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Reconciled to Violence

State Failure to Stop Domestic Abuse and Abduction of Women in Kyrgyzstan

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Introduction to the Report
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Stolen Voices: Firsthand Stories of Women Abducted for Forced Marriage in Kyrgyzstan

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Introduction to the Report

Summary

Methodology

Background

Political and economic development in Kyrgyzstan

Women’s status in society and the family in Kyrgyzstan

Women’s rights NGOs, crisis centers and shelters

Kyrgyzstan’s international legal obligations

Domestic Violence

Overview: A Coordinated Response Needed, including Law Enforcement

Absence of empirical data on scope of domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan

Attitudes about Domestic Violence

Domestic violence and women’s rights a low priority for the government

Views on Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence

The Experience of Domestic Violence

Beatings and psychological abuse

Isolation and restricted movement

Deprivation of food

Consequences of Domestic Violence

Physical abuse leading to serious injury

Physical abuse causing death

Psychological damage and emotional impact

Effect of domestic violence on children

Redress

The laws on domestic violence

Reasons why women do not turn to the police

Police failure to act to stop domestic violence

Failure to prosecute

Consequences of police failure to act

Prosecutions in cases of death

Police perceived as perpetrators of domestic violence

Police and the aksakal courts

Aksakals and the law

Consequences of police passing cases to the aksakals

Aksakals view reconciliation as the best solution to domestic violence

Government and NGO views and aksakals’ influence in domestic violence cases

Emphasis on reconciliation as the primary solution to domestic violence

Leaving a Violent Home

Women’s escape stories

Obstacles to leaving a violent home

Imposition of waiting periods hindering access to divorce

Difficulties asserting women’s rights to property, alimony, and child custody

Bride-kidnapping

A Note on Terminology

Background

Abductions for Forced Marriage on the Rise

Pattern of Abduction

Motivations for Abduction

Men pressured to marry and to kidnap

Many men who kidnap not considered “good matches”

Kidnapping as a violent expression of male power

Men who kidnap not held accountable

Anatomy of an Abduction

Abductions are carried out by acquaintances or strangers

Abductors may use physical force to capture a woman

Abductors may use deception to kidnap a woman

Abductors use psychological coercion

Absence of consent is ignored in the wedding ceremony

Abductors isolate women to prevent them from escaping

Women are forced to stay with their kidnappers out of fear of social stigma

Consequences of Abduction

Physical and emotional pain and suffering

Domestic violence

New brides forced to work as unpaid servants for their in-laws

No Justice for Victims of Abduction

The law against bride-kidnapping

The law not enforced

Recommendations

To the Government of Kyrgyzstan

To Donors

To the United Nations

To the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

To the European Union

To the United States Government

Acknowledgements

Appendix

Selected Articles of the Criminal Code

Selected Articles of the Administrative Code

September 2006 Volume 18, No. 9(D)