European court urges Russia to tackle domestic violence

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — A top European human rights court has issued a ruling urging Russia to introduce measures tackling domestic violence against women, which it said is happening on a “staggering scale.” The European Court of Human Rights ruled in a case that four Russian women filed after suffering abuse by their partners, stating that Russian authorities failed to protect them. The court found that Russia violated Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibit inhuman, degrading treatment and discrimination, and recommended “urgent changes to domestic law and practice.” There are no legal mechanisms in Russia to protect people from domestic abuse. Existing laws address violent crimes, but contain few measures to prevent these crimes from happening.