Why Russias #MeToo moment hasnt happened

The sanctuary for women is nestled next to a monastery deep in the Moscow suburbs, down a narrow snow-covered road with a white archway. Its name, Kitezh, is a reference to a Russian myth about a city hidden under a lake to protect its residents from attack. It fits for this small peach and white house, a shelter for victims of domestic violence who fear they aren’t safe anywhere else.

Inside are lime-green walls and rooms with bunk beds. Drawings of butterflies are displayed on a bookshelf. One woman with two kids came here after she was raped by her husband. Another was choked by her father before he kicked her and her young son out of their shared home. A third woman’s story is so traumatic she can’t bear to share it.

The rise of the #MeToo movement has pushed women’s issues to the forefront in the United States and other parts of the world. But deeply patriarchal attitudes still reign in Russia, as President Vladimir Putin’s government implements policies emphasizing the country’s alleged traditional values — including scaling back protections for abused women. It’s been a year since Russia decriminalized all but the most egregious or repeated domestic violence, and the penalty for a first offense that results in bruising or bleeding, but not broken bones, is a minimal fine or a maximum 15-day prison sentence.

The Russian Interior Ministry has estimated that 40 women a day and 14,000 women a year die at the hands of their husbands, while 600,000 face violent domestic abuse each year. Those numbers are incomplete because research indicates that as many as 60 to 70 percent of Russian women do not report domestic abuse.

“People have started to feel like there won’t be any punishment,” said Alyona Sadikova, director of the Kitezh shelter, run by a nongovernmental organization whose main sponsor is Rostelecom, a long-distance telephone provider. A few feet away, a five-year-old daughter of one of the women staying in the shelter folded pink and silver wrapping paper before pushing around a pink baby carriage.

Kitezh is often a last resort for these women and their families. Some stay for three months. Some leave after a few days. Some return to their abuser. The stories of how they got here are often similar. They called the police first, but with the penalty for domestic violence lessened to keep government from intervening in family matters, authorities are hesitant to act and often encourage reconciliation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-russias-metoo-moment-hasnt-happened/2018/02/25/0b8bbf92-0514-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html?utm_term=.1ccc11a7db5f&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1