Sexual abuse and lack of sex education in Kazakhstan: More than 1,000 cases of early teenage pregnancies recorded during the first half of 2024

30.09.2024

Article published on the rus.azattyq.org website

This article is an edited version of the original text.

Pregnant as a result of rape

Guldauren (not her real name) grew up in a large family in a village in Turkestan oblast in southern Kazakhstan. Last year, she suffered a violent sexual assault, committed by a neighbour four years her senior. She was just 13 years old at the time.

Fearing social stigma – victim-blaming is common in Kazakhstan –  Guldauren decided to keep quiet about what had happened to her. But on discovering she was pregnant, decided to tell her sister, which is how the family found out about the rape.

The first thing her mother did was to take her daughter to a crisis centre in the city where doctors discovered the teenage girl was already seven months pregnant. From there, a report was sent to the police who started criminal proceedings. The person who committed the rape was convicted and given a prison sentence but the Guldauren family had to leave their village.

Long-lasting mental trauma

Pregnancy and childbirth in adolescence is a major ordeal not only physically but also morally and psychologically, says Nurgal Berdibayeva, a social worker at the Kemek crisis centre in Shymkent. It is especially hard for young people to get over feelings of depression that occur during pregnancy and once the child is born.

Nurgul explained that pregnant teenagers in the crisis centre are kept under constant supervision and must be accompanied by their parents or their legal representatives.

The system of monitoring involves registering the pregnant girl at a polyclinic, prior to her undergoing a medical examination. At the same time, a criminal case is launched and pre-trial investigations initiated, supported by psychologists and psychiatrists at the centre.

The girls do not attend school during their pregnancy – the teachers come to the centre instead. The work of the crisis centre is to help them overcome their depression and start the process of social adaptation after childbirth.

Feelings of guilt

Early teenage pregnancy is the consequence of many factors, says psychologist Perizat Kaldarova. These include upbringing, the relationship between parents and their children, social status but, most importantly, the lack of any sex education. Specialists are also investigating issues of sexual abuse, including within the family.

Kaldarova says that most girls who find themselves in such a situation do not receive the necessary care and support from their parents or other family members.

“There are girls who have consensual sex and become pregnant and those who are victims of sexual assaults committed by their father, stepfather or brother. The most extreme cases are those that involve incest. Almost every girl who survives such abuse has emotions of fear and apprehension and usually finds out about their pregnancy too late. In their distressed state, girls often experience feelings of guilt and shame”, says the psychologist.

Sexual intercourse with persons under 16 years of age is a criminal offence in Kazakhstan. Figures from the Prosecutor General’s Office from the beginning of January up until August this year show that 218 cases were recorded under Article 122 of the National Criminal Code, 213 of which involved girls, compared to 292 such cases in 2023.

According to the Ministry of Health, 1,166 girls aged 15-17 gave birth in Kazakhstan during the first half of this year, with another 174 having abortions, including five girls under the age of 14. In 2023, 2,288 girls aged 15-17 gave birth, with another 392 having abortions.

Isa Dilara

Source: https://rus.azattyq.org/a/33140074.html