YABLOKO Youth protested against a bill decriminalizing domestic violence
Press release, 20.01.2016
On January 20, the activists of YABLOKO Youth and the Gender faction conducted a series of one-person pickets against a bill decriminalizing domestic violence. The action took place outside the State Duma. The bill suggests that the criminal charge of “battery within families” should be decriminalized and downgraded to the administrative offense. Offenders would only be brought to criminal responsibility if beatings took place more than one time. Today the State Duma will consider the bill in the second reading.
“State Duma deputies decided that the state must not interfere into family affairs when in comes to beatings. And what about the right to an abortion or an initiative on introducing obligatory infertility testing for newly married couples? It turns out that the state considers that it is possible to interfere into some aspects of people’s private life and is constantly trying to do so. Decriminalizing domestic violence is unacceptable, this is fake humanism,” Maria Efimova, Moscow Yabloko Youth deputy Chair, said.
State Duma deputy Sergei Shargunov, who saw the activists as he was approaching the Parliament building , promised to vote against the bill.
Posted: January 23rd, 2017 under Gender Faction, Human Rights, Yabloko Youth.