Russia rolled back their legislation around the so-called "slapping law," legitimizing domestic abuse of women earlier this year. What is it about the male Russian psyche that makes this kind of behavior acceptable in any form? The Russian law that decriminalized domestic violence was signed into law in February 2017, and the Washington Post reported that it took effect on July 1.
Russia condemned by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch researcher Hillary Margolis wrote that the bill signed into law by Putin was only opposed by three members of Parliament, and none of those expressing opposition were granted permission to openly debate the proposed bill.
Even more shocking are some of the public statements made by parliamentarians about this shameful piece of legislation, such as the comment cited by Margolis from MP Vitaly Milonov who views laws protecting women as “lying in bed with your wife, and a lawyer, and some human rights organization.”
Such archaic thinking spells disaster for Russia's women and has set back their human rights by 100 years.
Russia's women sparked the 1917 revolution
One of the initial acts of the Russian Revolution in 1917 was the International Women's Day March which seeded the overthrow of the Russian Czar, yet women are still largely excluded from leadership roles and have minuscule representation at the government level.
It is disgraceful that 2017 has reduced the plight of women to the extent that legal avenues for protection from their partners have been virtually shut down.
Abuse grows exponentially. Google almost any article on domestic abuse and the commonality in each piece reveals that abuse starts with a shove or a slap. Under the new Russian laws, abuse has to be much more severe than a slap before a woman can report it to the authorities.
This is despite an annual estimation of 14,000 deaths related to abuse.
How will Russian women work to break the gridlock
As children, the mantra endlessly reiterated by our parents was "boys don't hit girls." It was an integral part of our upbringing, along with an insistence on mutual respect between the sexes. Protect, respect, and cherish each other, first as siblings, then as cousins and finally as adults was part of our education.
How has Russia lost that?
Some of the characteristics of domestic abusers listed by UK-based Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System include an overarching sense of self-entitlement, selfishness, and self-centeredness to name but a few. Other characteristics include denial, lack of responsibility, and blaming the victim.
Is the Russian male psyche so fragile that everything wrong in their relationships are the women's fault? What does that portend for the country's future, and how will Russian women work to break the gridlock? How will they teach their sons to respect women when their fathers don't?
Is this the result of a regime beating the male psyche into blind obedience to the state for decades, leaving their women as their only point of retaliation?
Perhaps so. It seems the next revolution will once again be sparked by Russia's women. Clearly, there is a long, uphill battle facing them. The women will have to change current perceptions and legislation, as there was no noticeable outcry from Russian men against this shameful, archaic and despicable law. Indeed there has been nothing but deafening silence from them.
