16 Days of activism against gender-based violence campaign Report 26 December 2016 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Facilitated by the UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic together with the UNiTE National Movement to End Violence Against Women in Kyrgyzstan

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Background: What is 16 Days?

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign originating from the Women's Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates 25 November - International Day Against Violence Against Women- and 10 December - International Human Rights Day- in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including 29 November, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 1 December, World AIDS Day, and 6 December, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels

strengthening local work around violence against women

establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women

providing a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies

demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women

creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women

Over 5,179 organizations in some 187 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 19911. Background: Country’s participation2 Kyrgyzstan participates in the global call since year 1998, this meaning 18 years of active engagement of mainly civil society into the raising-awareness actions on EVAW (Ending Violence Against Women). Starting from 2012 the active engagement of the UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls National movement into the 16 Days Campaign is coordinated by the UN Women Country Office. Major achievements of the movement from 2012 to 2015:

• A major focus of the UNiTE campaign in 2012 was to amend article 155 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code. The UNiTE movement strongly advocated for a revised legislation that called for more austere charges for bride kidnapping. The campaign hoped to see the length of sentence increased and enforcement enhanced for up to 10 years. UNiTE campaigned to raise awareness on the issue through advocacy events (football games, mass bicycle rides and a mass flag installation campaign in Bishkek). This proved effective when Parliament responded by

1 http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/about/campaign-profile 2 http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/campaign-calendar/events

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deliberating on the issue. The change was initially rejected but when another vote was organized, 63 Kyrgyz Parliament members out of the 75 present voted in favor of the legislation proposed. As a result, perpetrators of bride kidnapping can now face up to 10 years in prison. The legislation also stresses strict enforcement when bride kidnapping involves under aged girls.

• In 2013, UNiTE continued its efforts in rectifying Kyrgyz Criminal Code to ensure justice for violence against women and girls. The first advocacy event intended to raise the questions of sexual violence against children and their mothers dedicated to Child Defense Day. After attracting the attention of the general public to the problem, the amendments were approved by the Parliament and sanctions for the child abuse were increased from 20 years to life imprisonment.

• Another advocacy campaign was dedicated to stimulating public debate on questionable treatment measures initiated by the Kyrgyz Parliament against child abusers. The UNiTE movement succeeded in introducing preventive sanctions instead of chemical castration for paedophiles. The petition with signatures was accepted by the President. • In 2014 and 2015, the 16 Days campaign to end violence against women and girls has been organized with support a number of organizations and facilitated by UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic. The UNiTE campaign in Kyrgyzstan included numerous activities centered on raising awareness of country specific issues and advocating for eliminating violence against women and girls. Multiple initiatives within the years 2012-2015 included: One Billion Rising initiative (dance flash mob), innovative initiatives in rural locations, such as blogging on “Voice of Rural Women”, a civil society march and many other initiatives. Background: What is UNiTE and UNiTE National Movement about?3

In Kyrgyzstan, the UNiTE campaign “Time to act, Kyrgyzstan” is led by the UN Women Country Office, it is

comprised of more than 40 NGOs as well as officials such as Members of Parliament, Government Office of

the KR (the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the KR and other ministries and agencies of the KR)

the Ombudsman, the office of the President. The movement calls on the government, parliament, civil

society, women’s organizations, men, women, young people, the private sector, international organizations,

the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing specific problems with regard to violence. In

2010 the United Nation’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, visited the country and called for action on

pressing issues such as: domestic violence, bride-kidnapping, underage marriages, unregistered marriages,

trafficking, polygamy, violence and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and

violence committed by law enforcement officials. The causes were determined to be: inadequacy of policy

and legislative enforcement, unemployment, poverty, strictly embedded traditional and religious attitudes

towards women, migration (both external and internal), and lack of accountability.

3 https://www.facebook.com/UNiTEKG/

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Why are we participating? Some fast facts of Kyrgyzstan

Bride kidnapping4:

The population does not have sufficient knowledge of the existence of criminal liabilities (one-third do not have such information) and degrees of liability (60% do not have accurate information), stipulated in the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, for kidnapping women for marriage.

