The purpose of this Law is to regulate relations in the sphere of protection of women from all forms of harassment and abuse.

Legislation on the protection of women from harassment and violence consists of this Law and other legislative acts.

If an international treaty of the Republic of Uzbekistan establishes rules other than those stipulated in the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the protection of women from harassment and violence, the rules of the international treaty shall apply.

This Law uses the following basic definitions:

“sexual abuse” means a form of abuse of a woman that impinges upon her sexual immunity and sexual freedom via commencement of acts of sexual nature without her consent, as well as concussion to a sexual intercourse with a third party, or female child molestation;

“physical abuse” means a form of abuse of a woman that impinges upon her life, health, freedom or other rights and freedoms protected by law via infliction of injuries of varying severity, leaving in danger, failure to give assistance to a person in mortal danger, commencement of other offenses of violent nature, use or threat of other kinds of physical coercion;

“abuse” means an illegal action (inaction) against a woman that impinges upon her life, health, sexual immunity, honor, dignity and other rights and freedoms protected by law via use or threat of other kinds of physical, psychological, sexual or economic coercion;

“economic abuse” means a form of abuse committed at home, at work and other places, an action (inaction) against a woman, which constrains her rights for sufficient nutrition, housing and other conditions necessary for normal life and development, restrictions in execution of rights for property, education and labor;

“workplace” means a place, directly or indirectly controlled by an employer, where a woman shall be or come to perform her official duties or labor responsibilities in accordance with the contract she has concluded;

“psychological abuse” means a form of abuse which includes insults, slander, threats, humiliation, discrimination of a woman, as well as other actions aimed at constraining her will, inter alia, reproduction control, actions (inactions) that made a victim of harassment and abuse fear for her safety, made her unable to protect herself or damaged her mental health;

“harassment” an act (inaction), molestation, or persecution that degrades the honor and dignity of women, for the commission of which administrative or criminal liability is not provided for;

“victim of harassment and abuse” means a female, who is under the threat of harassment and abuse or has suffered from harassment and abuse;

“protection from harassment and abuse” means the system of urgent economic, social, legal, organizational, psychological and other activities aimed at elimination of dangers for the life and health of a woman, ensuring her safety in life circumstances, which require prompt measures, as well as preventing a person, who harasses and abuses a victim of harassment and abuse, from further illegal actions;

“prevention of harassment and abuse” means the system of economic, social, medical and other measures aimed at identification and elimination of reasons and conditions which promote harassment and abuse of women, and at increasing public awareness of rights of women to be free of abuse;

persecution — actions that are expressed in searching for the victim, attempting to contact them orally, through telecommunication networks, including the global information network Internet, or by using other methods, and visiting their place of work, study, and (or) residence, which cause the victim to worry about their safety, and which are committed against the victim's will, despite their resistance or warning having been expressed two or more times;

“protection order” means a document which provides state protection to a victim of harassment and abuse and leads to application of enforcement actions, stipulated by this Law, towards a person or a group of people, harassing or having abused a woman.

A victim of harassment and abuse shall have the right to:

file an application on commencement of harassment or abuse of her or a threat thereof to the relevant authorized bodies and organizations or the court;

obtain free legal consultations, economic, social or other assistance in specialized centers, as well as via a free phone line;

file a claim to the internal affairs bodies for issuing a protection order, and inform them about violation of the terms of a protection order, shall it happen;

file a claim to the court for reimbursing material damage and compensating for psychological damage due to commenced harassment and abuse.

A victim of harassment and abuse shall be exempt from paying stamp duty when applying to the court for reimbursement of material damage and compensation for psychological damage.

The main directions of the state policy in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse shall be as follows:

developing and implementing a gender policy, state programs and strategies in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

creating the atmosphere of intolerance to harassment and abuse of women in the society;

ensuring protection of rights, freedoms and legal interests of women from harassment and abuse;

enhancing legal awareness and legal culture in the society, strengthening the rule of law;

creating effective organizational and legal mechanisms to prevent, reveal, eliminate harassment and abuse of women;

taking measures to eradicate reasons and conditions which promote harassment and abuse of women;

ensuring cooperation between state bodies, self-governing bodies of citizens, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other civil society institutions in order to prevent harassment and abuse.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

ensure implementation of the unified state policy in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

approve state programs and strategies in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

create structures for support, ensuring safety, physical and psychological rehabilitation and adaptation of victims of harassment and abuse;

coordinate cooperation of authorities which protect women from harassment and abuse.

