Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals enhancing protection of rights of women and children, preventing harassment and violence against them, the presidential press service said.
Reportedly, preventing early marriage and childbirth, and violence against women and children, is a constant focus as one of the most important areas for strengthening the institution of the family and creating a healthy environment in society.
These topics have been repeatedly discussed at the highest level, and specific goals have been assigned to law enforcement agencies and other responsible departments. An interagency council has been set up to coordinate work in this area and has been tasked with developing proposals within a short timeframe.
Today's presentation examined initiatives drafted by coordination council based on proposals from the public, industry experts, and international best practices.
Specifically, the following proposals were put forward on a number of issues where the public has expressed dissatisfaction on social media:
- harsher punishment for sexual harassment by imposing administrative arrest for up to five days;
- implementing punishment for pedophiles up to life imprisonment;
- non-transfer of convicts charged under charges of sexual crimes against minors to penal colonies;
- transfering the power to investigate criminal cases involving sexual crimes, as defined in six articles of the Criminal Code, from police to the prosecutor's office;
- implementing mandatory prosecutor's decision on the absence of evidence of a crime when reviewing administrative offenses related to sexual harassment;
- engaging specially trained lawyers, investigators, and judges in investigation of crimes involving violence against women and children;
- enhancing protection of women who have suffered violence and received a restraining order, install a special "SOS" app on their mobile apps by pressing panic button will cause law enforcement officers within a 5-kilometer radius to arrive within 10 minutes.
Furthermore, given that 40 percent of marriages are between young people aged 18-19, while international recommendations identify 21 as the optimal age for marriage—when a person typically achieves financial independence and social maturity—the following steps are proposed:
- implementing additional financial support mechanisms to encourage marriage between individuals over 21;
- providing state fee exemptions to encourage the conclusion of marriage contracts;
- improving effectiveness of identifying early marriages by introducing a procedure whereby 15 percent of the fine for violating marriage laws is paid to those who report such violations;
- setting up of an interdepartmental notification system for police bodies and Inson centers regarding cases of early marriage and pregnancy under 16, while implementing administrative liability for concealing such cases; provide students who are pregnant or raising a child under three years of age with opportunity to continue their education to prevent them from dropping out of the educational process.
Having approved the initiatives presented, Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a respective decree and gave directives those responsible to ensure that the new steps are widely communicated to the public.
