MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI) – Heads of Russia’s regions need to consider establishing centers for providing assistance to victims of domestic violence, the country's Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said addressing the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s Parliament, on Wednesday.

The problem was discussed repeatedly at the meetings of the Governmental Commission on Offence Prevention, he noted, adding that the heads of regions were advised to establish such facilities.

Over the last 8 months the number of registered domestic violence cases has declined by almost 3%, Kolokoltsev observed.

Due to various reasons, victims sometimes prefer not to turn to police and avoid official probes into their cases; frequently they prefer to withdraw their complaints, the Interior Ministry Head concluded.