Based on surveys by the Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, sexual harassment and violence against women grew increasingly in the 1990s. Over 13,000 rapes were reported in 1994, which means that several times that number of unreported crimes most likely occurred. In 1993, an approximate 14,000 women were murdered by their husbands or lovers, about twenty times the figure in the United States and several times the figure in Russia five years earlier. More than 300,000 other types of crimes, including spousal abuse, were committed against women in 1994; in 1996 the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly, Russia's parliament) drafted a law against domestic violence.
Working women still have the "double burden" of raising a family and bringing home an income. This has also increased the divorce rate and lowered the marriage rate. In 1993 the divorce rate was 4.5 per 1,000 population, compared with 4.1 a decade previous, and the marriage rate dropped from 10.5 per 1,000 population in 1983 to 7.5 in 1993. In 1992 some 17.2% of births were to unwed women. According to 1994 government statistics, about 20% of families were run by a single parent -- the mother in 94% of cases.
According to an article in Public Interest (2005), in 2001 the divorce rates continued to fall. Russia recorded three divorces for every four new marriages -- a breakup ratio even higher than that in Scandinavia. In 1990, under Russia's then-prevailing nuptiality patterns, marriage was almost universal -- and the odds of eventually divorcing were about 40%. By 1995, the odds of getting married had decreased to 75% -- while the odds of eventual divorce had risen to 50%. In just five years, a Russian...
Since then, the odds of having a lasting marriage in Russia seem to have declined even more.
Abortion still remains the main method of birth control, since contraceptives are so expensive. It is legally permitted at a woman's request within the 12th week of pregnancy; within 22 weeks if there are social conditions under which pregnancy, child birth and child rearing would become a heavy burden for a woman; and at any time if it is established that
pregnancy could harm the
health of the mother or the child. Russia's abortion rate is one of the highest worldwide: There are approximately 200 abortions for every 100 births. Family planning programs were instituted between 1992 and 1996, making the number of abortions decline by 25%. However, in the following years since then, less
money has placed in these programs because of pressures mainly by religious groups. Sexual education has been offered since 1996 Moscow and St. Petersburg schools, but not in every establishment.
According to the Human Rights Watch organization in New York, spousal abuse, in particular, is not only very common throughout the country, but also largely accepted. Official statistics indicate that every fifth person killed in Russia is killed by a spouse, and the majority are women. Despite recognition of the problem, the state, and especially the law enforcement agencies, have done little to end domestic violence as a
crime or to investigate allegations. Thus, regardless of how advanced the Russian society has become over the past century,
treatment of women is just as barbaric as it was in the past.
References
Country Studies. Federal Research Division Library of Congress. October 11, 2005.
13 October, 2005. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
Eberstadt, Nichols. The Public Interest, Issue #158 (Winter 2005), National Affairs, Inc.
Human Rights Watch. "Violence against Women in Russia." Statistics cited by a representative from the Ministry of
Social Welfare, meeting at the Union of Russian Jurists, the Commission on Women's…
