COVID-19, Domestic Violence and Russia
Personal bio: Helena is a second year International Relations student at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Her interests include intersectional feminism in its impacts within international relations, transnational politics and security.
Abstract: COVID-19 has contributed to multiple setbacks towards gender equality around the world. Domestic violence rates have heavily increased, and the UN has declared this crisis as a ‘shadow pandemic’. Hotlines are overworked, safehouses are over-filled and the access to help for the victims is scarce. This article aims to shed light on the effects of domestic violence around the world, viewing how it occurs, and the increasing impacts of the pandemic. Furthermore, this essay will look at the case-study of Russia, its national response to domestic violence, and how this example presents the necessity of social, legal and political response against domestic violence.
COVID-19 and Domestic Violence
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a multitude of difficulties and setbacks which will impact global and local populations long after the virus itself has gone. One area which has especially been impacted is the fight for gender equality and safety for women. Due to the virus and social distancing measures, women have had to stay at home and experience the risks that come with spending more time in their household. The United Nations has deemed this increase of domestic violence as a ‘Shadow Pandemic’, and that all forms of home violence against women and girls have ‘intensified’ (UN Women, 2020). Hotlines, safety centres and hospitals have been overfilled and exhausted, making it more difficult for the victims to flee the abuse and seek help. Many organisations require extended resources and funds to aid the increasing number of victims. In regions where domestic violence already receives little attention and aid due to structural and social inequalities, the pandemic has only heightened and increased these issues. The Shadow Pandemic will be one of the lingering symptoms of COVID-19.
Domestic Violence as a Structural Problem
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime (WHO, 2013). This form of violence knows no class, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and can affect anyone. It remains a structural issue, impacted by social, economic and political factors which allow for the violence to ensue around the world.
When looking at economic factors, it is important to note that although domestic violence can occur no matter the economic class, it is more commonly found in lower-class households. Studies have shown that women in lower income homes have a higher chance of experiencing abuse (CPAG, 2019). This as a result of being financially dependent on someone else or simply not having the funds and/or resources to leave a violent situation. This is often due to the position of many women in the labour market but also the social norms surrounding their roles in the workplace and at home, as well as the link between increased violence and poverty.
The social/cultural aspect of domestic violence is based around the normalisation of violence against women at home. In some patriarchal societies it is normalized to use violence against women as a form of control and coercion. Examples of this can be romanticizing the idea of a possessive and/or abusive partnership, and that their aggression is their wish to protect you. In Russia for example, there is a saying which states ‘if he beats you, he loves you’. This rhetoric impacts not only the social perception of domestic violence but is also used by legislators to delegitimize domestic violence as an illegal crime (Ash, 2019).
This social factor is further emphasized by the political and legal definitions of domestic violence. By not imposing political action and legal framework to prevent these acts of violence, they legitimize them instead. While politics often reflects public opinion, it can also challenge or maintain social norms. The political and social normalisation surrounding domestic violence in Russia is an example of a society which ignores domestic violence as a crime and violation. This legitimization has proven harmful to women and families affected by this form of violence.
Russia, Family politics and Domestic Violence
According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report from 2018, it is estimated that 1/5 women in Russia have experienced some form of physical or mental violence at the hands of their partner at some point in their lives (HRW, 2018). Approximately 40 women die each day as a result of domestic violence, and the yearly toll is estimated to be 12 000-14 000 (Ibid). The phenomenon has such high numbers due to Russia having no legal definition of domestic violence and no legal protective measures towards it either (Chatham House, 2020). If a woman were to report an act of domestic violence against her, there would be no criminal-administrative code for the police to make legal action. The numbers are also expected to be higher as it is common for victims not to come forward due to fear, coercion or denial of the violence.
In fact, the severity of this issue has increased. The government voted in 2017 to decriminalize first battery offences among family members (HRW, 2018). These amendments reduced the penalties for perpetrators, made it more difficult for women to seek prosecution against abusers and in a legal and social sense they weakened protection for the victims. It is in fact estimated that only 3% of domestic violence cases make it to court (Ibid.).
The leading rhetoric of conservative politicians and legislators has re-enforced these laws by following the mindset that family violence is a ‘personal, private matter’, and should be resolved in the family rather than be public affair (Ash, 2019). In fact, multiple orthodox and conservative groups have stated that a draft law against domestic violence would be the product of a ‘radical feminist ideology’ and a threat to traditional family values (Roache, 2021).
