Map source: Human Rights Watch

Contributed by: Larissa Ponarina, Russian Federation National VAW Monitor

Map source: Human Rights Watch

The collapse of the Soviet Union has led to political, economic, and social challenges for most Russians. As a result, they have faced high unemployment rates, wage cuts and delays, and unsafe working conditions. Women have been severely hit by the unstable conditions; they experience unemployment and poverty. Domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and human trafficking are serious problems in contemporary Russia.

There are several Russian national laws which guarantee gender equality. For example, Article 19 of the Russian Constitution  guarantees equality between the women and men.

However, there is no specialized government body with the authority and resources to function as the gender equality machinery. The governmental multi-agency commission on domestic violence, sexual violence and trafficking that was working under the Ministry for Internal Affairs ceased to exist in 2005.

There are several institutions established to address women’s human rights in Russia, such as the Committee on Women, Family and Youth of the State Duma (Parliament), and the Interagency Commission on Equality between Men and Women. (http://www.owl.ru/content/news/vestnik2006/p71744.shtml)

However, violence against women is still not on the agenda of these institutions, they do not have special tasks regarding this phenomenon, nor are they allocated an appropriate budget for this work.

There is no special action plan for combating violence against women. The National Action Plan for Gender Equality adopted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in 2004 does not yield results due to the following reasons. The Department on Social Policy, Family & Women of the newly founded Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia has become the tool of addressing women’s issues instead of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality. The Department has been focused mainly on social issues. Domestic violence being a form of violence against women is viewed as a social issue, not an issue related to the field of human rights.

There is no specialized budget line earmarked in state and municipality budgets for the fight against violence against women or its different forms. There are no funds for combating violence against women in the central budget of law enforcement authorities, either. Funds might be allocated for implementing social programs on the local level.

There is no yearly amount from the state for the support of NGOs working in the field of violence against women specifically. State support is occasionally provided through short-term small grants. NGOs are provided with grants if they participate in joint projects with governmental institutions.

There are several institutions established to address women’s human rights in Russia, such as the Committee on Women, Family and Youth of the State Duma (Parliament). However, they do not have special tasks allocated regarding the issue of violence against women, with the budget.

The Russian Federation is a party to international and regional human rights treaties, all of which require the government of the Russian Federation to protect, respect and fulfill the human rights of those under its jurisdiction. The Russian Federation has ratified The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol.

Nevertheless, according to Yakin Erturk, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, in her Report on the Russian Federation, “Violence against women in the Federation poses a major challenge to the Government in terms of its human rights obligations and sustained security.”[1]

The main concerns of the CEDAW Committee based on the Fifth Periodic Report of the Russian Federation about measures on realization of regulations of the Convention on Elinmination of all the Forms of Discrimination against Women presented at the 26th Session, January 14 – February 1, 2002 are the following: high scale of domestic violence, particularly of murders of women in the result of domestic violence; attitudes of law enforcement agencies to domestic violence as to a private mattee, not a crime; lack of effective governmental measures on combating violence against women; lack of domestic violence law in the Russian Federation; high scales of sexual violence in prisons and in war conflict in Chechnya; increasing number of trafficked women and girls from Russia and to Russia.[2]

Violence against women, particularly domestic violence, is not recognized by criminal law as a separate offence. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is gender neutral; it does not have specific definition of violence against women or any of its forms.

Cases of domestic violence against women are often considered by law enforcement officials as part of “violence in the private sphere” (bytovoe nasilie). The only way to protect a victim and to punish a batterer through criminal procedures is referring to the articles of the criminal law on bodily injuries or other crimes.

The severe cases of domestic violence under Article 117 (torture, the causing of physical or mental suffering by means of the systematic infliction of beatings or other forcible actions) are also the cases of ex officio prosecution. (http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/)

As for the other VAW cases, such as domestic violence (if these are not the cases of systematic severe beating) and sexual harassment, the victim’s request to start the procedure is necessary.

The Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation allows for the procuracy to undertake investigations into cases which usually require only a private complaint. (Article 318, 3 of the Criminal Procedural Code. (http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/) This option is rarely chosen. In many cases of domestic violence against women under the above articles, it is the woman who files a complaint against her violent partner to the justice of the peace. It is her who is responsible for collecting evidences and inviting eye-witnesses. In cases of private prosecution collection of evidence is on victims.

The Criminal Code of Russia criminalizes rape under article 131.

The term “sexual harassment” is not included into the law of the Russian Federation. Cases of sexual harassment can be prosecuted under the Article 132 (Violent Sexual Actions) and Article 133 (Compulsion to Perform Sexual Actions) (http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/).

Article 3 of the Labor Law prohibits discrimination in the sphere of labor (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/60535/65252/E01RUS01.htm#chap1).

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was amended to include anti-trafficking provisions in December 2003. Besides, the Federal Law on protection of the rights of victims and witnesses was adopted. (http://www.duma.gov.ru/comlaw/hearings/recommend3.shtml).