60% of all married people in Talas oblast became married through ala kachuu. In Issyk-Kul oblast this number was 45%, in Dzhalal-Abad and Naryn oblasts this percentage ranged from 28% to 31%. Non-consensual ala kachuu made up to 20% of all marriages.

The rate of ala kachuu in the rural areas was found to be 1.7-1.8 times higher than in the urban contexts. More than half of the respondents believed that non-consensual bride kidnapping had decreased over the last five years, while 4% reported an increase. Urban population was twice as likely to note an increase in bride kidnapping.

A variety of reasons explain motivations for the men to kidnap their wives. The most frequently reported cause was the fear of competition (30%), fear of being rejected by the woman they liked (24%), the kidnapper was too shy to approach the woman they liked (21%), the man could not afford paying the bride price (18%), the man's parents insisted on him kidnapping a bride (19%).

Economic justification to ala kachuu was a rather common argument in favor of the practice that brings benefits to the other family members of the groom. These benefits include acquiring cheap domestic labour, a way of marrying off timid male relatives, organizing a wedding which is fast and cheap, opportunity to increase their own status and self-esteem.

Early marriages5:

Child marriages, organized by parents, are often spontaneous and unexpected. They are characterized by a very active role of parents in planning, facilitating and organizing marriages among their under-aged individuals. This is especially the case when both the groom and the bride are very young in age. For 45% of the women who became married before they reached the age eighteen this decision was made by their parents.

They are guided by various motives such as ethno-cultural traditions, medical concerns (based on folk beliefs), early physical maturation of girls, security reasons, forthcoming labour migration of the parents, death of both parents or a mother, and fears that their daughters would never get married.

Teen pregnancy was also identified as a reason for child marriages as well as poor school performance and dismissal from schools. Among the families created through child marriage, the research found widespread domestic violence, including neglect of the child-bride’s health and subsistence needs.

Poverty was marked as a cause for child marriage by 18% of population. This was especially true in Batken, Issyk-Kul oblasts and in Bishkek. Incidence of child marriages was found to be 2.5 times higher in rural areas than in the cities.

According to the study, 76% (in Osh oblast) to 94% (in Talas oblast) of respondents could clearly tell the legal norm vis-à-vis the minimal age for marriage in the Kyrgyz Republic. This knowledge was more likely to be shared among respondents with higher economic status and those with more years of education. 40% of respondents believed in the need to increase the legal age for girls and 57% believed that the

4 Data from a nation-wide research “Gender in Society Perceptions Study”, 2016. Joint programme programme of the UN Women (lead), UNFPA, IOM, National Statistical Committee and the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the KR within the financial support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund. 5 Data from a nation-wide research “Gender in Society Perceptions Study”, 2016. Joint programme programme of the UN Women (lead), UNFPA, IOM, National Statistical Committee and the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the KR within the financial support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

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legal age for boys should also be increased. Moreover, about 60% of the respondents believe that the government should undertake measures against the parents of underage brides and grooms (about 30% oppose such measures).

81% of respondents were ready to justify child marriages in cases such as premarital pregnancy, love (54%), ala kachuu (23%) and threat of rape or violence (22%).

A similar set of arguments is applicable to young girls whose parents plan to migrate for labor. In preparing to be away from home, parents feel insecure and uncertain about the reliability of control over their daughters’ behavior while they are away.

Domestic violence:

The majority of cases victims of domestic violence are the socially vulnerable members of the family—that is, children, the elderly, and women. Thus 97% of victims of domestic violence are women (wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers)6 and 30% of children suffer from physical violence,7 and 71% of those surveyed pointed out the existence of violence against the elderly.8

The internal affairs agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic have issued more than 10,000 temporary restraining orders since 2009. In addition, in 2014 alone the agencies of internal affairs registered 3,126 incidents of domestic violence, issued 2,619 temporary restraining orders, initiated and sent to court 243 criminal cases resulting from domestic violence, and brought in 1,624 citizens for administrative liabilities for domestic violence. In the period from 2010 to 2014,9 the quantity of restraining orders issued was doubled.

Court statistics show that the judiciary agencies judged 5,269 people guilty of committing domestic violence over the past five years.10 Among these, more than 68% were the husbands of the victims and about 20% were the victims’ sons.

