OSCE strengthens co-operation among human rights and women’s organizations in support of survivors of domestic violence in Central Asia

Strengthening co-operation among human rights and women’s organizations providing support services to survivors of gender-based violence to promote the exchange of experience and expertise in Central Asia was the focus of the regional conference held in Dushanbe on 18 and 19 May 2022.

The conference, hosted by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe was followed by a networking and capacity-building event for the Women Resource Centres from Central Asia organized in co-operation with the OSCE Secretariat Gender Issues Programme's project WIN (Women and Men Network for Gender Equality), and with OSCE's field operations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“The Central Asian Regional Conference provides the opportunity to share and learn from the region’s best practices and tools aimed at fighting the “shadow” global pandemic of gender-based violence,” said Officer in Charge of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Tea Jaliashvili in her opening remarks.  

The regional conference brought together representatives of Government structures with a key role in the prevention and response to domestic violence in Tajikistan, as well as civil society sector, international organizations and diplomatic missions. The participants discussed the good practices and opportunities for co-operation in the provision of safe and accessible support and protection services for women and girls who face violence.

The representatives of the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, Parliament, the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan participated in the discussions. The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe shared lessons learnt from its advocacy work focused on promoting effective mechanisms for the prevention and response to domestic violence in Tajikistan, as well as supporting a network of Women Resource Centres that provide psychological, social and vocational support services to the survivors in the regions. The experts from the OSCE Secretariat and the Women against Violence Europe Network shared the relevant best international practices.

The second day of the event facilitated the creation of a networking platform among the Women Resource Centres, OSCE Secretariat and field operations, as well as international non-governmental organizations in Central Asia. The participants discussed the need of maintaining a regular exchange of good practices, as well as the possibility of organizing joint regional activities and campaigns in order to respond to the common challenges related to the fight against gender-based violence.

“Our NGO is a member of the national network of 14 Women Resource Centres and through this two-day event we will expand the network and take action on a regional level to better support the victims of domestic violence,” noted Marifat Khidiralieva, Head of the NGO “Marifat” in Khuroson district of Tajikistan.

“It is very useful to learn from the experience of the women’s rights organizations from other Central Asian countries in using the multidisciplinary approach and referral mechanisms for rapid rehabilitation of survivors of gender-based violence,” said Zulfiya Baisakova, Head of the NGO “Union of Crisis Centers” in Almaty, Kazakhstan.