Administrative liability for domestic violence against minors: An empirical analysis of judicial practice under Article 6.1.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences

This article addresses the problem of violence against minors in Russia. The author systematically argues for the need to transform the institution of administrative liability for battery into a comprehensive set of measures, where sanctions against offenders should not hold the dominant position. The following methods were employed in writing the article: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, and comparison. The aim of the article is to investigate the institution of administrative liability for battery against minors by their family members, primarily parents, and other significant adults. This is achieved through an analysis of existing judicial practice and the circumstances of the offenses, with an evaluation of the efficacy of measures taken to combat battery. The study analyzed the practices of justices of the peace from 2020 to 2023 in Altai Krai, Saratov and Tomsk oblasts. As a result of the conducted research, the author arrives at the following conclusions. 1. Although research in psychology, sociology, and criminology points to the detrimental effects of physical violence against minors, including in the form of corporal punishment, its use remains widespread in families where such disciplinary approaches are not perceived as a form of deviance. 2. The reliance on physical punishment is driven not only by low parental competence but also by unmet needs for psychological and social support, as well as excessive burdens, such as attempting to balance parental and work responsibilities. Meanwhile, the public fails to acknowledge the root causes of this problem and sometimes, on the contrary, tends to normalize physical punishment. 3. While parents and other relatives of minors are held accountable for battery against children, coercive measures do not contribute to reducing aggression or improving self-regulation in offenders, as they are not linked to psychological or social-behavioral correction. Sanctions most often involve the payment of an administrative fine, typically not exceeding 5,000 rubles. 4. Due to the limited choice of sanctions, constrained in some cases by the impossibility of applying administrative arrest or compulsory labor, judges are forced to impose administrative fines even when the battery is of a cruel nature. This does not correspond to the gravity of an offense that violates the bodily integrity of young children. 5. The ambivalent relationship between the offender and the victim, who are members of the same family, necessitates the search for alternative mechanisms to counteract the practice of battery and to change the concept of childrearing in the public consciousness. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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