Categories and number of criminal offenses committed in the family and household sphere
Strong and prosperous families are the basis for the successful development of any state and society. Crimes committed in the family and everyday life often destroy not only individual cells of society, but also strike a blow at it as a whole.
That is why the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan and human rights organizations pay special attention to monitoring this problem.
Since 2018, a reactive increase in the number of crimes related to domestic violence has been recorded in our country. Let's take a look at the figures: for the whole of 2015, 472 criminal offenses in the family and household sphere were recorded in Kazakhstan, in 2016 - 485, in 2017 - 446, in 2018 – 919 at once, in 2019 – already 1055, and in 2020 there was a peak in the number of crimes - 1072 at once. Moreover, throughout the designated period, the number of serious (in 2015 – 204, in 2020 – 430) and especially serious (in 2015 – 83, in 2020 – 194) crimes, including murder, rape, and causing serious harm to health, steadily increased.
2020 has become a «record holder» against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out, which locked Kazakhstanis with their problems at home for several months. But the negative trend of the growth of crimes in everyday life was outlined in 2018.
A series of resonant «domestic» crimes that occurred in 2018-2019 has stirred up the Kazakh society. In this regard, several legislative and social measures have been taken. For example, in 2019, 12 family resource support centers at family courts – «Bakytty Otbasy» - were opened in the regions of Kazakhstan at once. In these centers, professional psychologists, lawyers, mediators, medical and social workers, as well as crisis specialists began to help people, and completely free of charge.
In addition, since the beginning of 2020, rape and sexual violence have been transferred to the category of serious crimes. According to the amendments, the rapist could no longer escape responsibility by reconciling with the injured party, since reconciliation is prohibited for grave acts.
According to the updated data, 568 criminal offenses in the family and household sphere were recorded in seven months of this year, while in seven months of 2020 there were over 600 of them. Is it possible to talk about the obvious positive dynamics in the direction of improving the situation? We will draw more precise conclusions about this and summarize statistical results at the beginning of 2022, but in the meantime, in the infographic format, we offer to get acquainted with the key figures for the period from 2015 to 2021, distributed by the severity of criminal offenses, regions of the Republic and articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
«In general, it is possible to reverse the current situation in such a sensitive area as family and household relations only through the consolidated efforts of the state and society. The strengthening of interdepartmental prevention, the formation of zero tolerance for violence both in society and in the family will be crucial here,» the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova noted in this regard.