Where to go if the husband hits – protection from domestic violence

In the case of domestic violence, a woman experiences tremendous stress, which is interwoven with fear of her husband and fear of publicity. In this situation, it is necessary to know how a woman can use methods of self-protection from domestic violence, defending her rights, honor, freedom, as well as what services to contact and where to look for help.

Unfortunately, our UK is not perfect. It is very difficult to protect a wife from her own husband, because this situation is considered an intra-family conflict, in which the police often do not intervene. “He will start running after you with an ax, then call” – something like this is usually answered by women who are looking for protection from their spouses. As a result, the situation often gets out of control, ending in a scenario that we will not talk about. Sometimes, in order to punish a husband, it takes so much time, effort and money that a woman has no choice but to continue to endure or just run away “into the night.”

But there are still levers of legal protection for women who have suffered from domestic violence. How can a woman beaten by her husband protect herself? What legal protection should a victim of domestic violence have in the Russian Federation? Lawyers talk.

See also: Signs of psychological violence against a woman in the family – what to do in case of psychological violence?

If the husband beats – where to go and what to do?

Going to the police and court

To begin with, you should not call, but apply personally to the police with a statement (2 copies), indicating the fact of violence or its direct threat, and with certificates from medical institutions about beatings. Do not forget to take the notification slip from the police officer and hide it away along with a copy of the application. The tyrant spouse is subject to civil, administrative and criminal liability.

Commentary by lawyer Sergey Komissarov

The topic of domestic violence continues to be actively discussed by society. The main instrument of protection against the actions of the husband-aggressor to this day remains the appeal to the law enforcement agencies.

If a spouse is faced with a manifestation of violence from her husband, then it is necessary:

1. Go to a medical facility and record damage.
2. Submit a complaint to the police, setting out the circumstances of the incident and ask to send the materials for a forensic medical examination to determine the severity of the harm to health.
3. Call police officers to the place where the illegal actions are committed, if the situation so requires. In the event that, as a result of the examination, it is established that the wife has suffered slight harm to her health, then she has the right to independently, in the manner of private accusation, go to court with a demand to bring her husband to justice under Part 1 of Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The Criminal Code also contains other norms for punishing domestic aggressors: beatings (part 1 of article 116), threat of murder (part 1 of article 119), torture (article 117). Police officers are required to take appropriate action after receiving a report of the violence that has been committed.

Unfortunately, in most cases, these measures are reduced to bringing the aggressor to the police station and receiving an explanation from him. If there is no reason to detain the husband, the aggressor will be released, and he will return home to the potential victim if she did not leave. Therefore, in addition to contacting the police, it is necessary to take all possible measures to immediately isolate the spouse from the attacker, including by contacting crisis centers for women to obtain asylum and psychological assistance.

Why don’t women who have been subjected to domestic violence shy away from their abusers? My practice shows that this is due to the lack of outside assistance, a set of measures to protect victims of violence, the social status of the aggressor, as well as the pressure exerted by him. Legal protection against domestic violence should include the ability to promptly obtain legal assistance, which presupposes that the victim of violence or her relatives have a lawyer’s phone number, who can be immediately contacted in case of illegal actions of the aggressor.

Articles that are most often used in cases of domestic violence

• Section 111… Intentional infliction of serious harm to health.
• Section 112… Intentional infliction of moderate harm to health.
• Section 115… Intentional infliction of slight harm to health.
• Section 116… The beatings.
• Section 117. Torture.
• Section 119… Threats to kill or grievous bodily harm.

What happens next? The spouse is issued an official warning, after which he is registered and a corresponding card is given. If the husband changes his place of residence, the card will “move” to the new place of residence. Reasons for the liquidation of the card: the end of the prescribed period (year), imprisonment of the husband or his death, absence (more than 1 year) from the place of residence or a statement from the spouse that the husband has “corrected”… Of course, if you took such a step, it is simply dangerous to stay with your husband any longer. Therefore, it is best to submit an application, already finding a safe place to live…

You can, bypassing the police, go directly to court (of course, at the place of residence). Moreover, you can not disclose your new address by asking the investigator for your do not take into account the data in the protocol… This practice also applies, and you are entitled to it.

Contacting medical institutions

If bodily injury due to the actions of a spouse occurs, then they should be recordedb:

• Go to the emergency roomexplaining the cause of the damage to the doctor. Do not forget to make sure that the doctor describes the size, location and color of each lesion.
• Take a certificate after inspection with the date of treatment, medical card number, full name of the doctor and the seal of the institution.
• If the marks appeared only after you have already gone to the emergency room, re-apply and fix them…
• The doctor is obliged to transfer information about injuries due to beatings to the police department… The police officers, in turn, are obliged, after the telephone message, to conduct an inspection and give you a referral for a forensic examination. There, too, you need to make sure that everything is recorded as expected. The qualification of the husband’s actions will depend on the results of this examination (article).
• Do not forget to photograph all traces of the beatings yourself., to then attach them to the case. And leave copies of the negatives in a separate location.
• Collect Evidence – Bring Witnesseswho will be able to prove the fact of beatings and aggressive behavior of the husband (at least 3 episodes in which they were present).

After verification, one of the decisions is made: refusal to initiate a case, initiate a case or transfer an application according to jurisdiction / jurisdiction. The decision can be appealed in court.

Where else can you go in a situation of domestic violence?

• Center for Social, Legal and Psychological Support of Women “Nadezhda”…

  Hot line – 8 (499) 492-46-89, (499) 492-26-81, (499) 492-06-48.

• All-Russian helpline for women who have experienced domestic violence:

  8-800-7000-600.

• Independent Sexual Abuse Survivor Benefit Center “Sisters”:

  8 (499) 901-02-01.

• Moscow service of psychological assistance to the population:

  8 (499) 173-09-09.

• In St. Petersburg – “Duty ATTORNEY”:

  (812) 996-67-76.

• Moscow City Health Department:

  8-495-251-14-55 (round the clock).

• Helplines for social and psychological assistance to families and children in Moscow:

  205-05-50 (free of charge, around the clock).

• Moscow, Crisis Center for Women “Domestic Violence”:

  122-32-77 (round the clock, free of charge).

• Moscow psychological assistance service:

  051 (free, around the clock).

• Psychological emergency helpline:

  (495) 575-87-70.

• Center for Emergency Psychological Aid EMERCOM of Russia:

  in Moscow: (495) 626-37-07, in St. Petersburg: (812) 718-25-16.

• Psychological help for women:

  (495) 282-84-50.

• “Salvation” is the only stationary crisis center in the entire Moscow region for women who have suffered from violence and found themselves in difficult life situations

  Phones: (095) 572-55-38, 572-55-39.

• Orthodox Crisis Center for Pregnant Women and Women with Children:

  (495) 678-75-46.

Women living in the regions of Russia, at the first signs of domestic violence and threats from their husbands, need to find out all the contact details of regional services that will help them in the fight against this phenomenon and protect them from aggression.