The National Agency for Social Protection under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan:

participates in the development and implementation of state programs, territorial programs, strategies, and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

carries out measures for social rehabilitation and suicide prevention in centers for the rehabilitation and adaptation of women;

conducts monitoring of the ensuring of rights and freedoms of women who have suffered from harassment and violence;

provides social, legal, and psychological services to victims of harassment and violence;

participates in the development and implementation of programs and methodological recommendations for the prevention of conflict situations and the prevention of harassment and violence;

cooperates with the relevant authorized bodies and organizations that implement the protection of women from harassment and violence.

The procedure for monitoring the ensuring of rights and freedoms of women who have suffered from harassment and violence shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Representative bodies of local state authority shall approve territorial programmes in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence and shall exercise oversight over their implementation.

Local executive authorities shall:

participate in developing and implementing state programs and strategies in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

develop, submit to the representative body of local state authority for approval, and implement territorial programmes in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

cooperate with state bodies, self-governing bodies of citizens, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other civil society institutions in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

perform measures to guarantee legal and social and economic protection of women.

Internal affairs bodies shall:

participates in the development and implementation of state programs, territorial programs, and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

take measures to prevent harassment and abuse, including identification and elimination of their reasons and conditions, regularly conduct preventive work with people, who harass or have abused women;

consider applications on commencement of harassment and abuse of women or threats thereof;

issue official warnings to people prone to harassment or abuse;

issue protective orders;

take measures, within their powers, to bring those, who have commenced abuse, to responsibility;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

Labor bodies shall:

participates in the development and implementation of state programs, territorial programs, and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

take measures to register unemployed women, ensure their employment and social support;

conduct preventive measures in organizations, regardless of their form of property, to prevent cases of harassment and abuse of women at workplaces and to improve the culture of relations with women;

takes measures to assist in the employment and vocational guidance of women seeking employment and those in difficult social situations, including those facing family problems and violence;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

State education authorities and educational institutions shall:

participate in developing and implementing state and territorial programs and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

notify law enforcement bodies of the revealed cases of women being involved in forced labor and antisocial behavior;

identify among students those, who are prone to harassment and abuse of women in educational institutions, and take measures to correct their behavior, as well as to socially rehabilitate and adapt victims of harassment and abuse;

organize leisure time in educational institutions in order to ensure that spent free time is worthwhile;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

State health authorities and healthcare institutions shall:

participates in the development and implementation of state programs, territorial programs, and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

carries out measures to provide primary medical care, conduct medical examinations, as well as provide free treatment to victims of harassment and violence and their children, including those brought to centers for the rehabilitation and adaptation of women;

develop and implement into the work of healthcare institutions methodological recommendations for provision of medical and psychological assistance to victims of harassment and abuse;

inform law enforcement agencies about facts that threaten lives or health of women, and the identified reasons;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

The Committee on Family and Women of the Republic of Uzbekistan:

participates in the development and implementation of state programs, territorial programs, and legislative acts in the field of protecting women from harassment and violence;

participate in activities aimed at identification of reasons and conditions leading to cases of harassment and abuse of women, and take practical measures to eliminate them;

carries out measures for the prevention of suicide;

take part in conduction of individual preventive activities with people, who are on preventive record for harassment and abuse of women;

develop and implement programs and guidelines for prevention of conflict situations, prevention of harassment and abuse;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

Self-governing bodies of citizens, non-governmental non-profit organizations and other civil society institutions may:

participate in developing and implementing state, territorial and other programs in the field of protecting women from harassment and abuse;

assist state bodies in implementing measures to protect women from harassment and abuse;

to carry out public control over the execution of the legislation on the protection of women from harassment and violence;

to submit proposals for improving the legislation on the protection of women from harassment and violence, as well as the law enforcement practice in this area;

cooperate with relevant authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse.

Self-governing bodies of citizens shall take measures aimed at protecting rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of women, increasing their role in public life, creating a spiritual and moral atmosphere in the family and upbringing the younger generation.

While conducting activities to protect women from harassment and abuse, authorized bodies and organizations shall interact in the following areas:

mutual information on the revealed facts of harassment and abuse;

coordination of response measures to harassment and abuse and provision of effective assistance to victims of harassment and abuse;

joint implementation of measures to exchange experience and prevent and combat harassment and abuse;

training and advanced training of specialists, who perform activities in the field of preventing and combating harassment and abuse;

to carry out monitoring over the observance of legislation on the protection of women from harassment and violence, and to develop proposals for improving the legislation and the practice of its application.