Crimes on trafficking in minors can be prosecuted under Article 152 of the Criminal Code (http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/).

The main profile of the NGOs dealing with VAW in the Russian Federation is counseling women suffering from different forms of violence on a hotline / face-to-face; providing women with legal assistance (according to her request); support groups for women suffering from violence; public awareness activities. The source of funding for NGOs is mainly international foundations. The proportion of state support is occasional through short-term small grants.

There are only seven state-run special shelters for the victims of violence in the Russian Federation; besides, there are fifteen state run crisis centers with some shelter facilities.

These shelters are for victims of domestic violence and for victims of trafficking; they are run by city governments; they cooperate with police and social services. In the regions of Russia where special shelters are missing, there are no other possibilities for the placements of the victims.

According to the information provided by Russia Resource Center of Amnesty International, the shelter for victims of domestic violence has been closed down recently in Petrozavodsk, Karelia.

There are no special services available for immigrant women in Russia.

There are over 150 NGOs and governmental agencies dealing with violence against women within the Infomation Network of ANNA National Center for the Prevention of Violence. Most of them have hotlines. NGO hotlines work on a voluntary basis, and they are free of charge for survivors. All counselors acquired specific skills and knowledge for crisis counseling in the course of the training.

There are no mandatory training programs for participating professionals on the issue of violence against women. They are held on once-off basis and usually funded by international foundations. Trainings are conducted within the projects of NGOs dealing with violence against women. The number of participants, duration and content depend on goals of a related project and on funding within the project. Initiators and organizers of the training programs are the leading NGOs dealing with the issues of violence against women in Russia.

In the past five years the first major opinion poll on domestic violence was carried out by the Council for Women of Moscow State University in the Russian Federation (2002-2003). It was funded by the Gorbachev Foundation, a Russian non-governmental oragnisation. The survey was carried out in cities and villages in the seven regions of the Russian Federation. The research showed that an overwhelming number of the women interviewed were victims of violence and were living in fear and despair as a result.[3]

There are no special items or topics in school curricula about violence against women, its different forms and about prejudices and stereotyped roles for the sexes. There are no special topics on equality issues or gender equality in school curricula, either.

There are no mandatory training programs at universities or vocational schools for future professionals about violence against women. However, in 2003, the Ministry of Education and Science undertook the first steps on integrating a gender approach into the system of university education. The resolution on implementation of gender policy into the educational system was adopted in 2003. (http://www.ed.gov.ru/junior/rub/gender.doc) Thus, at faculties and academies of social work, gender studies and women studies is a mandatory subject in the curricula.

There any no mandatory training programs for practicing professionals, including the police, prosecutors, judges, teachers, and health, social, child and family protection personnel on violence against women. Trainings are conducted within projects of NGOs dealing with this issue. They are held on a one-time basis and are usually funded by international foundations.

One example of educating professionals was the project of ANNA National Center for the Prevention of Violence, Moscow (2002–2004), in cooperation with the Domestic Abuse Intervention Center (Austria). The outcome was the Russian training model on domestic violence for different professionals, which was based on the European model and adjusted to the Russian context.  The training model was developed by WAVE Association. Also, in the regions a series of training workshops dealing with cases was held for social workers, health care providers, psychologists, police officers.  (http://www.anna-center.ru)

There are no common indicators developed by the state to evaluate the scale of violence against women. There are no official statistics or systematic data collection on and registration of cases of violence against women. The data collected on domestic crimes by the Ministry of Interior are gender-neutral. The situation is the same in the health care system.

Some steps were made, however, toward systematic data collection on violence against women in 2003. The National Statistical Office adopted a Resolution on collecting data on persons referred to governmental social centers for family support. They provided the centers with a special form for gathering gender-based statistics on the number of clients who were referred to the institutions after cases of sexual assault. The form was updated and approved by the Federal Statistical Headquarters in 2005.  The Ministry of Health and Social Development was designated the institution responsible for gathering these statistics. These statistics are available for interested organizations and individuals upon a request. This is the only information on violence against women statistics available so far. [4]

The opinion poll on violence within marriage, carried out by the Council for Women of Moscow State University (2002–2003), showed that 70  percent of women said that they had been subjected to one or another form of violence (psychological, sexual, physical and economic) by their husband. More than half of all those questioned felt that rape within marriage was, in principle, impossible. The men interviewed were five times more likely to blame their wives than themselves for starting an argument that led to a beating.[5]

The state party’s report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1999 acknowledged that 14,000 women were killed annually by their husbands or other family members. [6]

Statistics on rape and sexual assault has not been provided by the Ministry of Interior for the recent two years.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Interior, statistics on human trafficking in 2005 is the following: 66 cases of human trafficking under related Article 127.1 of the Criminal Code and 22 cases of forced labor under related Article 127.2 of the Criminal Code have been registered. (http://www.mvd.ru/press/release/4165/)