15,000 women killed by husbands: Russian wives fight back against domestic violence

[theHandpuppet]

This is an old report (nearly 20 years!) but more recent statistics would, I believe, be very difficult to find. If anyone has more recent reports, could you post them?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/15000-women-killed-by-husbands-1591705.html
15,000 women killed by husbands
Russian wives fight back against domestic violence
Helen Womack in Moscow
Sunday 16 July 1995

THERE is an old joke which some Russians still find hilariously funny. Vasily comes home drunk and thinks to himself: "If my wife does not open the door fast enough, I will beat her." He knocks and with the swiftness of lightning, his wife throws open the door and greets him. Vasily is frustrated but thinks to himself: "Never mind, if the soup is not hot enough, I will be able to beat her." She puts a steaming bowl of soup down in front of him. He is frustrated again but thinks to himself: "Never mind, if she does not offer me a glass of vodka, I will be able to beat her." She smiles and offers him the vodka. He flings out his fist and hits her in the mouth. She starts to cry and asks why he has hit her. "For being so fussy, you old fool."

With national humour like that, it is perhaps not surprising that 15,000 Russian women were beaten to death by their husbands last year, according to new statistics from the prosecutor's office. But abusive spouses may soon have to be more careful, for Russian women, who up to now have been suspicious of Western feminism, are starting to stand up for their rights. A group of women in Moscow have set up a helpline to offer support and legal advice to the victims of violence in the home.

The helpline office is rather grim. Situated in a suburban high-rise block which otherwise houses academics studying the Far East, the room is plastered with black and white posters donated by a US women's organisation. "After some domestic disputes, husbands send their wives flowers," reads one. It shows a picture of a wreath.

But clients would be quickly put at their ease by the leader of the project, Marina Pisklakova. Dressed all in white, like an angel, she offers her visitors cups of instant coffee, chocolates and plenty of sympathy.

A statistician and sociologist by training, she became involved in the women's movement when she visited Sweden. She avoids any hint of stridency, which might deter Russian women, who think of Western feminists as aggressive man-haters. One of the first things she says is that she set up the helpline with her late husband, who in the years before his death became as committed as she is to freeing both the sexes from their stereotyped roles....

MORE at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/15000-women-killed-by-husbands-1591705.html