Containment: domestic violence explodes in Russia

Reports of domestic violence have more than doubled in Russia during confinement to fight the coronavirus pandemic, said Tatiana Moskalkova, human rights representative to the Kremlin, on Tuesday May 5.

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"According to NGOs, since April 10, the number of victims and cases of domestic violence has increased by 2.5 times," said Ms Moskalkova to the Russian agency Ria Novosti. "Women report that under the self-isolation regime, they cannot go to (authorities)" to ask for help "and if they go, they are generally not accepted" , a- she declared. "It is very important to give women the right to go to rescue centers for victims of violence and not to consider this as a violation of confinement," added Ms Moskalkova.

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Questioned by AFP at the end of April, associations fighting against domestic violence told of an explosion of violence since the beginning of the confinement. They claim that women who contact them face the refusal of the police to move on the pretext of confinement, the closing of the courts preventing emergency procedures, as well as the ban on movement and therefore go to shelters for victims. Several organizations have called on the government to take emergency measures to protect victims in the context of confinement.

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In April, MP Oksana Pouchkina and other sponsors of a domestic violence bill asked Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova to approve additional protective tools for victims.

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