General measures for prevention, revealing and elimination of cases of harassment and abuse of women shall include the following:

development and implementation of state, territorial and other programs in the field of preventing harassment and abuse of women;

analysis, study and assessment of factors that appear to be reasons and conditions for harassment and abuse;

legal propaganda among the population;

conducting statistical records and reporting cases of harassment and abuse of women and their submission to state statistics bodies;

conducting educational outreach activities in order to provide citizens, especially women, with information about their rights, freedoms and duties, as well as guarantees of protection;

introducing effective legal mechanisms to reveal cases of harassment and abuse of women;

conducting preventive measures against people belonging to groups of harassment and abuse committment risk or of the committers;

implementing measures to help and protect victims of harassment and abuse;

application of enforcement actions towards people, who have committed or are prone to commit harassment and abuse of women;

bringing perpetrators to statutory liability.

Authorized bodies and organizations shall enter information on victims of harassment and abuse, as well as on people who committed abuse or are prone to abuse, into a single electronic database of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics.

Authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse shall familiarize victims of harassment and abuse with information on social and legal protection mechanisms, types of assistance and services provided to victims of harassment and abuse.

When necessary, authorized bodies and organizations shall provide practical assistance in filing an application related to the fact of commenced harassment and abuse.

Penal institutions shall immediately inform a victim of harassment and abuse if a person, who abused her, was released from the place of executing punishment, is having a trip outside the place of detention or has escaped.

The Committee of Family and Women of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall ensure the operation of a round-the-clock, free telephone line network (hotline) throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the purpose of obtaining information about the mechanism and measures for providing assistance and consultation, and the prevention of cases of harassment and violence against women.

The telephone line network shall operate while maintaining confidentiality. Disclosure of information received via the hotline (trust line) is not permitted, except for cases stipulated by legislation.

Individual measures to prevent harassment and abuse of women are the activities of the relevant authorized bodies and organizations, which protect women from harassment and abuse, associated with identifying people with antisocial behavior who are prone to commit or have committed harassment and abuse of women, and performing preventive treatment with them.

Individual measures to prevent harassment and abuse of women shall be applied taking into account characteristics of a particular person, the specifics of their social environment, social conditions and lifestyle, their antisocial behavior, their tendency to harass and abuse, as well as other factors characterizing the degree of social danger of harassment and abuse commenced by them.

The basis for applying the individual measures to prevent harassment and abuse of women shall be as follows:

application of a victim of harassment and abuse;

reports from individuals or legal entities;

direct detection by employees of authorized bodies and organizations of the facts of harassment or abuse or attempts to commit them;

materials received from state bodies and other organizations.

Authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse shall immediately inform the relevant bodies of internal affairs in case of facts of harassment and abuse.

Upon receipt of an oral or written report about harassment and abuse, internal affairs bodies shall take urgent individual measures to eliminate and prevent these actions.

The individual measures to prevent harassment and abuse of women shall include the following:

conducting preventative conversations;

issuing a protection order;

placing a victim in a specialized center for assistance to victims of harassment and abuse;

undergoing correctional programs to change violent behavior.

To convince a particular person to comply with the norms and generally accepted rules of behavior in society, to clarify the social and legal consequences of antisocial behavior, as well as warning about the liability established by law, a preventative conversation shall be conducted.

A preventative conversation shall be conducted by a representative of the authorized body that has revealed cases of harassment and abuse, with people prone to commit harassment and abuse, in the procedure established by law.

A protection order is issued to a victim of harassment and abuse. A person who has committed harassment and/or abuse, or is prone to commit them, shall be issued a copy of the protection order.

An official of the internal affairs agency that issued a protection order shall inform the person who has committed harassment and abuse, about the terms of the protection order and the consequences of its non-execution, and the need to undergo correctional programs to change violent behavior.

If a person refuses to sign the corresponding document on the receipt of the protection order, the official of the internal affairs body, who is handing over the protection order, shall draw up an act with the participation of witnesses.

A protection order shall be issued within 24 hours from the moment, when an official of the internal affairs body responsible for individual prevention of harassment and abuse in the relevant territory reveals the fact of harassment and abuse or the threat thereof, for up to thirty days and shall come into force from the moment of its issuance.

