Activists highlight problem of women's social insecurity in Chechnya

In the Chechen society, there is a growing tendency to condemn dissent, which exacerbates the social disempowerment of women and the problem of domestic violence, report activists of public organizations. According to the activists, the number of complaints from victims of domestic violence in Chechnya, Dagestan, and Karachay-Cherkessia grows every year.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in July and August, cases of domestic violence provoked resonance in Ingushetia, Dagestan, and Chechnya. A brutal murder of two women from Chechnya, of which a 17-year-old girl, a relative of the murdered women, is suspected, has become a result of inadequate upbringing in the family, users of social networks suggest.

The Chechen NGO "Women for Development" registers about 30 complaints a year in connection with cases of domestic violence, reports Lipkhan Bazaeva, the head of the NGO.

"Every month, we receive two to three complaints about severe cases (beatings). Cases of seizure of children after divorces and cases of psychological suppression become more regular," Lipkhan Bazaeva said.

According to her, the problems are related to the situation of the general unsettled state of women in Russia. "The problems include the lack of comfortable jobs for women to combine work and care for children. In the event of domestic violence, a woman has no choice, since she usually has no income and no housing," Lipkhan Bazaeva believes.

The head of another Chechen NGO notes that in the region, "there is a tendency to support the social disempowerment of women." According to the NGO head, in 2018, her NGO was addressed by 110 women who suffered from domestic violence, and that was three times more as compared to 2015.

Every year, the Moscow centre against violence against women "Anna" registers an increase in the number of addresses for help from women in a critical situation, reports Natalia Voikova, a specialist of the centre.

Svetlana Anokhina, a journalist from Dagestan, believes the isolation of a victim from an offender is the only effective way to solve the problem of domestic violence.