MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Restrictions imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic have aggravated the domestic violence problem, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"The issue of domestic violence exists. <...> Violence gets worse when people are forced to stay in confined space and have to share this personal territory. Besides, job loss can also aggravate the situation," she said.
The ombudsperson said she has just spoken to many women staying in a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Moscow.
"They want to preserve their families and avoid divorce, because they have children. So, they seek psychological assistance for their spouses, for men who lost their jobs, started drinking and behaving the way they never did before. Therefore, of course, the [novel coronavirus] situation played a certain role in the problem of domestic violence," she said.
Earlier, Russia’s media holding company RBC reported that lawmakers Oksana Pushkina, Irina Rodnina and Olga Savastyanova, who co-authored a draft bill against domestic violence, sought assistance in its soonest adoption from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. In their request, they said that the number of complaints about domestic violence increased significantly when the self-isolation regime was imposed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak earlier this spring.
Golikova tasked five ministries, including the Interior Ministry and the Justice Ministry, with jointly considering the lawmakers’ request.
In turn, the Russian Interior Ministry said it noted no surge in domestic violence during the pandemic. "According to statistics, no rise is seen in the household crimes," the ministry’s press service said. It also said that in the first quarter of this year, the figure of domestic abuse incidents has declined by 13%, while their share in all crimes committed across Russia is 1.4%.