Uzbekistan is moving to toughen punishment for the gravest sexual crimes against children, including life imprisonment for the rape of a child under 14. The Legislative Chamber approved the relevant bill in first reading today.
The bill was submitted on the initiative of the Adolat party group and aims to improve the system for protecting children from all forms of violence. It would amend the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Administrative Liability Code and several other laws.
Life imprisonment for crimes against children
Uzbekistan opened 445 criminal cases over the rape of children under 14 between 2022 and 2025, said Gulrukh Agzamova, chair of the Committee on Democratic Institutions and Civil Society Development. She said 85 such cases were opened in 2022, 108 in 2023, 129 in 2024 and 123 in 2025.
The bill would sharply increase penalties for the most serious sexual crimes against minors. For the rape of a person under 14, or forced sexual acts of an unnatural kind, it proposes a lengthy prison term or life imprisonment.
People convicted of crimes against the sexual freedom of children would also be barred from escaping criminal liability once the statute of limitations expires, and from being released from punishment because the limitation period for carrying out a sentence has run out.
The amendments were called for in a presidential decree of February 16, 2026 on implementing the Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy. The decree ordered the creation of an effective system to combat violence against women and children, including penalties of up to life imprisonment for sexual crimes against children under 14.
The deadline for that task was April 1, 2026. The MPs approved the bill in first reading almost six months after that date.
The decree also called for prosecutors to take over the investigation of sexual and violent crimes against minors, and for specially trained investigators and judges to hear cases of violence against children and women.
Child interviews to be video-recorded
A separate set of amendments concerns protecting children during investigations and trials. Interviews with minors who have suffered violence would have to be recorded on video.
Face-to-face confrontations between a child victim of a crime against sexual freedom and a suspect, defendant or accused person would follow a special procedure.
If the violence was committed by someone close to the child, a representative of the guardianship authority would have to take part in both pre-trial proceedings and the trial.
Children who have suffered or witnessed violence would also receive state-funded legal assistance regardless of their family's financial situation.
Liability for inaction
The bill covers not only perpetrators but also those who failed to properly fulfill their duty to protect a child. It proposes liability for improper care of a child, and for failing to carry out, or obstructing, decisions of commissions on children's affairs.
It also proposes treating the intentional infliction of grave or moderate harm to a minor's health, and lewd acts against a child under 16 committed by a group of people, as aggravating circumstances. Penalties for drawing a minor into antisocial behavior would also be increased.
Parents and teachers
Some provisions address the responsibility of parents and educational staff. The bill proposes tougher administrative penalties for failing to fulfill parenting duties, for sexual harassment and for violating marriage-age legislation.
If a teacher commits violence against a child during the educational process, that would become grounds for the employer to terminate the employment contract. The bill also establishes liability for breaching legal requirements on protecting children from information that could harm their health.
At the session, the bill's authors said they expect the amendments to strengthen protection of children's lives, health, honor and dignity, prevent violence and ensure that the rights of affected minors are restored.
Case of alleged abuse of 5-year-old girl in Namangan province
The debate over tougher legislation comes amid a high-profile case involving the alleged sexual abuse of a 5-year-old girl at a state kindergarten in Uchkurgan district, Namangan province. A criminal case was opened on September 12 under Part 4 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code (rape of a person under 14), and kindergarten employee K.M. has been remanded in custody.
The girl's mother has said the abuse may have happened more than once, and that her daughter has become more fearful since and is afraid to walk past the kindergarten.
