StanRadar (17 June 2024): What punishments apply to domestic violence in Central Asia?

StanRadar, in a 17 June 2024 article republishing material sourced from Asia-Plus (asiaplustj.info), reports a five-country comparison of domestic-violence legislation and enforcement in Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The article reports that Kyrgyzstan updated its anti-DV law in 2017 (described as among the most progressive in the post-Soviet area): complaints may be filed by the victim or witnesses, the law covers official, former and common-law partners, penalties include fines, community service or up to 7 days’ arrest, protective orders extend to 1 month, and intentional health-harming acts carry up to 5 years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Code. The article reports that a 2023 Kyrgyz bill introducing behaviour-correction programmes and requiring perpetrators to leave the home was returned for re-discussion after MPs argued unwritten customs outweighed laws. The article reports that Kazakhstan decriminalised DV in 2017 but re-criminalised it in 2024 after the high-profile case of a former economy minister who beat his wife to death; the reform, popularly called the “Saltanat Law” («Закон Салтанат»), raised fines for intentional beatings to 80 monthly calculation indices ($650), for light health harm to 200 indices ($1,640), introduced 200 hours’ community service or 50 days’ arrest, and up to 9 years’ imprisonment for driving a person to suicide. The article reports that Uzbekistan declared DV a criminal offence in April 2023, with terms ranging from fines up to 20 base indices ($550) or 15 days’ administrative arrest up to 1–12 years’ imprisonment for intentional bodily harm; protective orders now extend up to 1 year; presidential-apparatus sector head Saida Mirziyoyeva (Саида Мирзиёева) is credited with contribution. The article reports on Tajikistan under the heading “measures exist, results do not”: DV remains an administrative offence, with fines up to 5 indices ($36), the 2013 Law “On the Prevention of Violence in the Family” providing only educational talks and protective orders, and a maximum of 15 days’ administrative arrest; international bodies have repeatedly recommended full criminalisation, but the article reports the situation for victims is unchanged and the 2013 law has proved an ineffective protection tool. The article reports that Turkmenistan has no special anti-DV legislation; DV is usually treated as administrative and only as criminal after repeat offences; the article reports that in 2022 Turkmenistan produced its first-ever report on violence against women, with nearly 3,000 women surveyed reporting social pressure to stay silent “not to shame the family.” Source cited: asiaplustj.info (14 June 2024 Asia-Plus article “Бет значит не любит”).