cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/44503656

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Russia’s leading domestic violence support center announced Wednesday it was shutting down over intensifying government pressure and a loss of resources due to its “foreign agent” designation.

Founded in 2015 and formally registered in 2018, Nasiliu.net (“No to Violence”) had been the country’s most prominent organization supporting survivors of domestic violence.

The organization says it has provided direct assistance to more than 10,000 people.

It handled nearly 8,000 individual cases at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022-2023, including legal support, therapy, emergency shelter and online counseling.

“This November, Nasiliu.net would have turned 10. We wanted to mark the anniversary with you to remember everything we’ve done and to gather strength to keep going,” founder and director Anna Rivina wrote in a farewell letter.

“But unfortunately, that’s no longer possible. Nasiliu.net is closing,” she said.

Throughout its existence, Nasiliu.net ran nationwide public-awareness campaigns that brought the issue of domestic violence into the mainstream, developed Russia’s first dedicated mobile app for victims and launched a comprehensive website with resources and legal guidance.

Russia’s Justice Ministry labeled Nasiliu.net a “foreign agent” in December 2020. The ministry also designated Rivina as a “foreign agent” in early 2023, accusing her of distributing “false information” about the Russian military.

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