On July 1, Kazakhstan toughened penalties for domestic violence. According to Head of the National Centre for Human Rights Sultanat Tursynbekova, the number of these offenses has not decreased over years, MIR 24 reports.
In his annual address in September 2022, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev set the task of improving domestic violence legislation.
Sultanat Tursynbekova said citizens should be aware of an unacceptable line that cannot be crossed and should know well that effective measures must be taken to prevent rise in domestic violence in the future. Amendments to the law are to facilitate the process.
Tursynbekova said until July, a domestic violence offender could be detained for up to 10-15 days for causing minor bodily harm, and up to 20 days for repeated violations of the law. But the courts relied on the pretext “before” and “gave” only a few days. Henceforth, after amendments to the Administrative Code come into force, offenders will spend a longer period in prison.
Another important change has taken place. Previously, the case was closed if the victim of domestic violence withdrew the application, for example, after reconciliation. Henceforth, legal proceedings will be conducted anyway.
