The Senate at its today’s session passed the Protection of children from all forms of violence Bill, the press service of the Chamber said today.
As emphasized at the plenary session, the number of cases of violence against children had been growing in recent years. Existing legal mechanisms are not effective enough to prevent them and protect the rights and interests of victims.
According to study by international organizations, about 1 billion children in the world face physical, sexual, mental violence and neglect, 80% of child victims do not report it to anyone.
A system for collecting the findings of such studies, processing and comparing them has not yet been formed in Uzbekistan. Despite this, according to available information, the number of cases of violence against children is increasing in Uzbekistan.
If in 2021, 1,831 crimes against children were known to have been committed, then in 2022 this figure increased by 20% to 2,194. The number of crimes against the sexual freedom of a child during this period increased from 334 to 395 (+18%). Most of these crimes were registered in the Fergana (719), Samarkand, Tashkent regions and Tashkent.
Over the past three years, more than 2,000 individuals have been deprived of parental rights by a court decision, of which 86% were held accountable for evading parental responsibilities.
Director of the National Agency for Social Protection, Mansurbek Polvonzoda previously emphasized the importance of explaining and introducing into the consciousness of society the concepts of children's rights and interests.
The document establishes the procedure for issuing a protective order to children who have suffered from violence. It will be issued by the internal affairs agencies for up to 30 days and handed over to the victim of violence or her legal representative with the participation of an authorized state body.
At the request of a victim of violence or their legal representative, if the threat has not yet been eliminated, the term of the protective order may be extended by the criminal court for up to 1 year.
Children will have the right to apply to court for indemnification for damage and compensation for moral harm due to violence, as well as to apply directly or through a legal representative to government agencies regarding violence.
The Bill proposed to raise the responsibility of parents. It stipulates that parents must protect the life and health of children, take care of them and protect them from information that has a harmful effect. The document separately prohibits physical punishment of children in the process of their upbringing.
For the first time, the Bill has clearly defined 12 categories of children at risk of violence (orphans, street children, children with mental disabilities, children engaged in prostitution, begging, children in conditions that do not meet the requirements of education and upbringing, children from low-income families).
The National Agency for Social Protection will help identify children who have become victims of violence, are at risk of violence, keep records of them and, if necessary, ensure that individual measures are taken to prevent violence against them.
The measures include programs to correct aggressive behavior and restrict the rights of persons who have committed sexual violence.
The Agency will also create a 24-hour helpline to provide free assistance to victims.
The document expands the number of definitions of forms of violence against children from three (physical, sexual, psychological) to six (lack of care, exploitation, bullying).
Earlier, the Social Protection Agency, the Ministry of Justice and UNICEF announced the development of a bill against violence against children in October last year.
