Umabika Ilyasova: Bashkiria needs a law for prevention of violence with respect to women

The International Day of struggle for liquidation of violence with respect to women is marked on November 25 and to what extent is this problem actual for the whole country as well as for our Republic in particular? The deputy of the State Council-Kurultay-RB, the editor-in-chief of the magazine “BASHKORTOSTAN KYZY” Umabika Ilyasova is musing upon it:

“Such phenomenon as the everyday violence with respect to women is increasing irrespective of the geographic frontiers, age and race, affecting all kinds of family relations and all social layers. According to statistics 12-15% of women in Europe become the victims of unreasonable violence every day.

The main work on prevention of home violence in the world community started in the 60s. Today 89 countries have the laws on prevention of the tragedies between members of the families. In the post-Soviet space such laws have been passed in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and these laws work rather efficiently.

Russia still doesn’t have its own law concerning prevention of everyday home violence and two international documents, applied on the territory of Russia – the Human Rights Declaration (1948) and the Convent about liquidation of all forms of discrimination with respect to women (1992) have only declarative character and the Criminal Code of Russia stipulates for the responsibility for deliberate crimes against life, health and sexual inviolability of the citizens. The present Criminal legislation has no special articles, stipulating for the criminal responsibility for the crimes, committed with respect to relatives. Moreover the representatives of the power structures believe the violence against an unknown person is much more serious than the same actions, committed in the families behind the closed doors.

Unfortunately only such kinds of short-term aid as crisis centers and helplines are available in Bashkortostan and in this connection I do believe Bashkiria needs the special law for prevention of violence with respect to women. Many boys and girls are reared in the families, where the violent acts are considered as an ordinary things and this is one of the reasons of the teenager’s suicide”.