Parliament discusses draft law “On combating domestic violence”

Currently, the Mazhilis of the Parliament is discussing a draft Law "on countering family and domestic violence", initiated by a group of deputies. Members of the National Commission for women's Affairs and family and demographic policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and representatives of non-governmental organizations participated in the development of the draft law.

Since 2009, the Law "on prevention of domestic violence"has been in force in Kazakhstan. However, the high-profile cases of domestic violence that have caused the death and serious injuries of women victims in the media and social networks show the need to strengthen the interaction of the internal Affairs bodies with local and Central state bodies that carry out activities in the field of family policy, social protection, and education.

Violence deprives women of their full participation in society and has a long-term negative impact on other family members, especially children, and on the development of society as a whole. Victims of domestic violence can be not only women and children, but also the elderly, the disabled, and dependent on other family members.

According to the Ministry of internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, since the introduction of the quarantine, only from March 16, 2020, more than 15 thousand appeals on the facts of violations in the field of family and domestic relations have been registered. Under the state of emergency, about 7,000 protective orders were issued by law enforcement officials to ensure the safety of women and children affected by domestic violence.

The main goal of the draft Law is to strengthen the response to identified cases of domestic violence, develop effective measures to prevent such violence, and provide support to families where a difficult life situation has caused family conflicts.

In November 2019, the UN Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women recommended that Kazakhstan strengthen its legislation to ensure proper response to complaints from victims of domestic violence.

According to the drafters of the bill, the new Law should be aimed at effective protection of human rights, especially children, the elderly, and the disabled, promotion of mutual respect for spouses, their mutual responsibility in raising children, respect for family values, and promotion of non-violent ways to resolve differences. Representatives of civil society, the Commissioner for human rights, representatives of the Supreme court, the Prosecutor General's office, interested ministries and local Executive bodies, lawyers, notaries, and social workers take part in the discussion.

Human Rights Commissioner in the Republic of Kazakhstan