Home is the main scene of crimes against children in Russia. They suffer from relatives more often than from strangers

Home is the main scene of crimes against children in Russia. They suffer from relatives more often than from strangers

A drunk stranger threw a schoolgirl to the floor in an elevator, sat on top of her, and choked her. Residents stopped him: they called the elevator and saw what was happening. The man was sentenced to 9 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

A stepfather threw his stepson onto a bed, sat on top of him, and choked him, shouting: “You’ll end up in the morgue! I’ll kill you!” He was stopped by his wife, who managed to pull her husband off the child by force. A magistrate in Kursk gave the stepfather a fine of 20,000 rubles.

These are two real criminal cases analyzed by “Verstka” as part of a special project on violence against children.

Domestic violence provokes a less acute reaction in society than violence by strangers. But home is precisely the main scene of crimes against children, according to a joint study by “Verstka” and the University of Helsinki.

Domestic violence accounts for at least half of the cases that reach the courts. In 59% of them, the perpetrators are fathers and stepfathers. Caregivers and teachers often know that a child is being beaten and do nothing.

Read about how Russia prosecutes domestic violence in the special project on the “Verstka” website (with VPN):

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