Seeking justice: Sexual violence against women with disabilities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Sexual violence against women with disabilities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is pervasive yet frequently concealed. Survivors face intersecting discrimination: gender inequality, stigma around disability and lack of accommodations, institutionalisation, and stereotypes that portray them as unreliable witnesses and disregard their specific realities when it comes to consenting to sexual relations. These barriers prevent cases from being reported, properly investigated, or prosecuted, leaving perpetrators with impunity and survivors silenced.

Across the region, legal and justice systems rely heavily on using physical force rather than the absence of consent, mandate invasive physical and psychological examinations, and lack procedures to support the effective participation of women with disabilities in proceedings. Many survivors are denied access to information, face re-traumatisation during investigations, or are blocked by guardians and institutions from seeking help.

To dismantle these barriers, the report calls for comprehensive, systemic reform across seven key areas:

• Adopt multi-sectoral and inclusive approaches to addressing sexual violence against women with disabilities.
• Recognise legal capacity for all persons with disabilities and reform guardianship laws that deny autonomy.
•  Adopt a consent-based definition of rape.
• Improve criminal justice procedures and support services for women with disabilities.
• Strengthen identification of sexual violence, and ensure accessible complaint mechanisms for persons with disabilities.
• Develop manuals and trainings to address sexual violence against women with disabilities for justice-sector professionals, applying human rights-based, survivor-centred, gender- and disability-sensitive approaches.
• Collect sex- and disability-disaggregated data to inform evidence-based policy and monitoring.