During the selected period, 21,525 people visited the health care system in response to domestic violence and for medical conditions arising as a result of domestic violence. Among these, 16,276 (76%) were women.

Every year, between 8,000 and 9,2000 people visit crisis centers, aksakal courts, and other specialized institutions as a result of domestic violence. In the period from 2010 to 2014, 41,927 visits stemming from domestic violence were registered, among which 80% (33,846) of those appealing were women.

16 DAYS CAMPAIGN FLOW 2016:

Major results of the UNiTE campaign

A major focus of the UNiTE campaign in 2016 was to amend the Family and Criminal Code for introducing criminal liability for conducting religious marriage ceremonies with minors before its civil marriage registration at the registry office. Following the initial rejection of the draft law by the parliament in May 2016, the UNiTE campaigned to raise awareness on the issue and strongly advocated for a revised legislation. As a result, in October 2015 the law was adopted with 60 MPs voting “for” and 48 MPs “against”. It introduced 3-5 years of imprisonment to either fiancé, parents or religious functionaries for conducting a religious marriage ceremony with minors before civil marriage registration.

The draft law “On socio-legal protection from domestic violence” has undergone its first reading. Around 90 advocacy events were conducted within the 16 Days Campaign all over the country, including

remote areas, on the topics like bride-kidnapping, early marriages, domestic violence, sexual violence,

6 From the data of the Information-Analytical Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. 7 From UNICEF research data, 2009. 8 Violence toward the elderly. Help Age International, 2012. 9 From data of the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic in the period from 2010 to 2014. 10 From data of the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic in the period from 2010 to 2014.

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violence against sex-workers, violence against children, peacebuilding, and many other initiatives were organized.

More than 80,00011 people were directly informed about forms of violence in Kyrgyzstan and ways of combatting gender based violence, domestic violence, bride-kidnapping, sexual violence, violence against elderly people, violence against children, etc.

Around 3 million12 people in the Kyrgyz Republic were informed via radio stories, consultations, information sharing, discussions organized by the implementers and provided by radio channels, TV channels, social media and newspapers.

Around 10,00013 people were capacitated through trainings, seminars and round tables to take further action in actively promoting life free of violence.

Indirect recipients of the awareness raising campaign: TV and radio listeners all over Kyrgyzstan to radio

stories, consultations, information sharing, discussions organized by the implementers on KTR, Batken ТV,

ElTR, Ala-Too 24, Birinchi radio, Yntymak Radio, ON1TV, BBC Kyrgyz Service, and others.

More than 60 news articles14 were released during the campaign on informing the public on the progress of

the campaign and the issues of violence towards women and girls (Annex 5). Newspaper articles released in:

11 The number of direct recipients was calculated form the reports of the organizers 12 The number of indirect recipients was calculated form the reports of the organizers 13 Calculated on the basis of the reports from the partnering NGOs in the frames of 16 Days Campaign 14 Available at the Annex 4. Media monitoring report

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websites of the UN Kyrgyzstan, Parliament of the KR, civil society and international organizations, as well as

news agensies such as Zanoza, Azattyk, Akipress, Knews, Kabar, Kloop, BBC Kyrgyz Service, 24.kg, Turmush,

Vecherniy Bishkek, CA-News, Internews, Kyrtag, and others

Actions taken by the movement throughout Kyrgyzstan: The UNiTE campaign in Kyrgyzstan included about

90 various initiatives centered on raising awareness of country specific issues to eliminate violence against

women and girls.

UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic together with the

UNiTE National Movement to End Violence Against Women in Kyrgyzstan

The 16 Days Campaign started with an open dialogue meeting with media on 23 November 2016 prior to the start of the campaign. More than 30 media representatives of the leading informational agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic gathered on the occasion of the launch of the 16 days' campaign to discuss and brainstorm on how to effectively and jointly cover the issues of different forms of violence against women and girls in Kyrgyzstan in order to call on the government and society to pay respective attention to the issues of gender-based violence and act accordingly on it. The media representatives were

