Russia Domestic Violence; - Why would any man find it necessary to beat a woman? What possible pleasure comes from such cruelty. As a child I was one of about fifty cousins of mixed gender and we engaged in rough and tumble but the minute things got rough enough for a girl to cry, one or all of our multiple aunts were on their feet and yelling, "boys do not hit girls."

Boys hit girls - early domestic violence

Which is not to say that girls got off scott-free. Cousins were consulted and offending parties punished accordingly. Usually the male offender and the female protagonist were both taken aside for a 'time out' but the message was consistently clear; boy don't hit girls.

Growing up with a father who was a policeman, he took time to explain that no self respecting man would ever hit a woman. A man should cherish and protect his woman. I never saw him raise a hand to my mother and even in the era of acceptable spanking, I cannot recall him giving me one.

Is the male Russian psyche emotionally crippled?

The Russian government is effectively licencing its men to participate in domestic violence. What, one has to ask, is wrong with the state of masculine self respect in Russia? Surely their men are not still reeling from having their every action dictated by the state for so many decades? Is the male Russian psyche permanently emotionally crippled, as a result of that state control, rendering Russian men emotionally immature?

The Soviet state of Russia trumpeted equality for all genders but according to a Human rights Watch report on Russia, as far back as 1995, there is little constitutional protection for Russian women and that has now been further eroded by Putin.

An article produced by the British Government indicates that as many as 14,000 woman are killed every year as a result of domestic violence.

That is a dangerously high figure that has now been sanctioned by the Russian Government. Indeed the vote was so overwhelming in favour of the changes making it harder to report abuse, that according to Hillary Margolis of Human Rights Watch, the bill was passed with the disturbing ratio of 368 - 3. She also mentions that the few opponents to the bill were not allowed to actively campaign against the bill. Three votes against the bill clearly indicates that Russian women are in trouble.

Human Rights abuse is alive and well, and government sanctioned in Russia. Shame on you Russia.