Violence against women in Kazakhstan

1
Violence against women in Kazakhstan

• CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

2
Scope of problem

• Half of the women surveyed are said to have been
  exposed to violence.
• Every fifth respondent had been beaten.
• Every seventh woman surveyed had been robbed and
  every thirtieth had been raped.
• One third of women-respondents was a victim of
  physical violence in 1999.
• More than a half of the instances of physical
  violence against women were committed in public
  places (in the street, market or public
  transport). In response, some victims did
  nothing, others actively resisted. Only 8
  appealed to the police for help.

3
Scope of domestic violence

• 28 of married women are exposed to domestic
  violence.
• Every sixth married woman suffers from domestic
  violence at least once every six months.
• 7 of married women responded violence committed
  against them by their husbands was life
  threatening.
• Mental disorder - the most common consequence of
  domestic violence (70 of women who had suffered
  from domestic violence).

4
Risk factors of violence

• Alcohol abuse
• Womans education level
• Type of settlement
• Womans age
• Allocation of family responsibilities

5
Possible Interventions

1. A radical change in societys attitude towards
   alcohol abuse
2. Promotion of healthy lifestyles
3. Including promotion of responsible attitude to
   family duties and responsibilities
4. Introduction of a gender component into the
   secondary education
5. Specialised governmental agencies in co-operation
   with NGOs in addition to legal activities should
   work with the population and monitor risk groups

6
EPILOGUE

• A SAD STORIES DIARY

7

• I was married, and my husband, coming back home
  from work, wanted me to look after him. He
  pretended not to notice that I was at work as
  well and that I might be tired as well.
• Inequality in the family is also violence.

8
I was married twice. My first husband drank a lot
and I divorced him. My second husband did not
drink, but coming home from work he did nothing
but lay down on the sofa doing nothing. One time
we need a nail hammered in. I ask him to do it
and he said in response You do it since you
need it.
9

• The conflicts occur primarily because I am
  working but my husband is not.
• For instance, the Kazakhs have a proverb, which
  says that the man is the head, the woman is the
  neck". And if I do not push my husband, he will
  not manage to do anything, which means that I am
  held guilty for the fact that my husband does not
  have a job.

10

• If not to take Almaty way of upbringing, but the
  Shymkent or Zhambul way, inequality there might
  be better seen, but in Almaty people are more
  civilised, better educated, and more democratic.
  And violence against women here is less
  noticeable. I have an example of a young man from
  Almaty who went to Shymkent to choose a girl and
  to get married, since women there are more
  complaisant, and that was exactly what he wanted.
  Of course, why does he need a woman who has her
  own opinion?

11

• The most common outcome in the conditions of
  economic crisis is degradation of a man, when he
  ceases fulfilling any responsibility for himself,
  his family and his children but at the same time
  exercises his physical and moral superiority
  (caused by traditions). Unfortunately such cases
  more and more often take place.

12

• As has already been noted, in the current
  economy men appear to be weaker than women.
  Womens responsibility for taking care of a
  family constantly keeps them in shape. Alcohol
  becomes a way for men who feel unstable to
  escape. Constant reproaches of doing nothing
  bring out estrangement of spouses and finally end
  with violence.