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Study – The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gender-based-violence in Central Asia
16/05/2022

Jason Goodman / Unsplash
Jason Goodman / Unsplash

Violence against women is a prevalent issue in Central Asia. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted gender-based violence patterns in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan?

Governments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, including law enforcement and justice systems, continue to view and treat gender-based violence (GBV) largely as cultural, traditional and private matter. This leads to poor programming as well as inadequate administrative and criminal sanctions.

This policy paper by Svetlana Dzardanova and Niginakhon Uralova examines the efforts of state, civil society, and international actors in addressing GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

In Uzbekistan, although the government took solid measures to respond to the increasing number of GBV cases, the reshuffling of responsible bodies and figures in the system resulted in uncoordinated action. Similar patterns could be observed in Kyrgyzstan, where the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with political turbulence and economic crisis severely impacted the effectiveness of the state’s response. Local NGOs in both countries, although offering a more holistic approach to help the victims, suffered from a lack of available resources, staff, and competence in fundraising, while facing legislative barriers to operate broadly.

Team & authors

About the Eurasia Lab and Fellowship Programme project: Young researchers from Eastern Europe and Eurasia receive support through fellowships to realise their research projects. The Eurasia Lab & Fellowship Programme also helps them network with other researchers and activists working on the region.

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