In November 2023, the Former Minister of the National Economy of Kazakhstan, Quandyq Bishimbaev, was put on trial for the murder of his wife Saltanat Nukenova. Due to her husband’s public profile, the tragic case drew national attention and raised awareness of the prevalence of domestic abuse in Kazakhstan. Nukenova’s case is not unique, for hundreds of Kazakh women are killed by their partners every year according to The Union of Crisis Centers of Kazakhstan.

Domestic violence is a leading human rights issue in Kazakhstan. According to government statistics, 17 percent of women aged 18-75 have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Additionally, the Union of Crisis Centers of Kazakhstan reports that domestic abuse occurs in one out of eight families.

Despite this harsh reality, the Kazakhstan government has taken insufficient actions to support women. In 2017, former President Nazarbaev signed a law decriminalizing two of the most commonly applied articles of the Kazakhstan Criminal Code, “battery” and “intentional infliction of light bodily harm.” Nazarbaev justified his actions and stated that the new law was an effort to “strengthen preventive work with offenders and simplify the procedure for bringing them to justice.” Human rights advocates claimed this action reflected the government's devaluation of women. As a result of Nazarbaev’s law which decreased penalties, men do not have to face criminal responsibility for their actions. Instead, under the “On the Prevention of Domestic Violence” law, abusers merely face consequences such as potential eviction and protective orders. Human rights advocates criticize protective orders because there is no penalty for violating them.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence in Kazakhstan increased by 41.7 percent. Police records indicate that over 130,000 domestic violence reports were received in 2020. In the beginning stages of the pandemic, newly elected President Tokayev addressed Kazakh citizens in his first address to the nation and stated that Kazakhstan “urgently needs to tighten the penalties” for domestic violence.

According to the Foreign Policy Center, women bring a low number of domestic violence cases to court. This can be attributed to the fact that there is a general patriarchal view that regards domestic violence as a domestic issue instead of a human rights violation. According to the UN Development Programme, over 93 percent of Kazakh citizens held gender biases against women in 2023. The Gender Social Norms Index measures biases according to various dimensions classified as “political, educational, economic, and physical integrity.” Survivors of domestic violence identified social pressures, fear of recurrent abuse, stigmatization, and economic dependency as the main barriers to seeking justice. Survivors also noted that law enforcement does not routinely inform women of the resources and services available for support and protection, such as the right to seek shelter and obtain a protection order. Instead, many women have stated that police officers encourage them to drop complaints and reconcile with their abusers.

In 2020, members of the Kazakhstan Parliament introduced a bill to counter domestic violence. However, the bill was never adopted due to an “anti-bill campaign”, which succeeded as a result of misinformation spread by “alt-right” groups. These groups were initially composed of independent lawyers and bloggers, but garnered support over time through collaboration efforts with local opinion leaders, celebrities, and other influencers who promoted their ideas among their followers. The groups claimed that the proposed bill promoted “Western values” about gender equality that would undermine Kazakhstan’s traditional values, interfere with family life, and impose mandatory psychological treatment upon alleged abusers. The groups also pointed out that the new bill was ambiguous and left what constitutes domestic violence under the law up to interpretation.

Despite the lack of legal consequences for domestic violence, Kazakh women are using their agency to advocate for their rights. For example, an art installation titled “Untold” was displayed at a train station in Astana during the international “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign. The installation allowed women to share their stories anonymously, and their experiences were publicized on a public wall.

Journalism is another powerful tool for women to advocate for justice. Reporter Alisa Massaleva strives to raise awareness for domestic violence issues by contributing to her regional newspaper, Yuzhny Kazakhstan. In 2020, Massaleva received a grant from the USAID Central Asia Media Program to publish a series of articles on domestic violence in South Kazakhstan, her birthplace. In her articles, Massaleva emphasized the lack of available resources for Kazakh women. Massaleva has successfully published 15 articles in local newspapers, and her work has been read by approximately 50,000 readers. In addition to emphasizing domestic violence’s prevalence in South Kazakhstan, Massaleva’s main goal is to advocate for victims who have limited options for support. “There is a huge difference between the districts that have a dedicated special inspector and those that don’t. In districts that don’t have dedicated resources, the police treat it like an additional burden because it’s not part of their ‘main role,’” Massaleva states. As a result of Massaleva’s dedication, local authorities agreed to increase the availability of resources such as special inspectors, a role assigned to those who exclusively handle cases of crimes against women, across all South Kazakhstan districts in 2021.

In 2023, Central Asian legal experts gathered to address the criminalization of domestic violence, one of the most significant issues in Central Asia. According to the UN Gender Social Norms Index, Kazakhstan has the highest proportion of women who do not face gender bias compared to other Central Asian countries at 8.74 percent. In comparison, only 2.6 percent of women in Kyrgyzstan do not face gender bias. Participants attended various training events focused on handling cases with victims of violence and protecting women. The UNDP Deputy Representative in Kazakhstan believes, “it is important that criminalization policies simultaneously include a wide range of measures related to alternative approaches… Although the police play a major role, we need to develop coordination and interaction both within the protection sector itself (police, prosecutors, courts) and between all actors (police, crisis centers, health and social protection organizations, legal services).” 

As a part of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) since 1998, Kazakhstan is obligated to meet women’s demands to criminalize domestic violence and ensure developments to decrease violence against women. Although the Kazakh government has engaged in preventative efforts to decrease domestic violence, the lack of enforcement and sustainability is a common theme across all proposed solutions. In order to achieve justice for women in Kazakhstan, it is crucial for the Kazakh government to criminalize domestic violence.