Three years after Uzbekistan criminalized domestic violence, data shows that for women progress is too slow. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the government should recommit to enforcing laws that protect women and ensuring justice for victims of gender-based violence.
In a December 2025 report, the International Partnership for Human Rights noted important legal reforms but found serious gaps in implementation. These include Uzbekistan’s continued use of reconciliation in domestic violence cases, along with restricted access to shelters, services, and legal aid: barriers that continue to deny survivors justice. The report also documented how survivors continue to face social stigma, geographic disparities in services, and are confronted with insufficiently trained officials.
A 2024 study by civil society organizations and the United Nations Development Programme found that, since domestic violence became a criminal offense in Uzbekistan in April 2023, more than 55 percent of domestic violence cases were dismissed through reconciliation procedures, and over 90 percent of victims lacked legal representation.
The 2023 legislative reforms strengthened protections by introducing penalties for sexual harassment and stalking, and establishing administrative and criminal liability for domestic violence, including fines and detention, with harsher punishments for repeat or severe offenses. And, in February 2025, Uzbekistan removed the mandatory court-imposed reconciliation period in divorce cases involving domestic violence, ending a practice that often delayed proceedings, and sometimes forced women to remain in abusive relationships.
Thousands have since been prosecuted for domestic violence. According to Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court, more than 10,000 individuals were prosecuted for domestic violence in the first ten months of 2025 alone.
In February 2026, the government also approved a new state program to strengthen penalties for violence against women and children, improve enforcement, expand support services, and introduce measurable benchmarks.
While these are steps in the right direction, the numbers do not paint a full picture. The state continues to focus on reconciliation instead of prosecuting perpetrators for domestic violence crimes, leaving too many survivors without recourse to justice.
Authorities should end the routine dismissal of cases through reconciliation, ensure consistent enforcement of legal protections, expand survivor-centered services, and do more to address the surrounding stigma. Gender-based violence survivors cannot wait any longer for Uzbekistan to ensure legal reforms translate into real safety and justice.