If the victim of harassment and violence and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them work or study at the same place, a submission on prohibiting direct contact between the victim and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them shall be sent within one working day after the protection order is issued to the victim by an official of the internal affairs body carrying out individual prevention of harassment and violence in the relevant territory, or, if the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them is the head of the organization, to the superior body.

The head of the organization where the victim of harassment and violence works or studies, upon receiving the submission, shall carry out actions aimed at eliminating direct contact between the victim and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them, within three working days.

If the danger has not yet been eliminated, the validity period of the protection order may be extended by the criminal court for a period of up to one year, based on the application of the victim of harassment and violence.

A complaint may be filed with the court against the issuance of a protection order or the refusal to issue or extend a protection order.

Control over the execution of the requirements of the protection order shall be carried out by the internal affairs body.

The form of the protection order and the procedure for its issuance shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

If the danger of harassment and violence or the danger of committing them has not been eliminated, the official of the internal affairs body responsible for carrying out individual prevention of harassment and violence in the relevant territory shall, based on the application of the victim of harassment and violence, prepare the materials for the extension of the protection order's validity period within one working day, and send them to the district (city) criminal court at the victim's place of residence, along with a formalized petition for the extension of the protection order's validity period.

The petition for the extension of the protection order's validity period shall be reviewed within twenty-four hours from the moment the materials are received, at a closed court session in the presence of the victim and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them.

An advocate may participate in the court review of the petition.

The arrival of the victim and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them to the court session shall be carried out under the escort of an internal affairs body employee.

The failure of the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them to appear at the court session without a valid reason shall not prevent the review of the case. If the court deems the presence of this person mandatory in court, the court may issue a ruling on their compulsory attendance.

After reviewing the case materials, the judge shall issue a decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period or on the refusal to satisfy the petition for the extension of the protection order's validity period.

The decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period shall indicate the following:

information about the time and place the decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period was adopted, the name of the court that adopted the decision, the surname, name, and patronymic of the judge, the parties, and other persons participating in the case;

the surname, name, and patronymic, date and place of birth, type of occupation, and place of residence of the victim of harassment and violence and the person who harassed and (or) committed violence;

the circumstances that served as the basis for adopting the decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period;

a list of the restrictions applied against the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them, as provided for in Article 26 of this Law.

The court's decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period shall enter into force from the moment it is read out and shall be immediately executed by the internal affairs bodies.

The judge shall explain to the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them the procedure and deadline for appealing the decision, as well as the requirements of the protection order and the consequences of non-compliance with them.

An excerpt of the decision shall be immediately handed over to the official of the internal affairs body responsible for carrying out individual prevention of harassment and violence, to the victim of harassment and violence, as well as to the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them.

If they did not appear at the court session, an excerpt of the decision shall be sent to the parties by mail within twenty-four hours.

A complaint against the court's decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period or the refusal to satisfy the petition for the extension of the protection order's validity period may be filed in the appellation procedure within 72 hours by the victim of harassment and violence, the person who harassed and (or) committed violence or is prone to committing them, and their advocate, if they participated in the case, or their legal representative.

An appeal against the decision on the extension of the protection order's validity period shall not suspend its execution.

Control over the execution of the requirements of the protection order shall be carried out by the internal affairs body.

A legal representative or a guardianship and wardship authority of victims of harassment and abuse, who have not reached the age of eighteen years, as well as those recognized by the court as legally incapable, may apply for the issuance and extension of a protection order on their behalf.

Victims of harassment and abuse who have not reached the age of eighteen years shall have the right to personally apply for a protection order.

The application for the issuance and extension of a protection order for a victim of harassment and violence who has not reached the age of eighteen, as well as one who has been recognized by the court as legally incapacitated, shall be reviewed in the presence of their legal representative or a representative of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

A protection order for victims of harassment and abuse who have not reached the age of eighteen years, or for those recognized by the court as legally incapable, shall be issued to their legal representative or the guardianship and wardship authority.

Information on the issuance and extension of a protection order within 24 hours shall be sent to the guardianship and wardship authority, to the self-governing body of citizens.

A protection order shall contain the following:

date and place of its issuance;

circumstances that served as the basis for its issuance;

surname, name and patronymic, date and place of birth, profession and place of residence of the victim of harassment and abuse and of the person who harassed or abused her;

the list of restrictions provided for in Article 26 of this Law.

