's NGOs

“Obviously, this bill is an open fight against the MeToo movement. #MeToo , #I'm not afraid to say , is another way to protect human rights. Violence is a taboo and closed topic, it is important that people start talking about it.

People started talking, they are trying to shut their mouths

The right to speak, to speak freely about their experiences of violence is the right of every woman. The mere secrecy of the topic of sexualized violence does not provide an opportunity for prevention and protection of rights.

If this bill is passed, it will no longer be safe to write that someone has been sexualized or domestically abused. The introduction of a clause [about slander combined with an accusation of a crime against sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the individual] is absolutely a fight against protecting the rights of women who have suffered from sexualized violence. I think it makes sense to try to write [a complaint about the bill] to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. It definitely won’t get any worse.”

Anna Rivina

Lawyer, founder of the Violence.net center

“There are a large number of bills that are aimed at attracting attention, and everyone initially understands that they will not turn into laws. There are deputies who, by introducing such bills, increase their citation and recognition. We cannot exclude that this is a populist move, which is aimed at discussing and discussing both this deputy and the problem of violence. Considering that this initiative, of course, will find a lot of support among both men and conservative citizens who believe that the woman is to blame for being raped.

We see how government policy regarding women's rights is now being formed. We understand that although the article “Rape” exists, few people come to the authorities for help.

We do not have a cult of women's rights and an effective system for protecting these rights

But recently we discovered a new trend. Those women who had been silent for many years began to speak. Any man or woman can be among the rapists. Such accusations are also made against famous people who would not want these stories to become public. A situation that happened face-to-face is incredibly difficult to prove if there is a prejudice that the woman herself is to blame, and if everything happened without witnesses. In the case of such statements, it is implied that this is libelous.

There is always a percentage of slander. Firstly, it is minimal. Secondly, the claims about slander are not against those women who said something, but against the investigation and the judicial system. There is a good American study, according to which the percentage of slander in rape coincides with the percentage of slander, conditionally, in car theft. This is from 2 to 7%. You can slander it in any article, not only in sexual, sexualized violence.

Lately I have often repeated the thought: our society is evolving, the state is degrading. Unfortunately, we are widening this gap in various steps. “I want to believe that deputies will understand that such a bill should not become law.”