I would like to talk about Sofia Guidi, the first Italian girl who stepped on the Ted-ed stage, on November 17th in NYC. Sofia is 18 years old. She joined her school’s TED-Ed Club in Torino because she wanted to spread awareness about the politics of domestic violence in Russia.

TED Conferences (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.” TED-Ed Weekend is designed to amplify the voices of TED’s next generation by inviting students from around the world to share their ideas from the TED stage in NYC.

Sofia talked about Russian women, who suffer domestic violence are being deterred from going to the police since its partial decriminalization last year, campaigners have claimed after a dramatic fall in reported incidents.
According to Human Rights Watch, domestic violence in Russia kills 14,000 women every year. But that was when domestic violence was a criminal offense, it no longer is. When Sofia Guidi heard this astonishing news, she set out on a mission to understand how changes in Russian politics are affecting Russian culture and creating a climate where men are allowed to beat their wives once a year.
In 2017, Vladimir Putin signed a law that decriminalizes a first offense of domestic violence which does not seriously injure the person, making that offense a less serious administrative offense in Russia. The changes mean violence against a spouse or children that result in bruising or bleeding but not broken bones is punishable by 15 days in prison or a fine of 30,000 roubles (£380) if they do not happen more than once a year. Previously, these offenses carried a maximum jail sentence of two years.