Tajikistan, a country of 7 million people, is located in Central Asia.  Domestic violence is a serious problem in Tajikistan. The government and police are, for the most part, unresponsive to claims of domestic violence, and women have few options in Tajikistan, where economic opportunties remain severely limited.

In November of 2005 and April of 2006, The Advocates for Human Rights sent delegations to Tajikistan to investigate the government and community response to domestic violence.  The results were compiled in a report, Domestic Violence in Tajikistan. The report analyzes the response of both the criminal justice system and civil society to domestic violence, outlines Tajikistan’s obligations under international law, and includes recommendations for addressing this human rights violation. The report also contains an addendum with an update on current conditions and new developments in Tajikistan. The report was sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and was translated into Tajik and Russian by The Advocates’ partner in Tajikistan, PROVAW NGO.

In October 2008, Robin Phillips, Executive Director, and Mary Ellingen, Staff Attorney in the Women’s Program, traveled to Tajikistan to launch the report, and participated in a roundtable discussion of the report sponsored by UNIFEM.  Members of parliament and women’s NGOs attended the meeting.

For more information on Tajikistan, visit the country page on www.stopvaw.org.