Youth Affairs Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, continuous attention is devoted to preventing early marriages and births, as well as violence against women and children, as key priorities in strengthening the institution of the family and fostering a healthy social environment.

These issues have been repeatedly discussed at the highest level, and specific tasks have been assigned to law enforcement agencies and other responsible departments. To coordinate efforts in this area, an interdepartmental council has been established and tasked with developing practical proposals within a short timeframe.

At the presentation, initiatives prepared by the coordinating council, based on proposals from the general public, expert recommendations, and best international practices were reviewed.

In particular, in response to well-founded concerns expressed by the public on social media, the following proposals were put forward:

– to toughen penalties for sexual harassment by introducing administrative arrest for up to five days;

– to establish punishment for pedophilia of up to life imprisonment;

– not to transfer individuals convicted under Articles 118 and 119 of the Criminal Code for sexual crimes against minors to penal colonies;

– to transfer investigative authority over sexual crimes under six articles of the Criminal Code from internal affairs bodies to the prosecutor’s office;

– to introduce a mandatory prosecutor’s decision confirming the absence of signs of a crime when considering materials on administrative offenses related to sexual harassment;

– to involve specially trained lawyers, investigators, and judges in the investigation of crimes related to violence against women and children;

– to enhance the protection of women who have suffered from violence and received a protection order by installing a special “SOS” application on their mobile devices. When the panic button is pressed, internal affairs officers within a five-kilometer radius will arrive in ten minutes.

Furthermore, considering that 40 percent of marriages in the country involve young people aged 18–19, while international recommendations identify 21 as the optimal age for marriage — when an individual typically attains financial independence and social maturity — the following measures were proposed:

– to introduce additional financial support mechanisms to encourage marriage between individuals who have reached the age of 21;

– to provide tax incentives to promote the signing of prenuptial agreements;

– to increase the effectiveness of detecting early marriages by introducing a procedure whereby 15 percent of the fine for violating marriage-age legislation is paid to the person who reported the violation;

– to establish an interdepartmental notification system to inform internal affairs bodies and “Inson” centers of cases of early marriage and pregnancy under the age of 16, while introducing administrative liability for concealing such cases;

– to provide female students who are pregnant or raising a child under the age of three with the opportunity to continue their education, thereby preventing them from dropping out.

Approving the presented initiatives, the Head of state signed a relevant decree and instructed the responsible officials to ensure a broad explanation of the new measures to the population.