anna rivina has opened a walk—in help centre in moscow called no to violence, where women can get legalal support. the centre is also raising awareness through slick social media campaigns, including this one, where famous russian men say it is uncool to hit women. one of the main problems is why domestic violence still exists. it is the generations. there is connection with generations, and of course, if a young boy or girl grows up in a family where they see it, day by day, for them, it'sjust a normal thing. they just cannot understand why it's not ok. and for us, it's the main thing, is not only to protect or to prevent, but to explain that this is violence, this is not ok. i can say that there is a big difference since then, 2015, when i started this work. now, it's much easier. now, it's more obvious for people that this problem exists, and now it's much more obvious for people that it's not about women. it's about human rights. and of course, a few years ago,, we had decriminalisation of domestic violence, as people's first time. anna rivina is referring to a controversial law pas

anna rivina is referring to a controversial law passed in 2017 which scrapped prison sentences for firstnot require hospital treatment were classed as administrative offences, not crimes. some say this has led to an upsurge in violence. 0ne not crimes. some say this has led to an upsurge in violence. one of the biggest problems in tackling domestic violence is the lack of reliable statistics. police registered more than 13,000 assaults against wives by husbands last year. but that figure only includes married women and the true figure is likely to be much higher. 26—year—old margarito, a mother of two was initially a victim of so—called minor harm. her husband had hit her and threatened her with a knife, but when she went the police she said —— they said the investigation would take 20 days and then they drop the case. one month later, her husband took her into the woods and chopped off her hands. the doctors were able to save one of them but not the other. a crowdfunding campaign paid for a prosthetic hand and margarita is resolved to stay strong for her children. margarito has just pub