A Lawmaker Said a Domestic Violence Law Would Undermine Families. Then Came the Backlash. - The Moscow Times

Russian women have called on the authorities to adopt a domestic violence law as lawmakers debate whether such legislation would discourage marriage amid the Kremlin's push to promote what it calls "traditional values."

Russia decriminalized first-time domestic violence offenses causing “minor harm” in 2017. Attempts by activists and opposition lawmakers to pass legislation to protect victims in the years since have so far been unsuccessful.

In videos circulated on social media, women criticized lawmaker Nina Ostanina's claim that a domestic violence law could make men avoid marriage because they would fear punishment over what she described as women's "impulsive complaints" to police.

“We, women, will not get married until a law on domestic violence is passed,” said blogger Farida Shirinova, who has 659,000 followers on Instagram.

“No decent man will be scared away from marriage [by such a law],” she said.