In June 2016, Putin signed legislation that decriminalized several kinds of “simple battery,” but that law made an exception for violence among “close family members,” introducing the concept of domestic abuse into Russia's criminal code. Social conservatives were aghast, however, complaining that mothers and fathers who use force to raise their kids still risked two years in prison “just for a spanking.” In his yearly press conference in late 2016, Putin sided with Russia's conservatives, saying that parents shouldn't be sent to prison just for slapping their children.