Majority of Russian women imprisoned for murder were victims of domestic violence, study finds

‘Russian authorities’ inadequate response to domestic violence puts victims of domestic violence at an even greater risk, while basically giving abuse the green light by reducing sanctions for abusers,’ says researcher

Russian activists from conservative organisations attend a rally in Moscow against a Russian domestic violence bill on 23 November (AFP via Getty Images)

Four out of five women convicted for premeditated murder in Russia were shielding themselves from domestic violence, a new study has found.

The Russian parliament implemented fiercely criticised legislative amendments in February 2017 that decriminalised domestic violence – marking a grave setback which decreased punishments for perpetrators and put victims at greater risk.

New research carried out by critical Russian publications Novaya Gazeta newspaper and Mediazona news website examined 2,500 premeditated murder sentences handed down between 2016 and 2018 – discovering 79 per cent of the convicted women acted in self-defence.

Around half of 1,700 women who were convicted for assault that led to death were found to have acted in self-defence. Both charges hold prison sentences of up to 15 years.

The research, released on United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, found 91 per cent of 1,500 women sentenced for surpassing the parameters of self-defence between 2011 and 2018 had been protecting themselves from partners or other male relatives.

In sharp contrast, only around three per cent of the males who were sentenced under the same charges were shielding themselves from female partners.

Some 40 women a day and 14,000 women a year die at the hands of their husbands and 600,000 face domestic violence each year, the Russian Interior Ministry estimates.

But those figures do not give a full picture of the scale of the problem given research has found 60 to 70 per cent of women in the country do not come forward to report domestic violence.

Europe’s top human rights court found Russia’s failure to properly investigate domestic violence discriminates against women in a landmark ruling in early July that campaigners hope will lead to changes in how the issue is handled.

Legislation recently put forward that aims to tackle domestic violence has triggered ferocious criticism and protests in the country. While Russia’s lower house of parliament is currently contemplating a bill, the controversial 2017 law that partly decriminalised domestic violence is not set to be rescinded.

Yulia Gorbunova, a senior researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, said the findings of the study are “shocking but sadly not surprising”.

She said: “Last year, we carried out extensive research in several areas of Russia, urban and rural, and published a major report. It highlights how Russian authorities’ inadequate response to domestic violence puts victims of domestic violence at an even greater risk, while basically giving abuse the green light by reducing sanctions for abusers.

“While researching the report, I interviewed several women who injured or killed their abusers while trying to protect themselves or their children. In one case, for example, a woman described to me how her drunk husband attacked her in the kitchen and tried to strangle her with her own necklace.

“As she began to suffocate, she grabbed a small cheese knife and stabbed him several times. The husband died from his injuries and the woman was charged with murder. She was separated from her infant that she was still breastfeeding and put in pre-trial detention for nine months. That case received a lot of publicity and eventually, an appeal court cleared her of all charges and recognised that she was acting in self-defence, but by that point, she had already spent over two years in prison.”

Ms Gorbunova said the human rights organisation’s findings echo the latest study’s claims that investigators prefer to classify acts of self-defence as murder due to the fact it makes their job easier.

Russia is one of the only major countries in the world not to have dedicated laws for domestic violence, despite official studies suggesting at least one in five women have been forced to endure physical violence from a husband or partner.

A report by Human Rights Watch alleged Russian police were refusing to register or investigate reports of domestic violence submitted by women and were instead recommending them to reunite with abusive partners.

The 84-page report – titled “I Could Kill You and No One Would Stop Me”: Weak State Response to Domestic Violence in Russia and published in October last year – said social stigma, ignorance and distrust of the police resulted in victims not coming forward to report instances of abuse.

Women described being punched, choked, hit with wooden sticks and metal rods, burnt, threatened with weapons, raped, having their teeth knocked out, terrorised with serious psychological abuse and shoved off balconies and windows.