A protection order shall contain information about the right of a victim of harassment and abuse to apply to court to attract a person who has committed harassment and abuse to administrative liability for non-compliance with the requirements of a protection order.

The following restrictions may be provided for in a protection order:

prohibition to commit harassment and abuse;

prohibition to contact with the victim of harassment and abuse for a person who harassed and abused her (indirect contact between a victim of harassment and abuse and a person who harassed and abused her shall be allowed at workplaces and educational institutions);

imposing on the person, who harasses and has committed abuse, the obligation to reimburse the costs of treatment, counseling, placement of a victim of harassment and abuse in a specialized center for assistance to victims of harassment and abuse, inflicted material damage, as well as compensation for psychological damage;

a restriction for the person who harasses and has committed abuse in the right to store and carry weapons or a prohibition to do it (except for service weapons) during the period of a protection order or during the period specified by the above mentioned order, as well as a prohibition of the right to obtain permission to acquire weapons.

prohibition for a victim of harassment and abuse and a person harassing and abusing her to stay one on one in the same room in the event of harassment and abuse;

When deciding the issue of extending the validity period of the protection order, the court shall be entitled to apply the following restrictions, in addition to the restrictions provided for in the first part of this article:

prohibiting the person who harassed and committed violence from visiting certain places;

imposing one or more of the following obligations on the person who harassed and committed violence, such as undergoing treatment for addiction in outpatient or inpatient settings;

temporarily restricting the right of the person who harassed and committed violence to use the housing premises or a part thereof where the victim resides, and the right to approach the victim's place of work or other locations where they are situated.

If the validity period of the protection order is extended, a condition on the mandatory participation of the person who harassed and committed violence in a correctional program to change their violent behavior shall be included in the order, in addition to the requirements specified in the first and second parts of this article.

If signs of a crime provided for in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan are detected during the review of the issue of issuing a protection order and extending its validity period, the case materials shall be sent to the relevant law enforcement body for resolution of the issue of criminal liability simultaneously with the review of the issue of issuing the protection order.

Authorized bodies and organizations that protect women from harassment and abuse may create specialized centers for providing victims of harassment and abuse with economic, legal, social, psychological, medical and other assistance (hereinafter referred to as specialized centers).

In the event that an act of violence has occurred, the relevant authorized bodies and organizations shall ensure the placement of victims of harassment and violence in specialized centers upon the request of the victim of harassment and violence or their legal representative. The minor children of a victim of harassment and violence may be placed in the specialized centers together with them.

Placement of a victim of harassment and abuse in a specialized center shall be performed upon her request for a period of up to thirty days. This period shall be extended in accordance with the procedure established by the charter of a specialized center, if necessary. If there is a threat to the victim of harassment and abuse after the expiration of the period of her staying in a specialized center, the administration of the specialized center shall inform law enforcement bodies.

If a victim of harassment and abuse is placed in a specialized center, her workplace shall be preserved for her.

The time spent by a victim of harassment and abuse in a specialized center shall not constitute grounds for expulsion from an educational institution due to missed classes.

Expenses related to providing assistance to victims of harassment and violence, as well as their minor children placed in specialized centers with them, may be recovered from the person found guilty of harassment and committing violence.

To prevent the recurrence of abuse and ensure safety of a victim of abuse, measures shall be taken to provide the person with psychological and social assistance in changing their behavior, prone to abuse.

A person who has committed abuse or is prone to commit it shall undergo a correctional program to change violent behavior.

The procedure for undergoing a correctional program to change violent behavior of a person who has committed abuse or is prone to commit it shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

All personal data that becomes known to persons who have provided assistance to a victim of harassment and violence shall be protected by the legislation on personal data.

People who allowed disclosure of personal data of a victim of harassment and abuse, which had been entrusted to them or had become known in connection with the performance of professional, official or labor duties, shall be held liable under the law.

The financing of measures for the protection of women from harassment and violence shall be carried out at the expense of funds from the relevant authorized bodies and organizations, deductions from legal and physical persons, and other sources not prohibited by legislation.

Persons guilty of violating legislation on the protection of women from harassment and violence shall be held liable in the established manner.

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other involved organizations shall ensure the execution of this Law, its communication to the executors, and explanation of its essence and meaning among the population.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

bring government decisions in line with this Law;

ensure that state administration bodies review and abolish their normative legal acts that are contrary to this Law.

This Law shall enter into force from the day of its official publication.