Intimate partner violence is very widespread in Russia: up to 50% of Russian women experience severe physical violence in their relationships. In the 1990s and 2000s various European and American organizations invested more than 10 million dollars in Russian civil society sponsoring various programs, sharing the American experience of shelter organization, educated personnel and provided help in the development of shelters and consultations for women (Johnson 2009). However, as a result of the global financial crisis and changes in Russian law, most of the programs were terminated. Shelters were also either closed or had to rely on the support of the Russian state and therefore changed the direction of their work.
At the same time, protest movement and feminist movements started gaining power, and activists in various Russian cities started organizing against domestic violence. Their activism has taken various forms: NGOs dealing with domestic violence, various blogs, forums and online communities, feminist art against violence, street protests etc. In cases where official state organs do not manage to provide women with adequate support and information on violence, feminists interfere and help women escape violent relationships and save their lives. The movement has an impact on individual women’s lives, as well as on the system of support for victims of domestic abuse in general.
The presentation will be based on the results of expert interviews with activists of the movement and with female survivors of domestic violence. Various forms of feminist activism against IPV in Russia will be analysed, as well as difficulties they confront and their role in combatting the violence and breaking the societal taboo on this matter. Interaction between the movement and state actors and impact of the laws introduced in Russia recently on the movement will be discussed as well.
