European Court of Human Rights urges Russia to tackle domestic violence

The European Courtroom of Human Rights has urged Russia to sort out the “staggering scale” of home violence in opposition to girls.

Judges have referred to as on Moscow to introduce new measures amid “systematic issues in securing prosecutions and convictions”.

The ruling got here after a case involving 4 Russian girls, who had suffered abuse from their companions.

The European courtroom mentioned that Russian authorities had failed to guard them from violence and reply to their circumstances appropriately.

One of many girls was kidnapped by her husband in 2017 and had her fingers chopped off with an axe in a forest. She later regained restricted operate solely in her left hand, whereas her husband was sentenced to 14 years in jail.

Moscow was ordered to pay the 4 girls a complete of over €450,000 in damages, medical bills, and authorized charges.

The courtroom beneficial that Russia make “pressing adjustments to home regulation and observe to stop comparable violations.”

Judges have urged Russia to introduce a authorized definition of home violence in varied varieties, in addition to restraining and protecting orders.

Mari Davtyan — a lawyer and ladies’s rights activist who represented two girls within the case — has hailed the ruling.

“It isn’t the primary time the courtroom notes Russia’s failure to meet its obligations on safety from home violence, however this time the courtroom clearly and intimately identified measures Russia should undertake,” Davtyan mentioned in a Fb submit.

Earlier makes an attempt to create measures in opposition to home violence that may stop these crimes from taking place have confronted resistance from Russian authorities.

Assault in opposition to a member of the family is at the moment solely categorized as a misdemeanor — punishable by a high-quality of solely round €60 — after the regulation was eased in 2017.

Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the higher home of Russia’s parliament, acknowledged in 2019 that rampant home violence was an issue in Russia and vowed to have a home violence invoice by the top of the yr.

However conservative teams and the Russian Orthodox Church have argued that the state shouldn’t intrude in household issues, and a draft invoice was by no means voted on.