Kyrgyzstan provides no protection to domestic abuse victims

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KYRGYZSTAN — Last year, Kyrgyz police received more than 10,000 complaints from victims of domestic violence, according to a study conducted by several women's advocacy groups financed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The overwhelming majority of victims were women. But according to human rights expert Anara Niyazova, criminal charges were filed in only one case over the last six years.

The study showed that police received an average of 9,000 written complaints of domestic violence in each of those years. The number is so high that Kyrgyzstan's Internal Affairs Ministry has started maintaining a record of those reports, creating a database of the names of men who abuse wives or family members. More than 11,000 of the worst repeat offenders have been put on a “blacklist,” with another 33,000 considered likely to commit further offenses.

More than 40 percent of murders committed in Kyrgyzstan are the result of domestic disputes. According to Niyazova, nearly 90 percent of women who kill their spouse or common-law partner do so out of despair after years of systematic abuse. "This phenomenon arises because authorities have proven unwilling to defend basic human rights, particularly with victims of domestic violence," she claimed.

"The police rarely send someone to respond to such calls. There's a firmly held belief that domestic violence is strictly a family affair, so no one interferes, even if someone is being beaten almost to death," says human rights advocate Asel Manapova. And lately, according to Sezim Crisis Centre Director Bubusara Ryskulova, some media state that beating a woman is both necessary and good for her, and that religion does not prohibit the activity.

Niyazova sees hope for change in the adoption of a new law on domestic violence. A panel of experts has proposed increasing the responsibility of local administrations for enforcement of the law, and has recommended eliminating the word “temporary” from the article on protection orders given to victims. With an unlimited protection order, women can receive assistance and shelter. The panel argues that the change is necessary because domestic violence frequently takes on a regular, systematic character.