Map source: Human Rights Watch

last updated September 2005

Contributed by Yuliya Gureyeva, Azerbaijan National VAW Monitor

Azerbaijani women have struggled as a result of the government concern with post-war problems, including the conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh territory with Armenia and the refugee and displaced person crisis. Little information is known about degree of human rights violations taking place within the area of dispute according to the U.S. Department of State. The report contends that approximately 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons have fled or were forced to flee the disputed area and Armenia. The absence of security and the occurrence of widespread human rights abuses as a result of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has had a strong impact on both the government’s attention to women’s issues as well as the attention of the international community.

Article 25 of the Azerbaijan Constitution, adopted on 12 November 1995, provides for full equality for men and women. Article 34 provides for equal status of men and women within marriage. While the Azerbaijani Constitution and Criminal Code provide protections for women, their status is still not equal to that of men. Traditional attitudes toward the role of women have minimized attention to the role of violence against women and their struggle to achieve equality with men. The U.S. Department of State’s 2004 human rights report  found that women are not adequately represented in the upper echelons of the work force and that the Labor Code restricts the amount, times and places that pregnant women and women with young children may work.

The scope of domestic violence has been difficult to gauge as few women report abuse. The statistical data provided through the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan reported in the “Violence and Women in Azerbaijan” survey by International Rescue Committee indicates 317 cases regarding crimes of violence against women registered in 2002 and 289 in 2003. In 2001, 39 rape cases were registered in Azerbaijan and 46 in 2003.

The most recent and comprehensive research involving 7,668 women in Azerbaijan was conducted by the USAID in 2001. The report Reproductive Health Survey Azerbaijan was focused on the problem of reproductive health but tackled as well issue of domestic violence. According to the survey’s results 30% of currently/previously married women reported verbal abuse, 20% reported physical violence and 10% reported sexual violence perpetrated by their partner or ex-partner at some point during their life. At the same time, only 1% of women abused by their intimate partners reported the case to the police or talked to a health provider and less than 1% sought legal assistance.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2004 human rights report, there are no specific laws prohibiting spousal rape or spousal abuse. Currently, however, a draft law regarding the prevention of domestic violence is being circulated. Although there is no specific legislation concerning domestic violence, the 2000 Criminal Code of Azerbaijan includes a provision dealing with physical or psychological suffering caused by violent acts or systematic beatings (Article 133). Articles 126, 127 and 128 address different degrees of intentional infliction of physical harm resulting in health disorders and disabilities. Article 125 provides that threats, cruel treatment or systematic humiliation leading to suicide or attempted suicide of a dependent person may be punished from three to seven years’ imprisonment.  Furthermore, there are no government sponsored crisis centers for women who are victims of domestic violence, although the Institute for Peace and Democracy opened such a center in Baku in 2001. One hotline for victims of domestic violence is operated by the Azerbaijan Young Lawyers NGO on a non-consistant basis, depending on the funding availability.

The Criminal Code contains provisions regarding rape (Article 149) and sexual abuse (Article 108). Rape, which is defined as sexual intercourse committed by force or threats of force, or abusing the helpless situation of the victim, is punishable by four to eight years imprisonment. Sexual abuse is defined as violence against a person, forced prostitution, forced sterilization, or other related activities and may be punished by five to ten years in prison. Sexual acts and rape of children under the age of 16 is prohibited by Articles 149, 150, 152, 153 and can be punishable for up to 15 years.

There are no provisions in the Criminal Code to address specifically sexual harassment. However, Article 151 addresses conduct similar to harassment in that it prohibits behavior that compels an individual to participate in sexual activity by taking advantage of his or her dependence on the perpetrator. However, sexual harassment is an urgent issue, creating obstacles for number of women in obtaining jobs and getting promotion in the work places. There have been no legal proceedings initiated by the victims of sexual harassment in Azerbaijan. At the same time according to the survey of Azerbaijan Sociological Association conducted in 2001 among 2013 women, only 37% said they had never been sexually harassed, 13% admitted open harassment and 42% hidden harassment. As to the perpetrators, the fist positions in the list are held by employer (35%) and co-worker (26%).

Trafficking of women has also been a considerable problem because of economic hardship and military conflict. A 2002 report by the International Organization for Migration found that Azerbaijan is both a source country and a transit country for trafficking. Women were predominately trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Although the Azerbaijani Criminal Code does not include specific articles concerning the trafficking of persons, Article 106 criminalizes slavery and Article 173 prohibits trade in minors. Slavery is punishable by five to ten years of imprisonment, but if committed with a "view to trafficking," the punishment is increased from seven to ten years.

In May 2004, the President of Azerbaijan issued an official decree ordering all government bodies to implement Azerbaijan's National Action Plan on Prevention of Trafficking. The National Plan for the first time stipulated recognition of victims of human trafficking as “aggrieved persons” and instructed adoption of normative acts ensuring their safety and rights. The Institution of the National Coordinator on these issues was founded at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Deputy to the Minister was appointed as the first National Coordinator.

On 28 June 2005 the Parliament of Azerbaijan (Milli Mejlis) unanimously adopted the law "On the Fight Against Trafficking". The law is expected to increase the efficiency of activities at combating human trafficking in the country, said Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights Ms. Rabiyyat Aslanova. Rabiyyat Aslanova termed the measure as an important in terms of protecting human rights. In her statement during the Parliamentary sitting, the Deputy Chair said that since the date of signing of the National Action Plan on Prevention of Trafficking to date, proceedings against 161 men were instituted; 283 women became victims of these actions including 270 citizens of Azerbaijan. The Law provides codified definition of Trafficking in Person, Human Exploitation, Human Trafficker and Victim of Human Trafficking. Amendments to the national legislation including Criminal Code and the country’s laws will be adopted to ensure that individuals committing such crimes are brought to justice. The recent Law extended the sentence to imprisonment of persons charged for trafficking to 15 years. Also, the law importantly, contains assistance and protection measures for victims of trafficking and instructs on special rehabilitation centers to be set up in Azerbaijan for people affected by human trafficking.

Compiled from:

Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, (23 June 2004). (PDF, 14 pages). 

Trafficking in Persons Report: Azerbaijan. U.S. Department of State. (14 June 2004). 

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2004, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, (28 February 2005). (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41670.htm

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1) (27 February 2003).

Shattered Dreams: Report on Trafficking in Persons in Azerbaijan, International Organization for Migration. (2002). (PDF, 72 pages). 

Women 2000-An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, (11 May 2000). (PDF, 13 pages).

 “Women Entrepreneurship Development in Azerbaijan” , ILO report (2003) (MS Word, 17 pages) (http://www.ask.org.az/WED%20PROJECT.doc)

Gender Assessment for USAID/Caucasus/Azerbaijan, (15 January 2004) (PDF, 44 pages)

(www.gender-az.org/doc/en/development/assessment.pdf)

Reproductive Health Survey Azerbaijan, USAID (PDF, 398 pages)

(http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACT158.pdf)

Violence and Women in Azerbaijan, International Rescue Committee, (PDF, 40 pages)

(http://intranet.theirc.org/docs/IRC%20Azerbaijan%20VAW%20Assessment%20June%202004%20English.pdf)

Media-monitoring "Violence against Women", Azerbaijan Gender Information Center (April, 2003) (http://www.gender-az.org/shablon_en.shtml?doc/en/library/reserch/monitoring)