COVID-19 Domestic Violence Country Updates: Kazakhstan
Friday, August 21, 2020 3:00 PM

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In Kazakhstan, domestic violence cases have increased between 20 to 25 percent since the beginning of the pandemic. Human rights defender and director of the victim support organization Don’t Keep Silent KZ Diana Tansary notes that “the number of women who are contacting [them] during quarantine [has] increased dramatically.” During the four-month lockdown period, the organization received 42,000 calls. With the hopes of improving victim safety, activists are urging the government to consider domestic violence as a criminal offence. In June, responding to the surge in reports of domestic violence, the government launched the “no to domestic violence!” awareness campaign.