Andrea SannaThe Moscow government has decided to promote ‘traditional family values’.
The Russian Federation is facing a severe demographic crisis that could reduce its population by millions by the end of the century. And Moscow’s first move has been to adopt a series of highly controversial measures that will hit women and the transgender community particularly hard.
Moscow has decided to increase pressure on women to have more children by promoting so-called ‘traditional family values’ and restricting access to abortion.
Laws have also been passed restricting the use of abortion-inducing drugs and banning abortion in some private clinics. These measures have been strongly criticised by women’s rights activists, who see them as an attempt to control women’s bodies and limit their freedom to choose motherhood.
At the same time, new laws were passed against the transgender community. The ban on gender affirmation procedures and the ban on changing one’s gender on official documents. And all this, according to Russian government sources, to protect the “traditional values” of Russian society and to counter the so-called “Western anti-family ideology“.
A policy that immediately provoked strong criticism, both in Russia and internationally. Moreover, demographic experts have argued that such measures will not be able to solve the dramatic demographic decline, the main cause of which is high mortality and low birth rates. Rules that will increase the climate of repression and discrimination.