Furthermore, the process of escape/prosecution can be described as exhausting, and HRW write in their report that ‘the survivors of domestic violence found the process of private prosecution overwhelming and ineffective, and for this reason decided to forego it altogether’(HRW, 2018). These examples show that the legal, political, and social attitude towards domestic violence is not in favour of helping the victims but rather views it as a natural part of family norms and a private issue.
Assessing whether the numbers have increased during the pandemic has been difficult, due to the lack of hotlines and shelters being closed (Roache, 2021). The Kremlin has denied a spike in numbers, arguing there has been a decrease as a result of the pandemic bringing families together (Ibid).
What is being done?
There are activist and political movements within Russia and from the international community attempting to challenge the political and social status-. In 2019, a draft law on the prevention of domestic violence was subject to discussion in the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, yet the discussion concerning this law was postponed to prioritize the Coronavirus crisis (Gunka, 2020). However, in March 2020, the Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev issued a resolution with recommendations to regulate and campaign activities to decrease the violence (Ibid). The resolution included recommendations to support non-profit organisations fighting domestic violence, increase awareness through online campaigns, and consolidate experience of the existing crisis-centres to implement effective models of preventing domestic violence. The public opinion of domestic violence has also shown signs of change. In 2017, 59% of Russians were for the decriminalisation of domestic violence, while in 2019 that number decreased to 26% (Roache, 2021). Similarly, there are groups of non-profits working to help women in areas where the government has failed to respond, including ANNA, Game 116 and Nasiliu.net (Ibid).
These initiatives in themselves are not enough to solve the epidemic of domestic violence against women in Russia, but it is a step towards social change. Whether these changes will become permanent is unlikely, and the impacts of increased amounts of domestic violence will last longer than the pandemic. For Russia to solve this issue, it would require strong institutional and systemic changes in the social, legal and political realm. It would require a discussion of re-criminalising domestic violence, moving it from a private matter to a public epidemic, with legal repercussions for the abusers and safety measures for its victims. Russia shows an example of a culture where normalized domestic violence has become a prominent issue, and the socio-political symptoms of COVID-19 have worsened the situation. The Shadow Pandemic requires the same response and attention the viral pandemic has gotten, and it must be addressed and treated through socio-political and economic change.
References:
Ash Lucy. (2019). Russian domestic violence: Women fight back’. BBC News. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50493758
Human Rights Watch. (2018). “ ‘I Could Kill You and No One Would Stop Me’ Weak State Response to Domestic Violence in Russia”, Human Rights Watch, USA https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/russia1018_web.pdf
Chatham House. (2020). ‘Domestic Violence in Russia: The Impact of the COVID19 Pandemic’. [online]. Available at: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/07/domestic-violence-russia-impact-covid-19-pandemic
Galina Nelaeva, Anna Andreeva & Nataliia Drozhashchikh (2020) Media Responses to Domestic Violence: Discussing Volodina v. Russia and the Domestic Violence Law, Problems of Post-Communism.
Gunka, Charlotte, Snitsar Maria. (2020). ‘The shame or the shining: COVID-19’s trap of domestic violence in France and Russia.’ International Bar Association. [online]. Available at: https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=74b42fab-a8ba-4edd-8543-d97c2496c32f#_edn2
Reis Sara. (2019). ‘Domestic Abuse is an Economic Issue- for its victims and for Society’. Child Poverty Action Group, UK Women’s Budget Group. [online]. Available at: https://cpag.org.uk/news-blogs/news-listings/domestic-abuse-economic-issue-%E2%80%93-its-victims-and-society
Roache, Madeline. (2021). ‘Russia’s Leaders won’t deal with a Domestic Violence Epidemic. These Women Stepped Up Instead.’ Time. [online]. Available at: https://time.com/5942127/russia-domestic-violence-women/
UN Women. (2020). ‘The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against women during COVID-19’.
[online] Available at: <https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19> [Accessed 5 April 2021].
World Health Organisation. (2013). ‘Global and Regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence’. WHO Library, Geneva. p.2 [online]. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/85239/9789241564625_eng.pdf;jsessionid=E0CC42A0294C69D63927BD4972DF74DB?sequence=1