provided with the findings of the most recent and the first nation-wide research in Kyrgyzstan "Gender in Society Perceptions Study" (2016)15. Following the open dialogue meeting, the participating media representatives produced numerous quality and analytical articles, blogs, and other media products on issues of early marriages, bride-kidnapping, domestic violence, and other gender-based violence in Kyrgyzstan (Annex 5). On 25 November, the International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, UN Women together with the UNiTE movement organized a press conference on EVAWG and announcing Orange the world campaign in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Speakers (UN Women, local government and civil society) called upon adoption of the draft law on the safeguarding and protection from domestic violence, implementation of the newly adopted law on prohibiting early marriages and announced the start of the Orange the World campaign. Special thanks are extended to the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Alexander Avanessov for the strong support provided to the 16 days’ campaign and calling for ending violence towards women and girls in Kyrgyzstan. STOP Violence flash mob was organized by a Public Fund "Women Support Center -Ariet" in Jalalabad with the support of the UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country Office to attract attention of youth and citizens to the growing number of domestic violence in the region. A case with a husband who killed his wife but made it look like a suicide was the reason to raise awareness of people. The event started from a march in the central streets of Jalalabad and finished with a big orange flash mob.

15 The research was conducted in 2016 under the joint programme of the UN Women (lead), UNFPA, IOM, National Statistical Committee and the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic within the financial support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

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A guest lecture was delivered by Gerald Gunter, Representative of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan, and Dildora Khamidova, UN Women Field Specialist in Osh on the theme “Advancing Gender Equality for the Benefit of Human Development in the Kyrgyz Republic: Career and Marriage Choices of Kyrgyzstani Youth.” The Guest Lecture was held on November 23 at the Nonprofit Management Resource Center at Osh State University. About 40 participants of the lecture were actively engaged in the lecture, addressing different questions to UN Women staff.

The UN Women Representative provided many examples of the national and international practice on gender equality issues and the main directions of human development. The speaker conducted a comparative analysis of the local and international practices to promote gender equality, and noted that in Kyrgyzstan, compared to other Central Asian countries, there is acknowledgment of problems and greater remedial action made both state and vibrant civil society. Dildora Khamidova and expert Madina Kasymova made a presentation on the findings of a research done by UN Women on marriage and career choices of young women.

Government of the KR:

More than 30 events were organized by the government

institutions within the campaign under the implementation of

the Decree of the GoKR dd. 27 June 2012 #443 “On approval

of the National Strategy of the KR on gender equality till 2020

and the National Action Plan on gender equality in the KR for

2015-2017”:

Workshops, trainings, roundtables, student conferences, discussions, public lectures and debates on EVAWG issues

Friendly matches on football, basketball, and other sports among school children Drawing competitions, quizzes, essay contests Forum theatres, showing films and plays Informational campaign about the work of system 112 on receiving calls from victims of gender-

based and domestic violence Work with media at the national level Auctions on raising awareness about HIV/AIDS Development, printing and dissemination of various publications on EVAWG issues Psychological consultations on gender-based violence Meetings with students, school children and their parents Other

Parliament of the KR:

As a part of this years’ global campaign on 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women and Girls, on 29 November 2016 a key gender advocate and Member of Parliament Ms. Ainuru Altybaeva together with young gender activists who are graduates of UN Women “My Safe and Peaceful School” peer education course led an advocacy event at the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. At Parliament, the activists addressed more than 100 deputies and consultants about the campaign and its goals. The main focus of the event was the activists’ call on Parliament to support a draft bill introduced by

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women deputies “On prevention and protection from domestic violence,” which sets-out concrete mechanisms to fight domestic violence and to provide legal, medical, and social support to victims. The bill has successfully passed its first reading, and the activists called on deputies to support the bill in its mandated second and third readings. The activists also called on deputies to support the coordinated efforts of government, Parliament, civil society, the UN, and the international community to eliminate gender-based violence. The activists then made a tour of the building, and provided MPs, party leaders, and committee representatives with orange bracelets featuring the

inscription “UNiTE to end violence against women”. The asked MPs to publicly display their solidarity with the campaign. The activists, together with Madam Altybaeva, called on leaders’ support for the campaign and to “orange the world” and to bring the fight for gender equality to the Kyrgyz government. A short video on the event is available here:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYLxA2rmizI • https://www.facebook.com/pg/UNiTEKG/videos/?ref=page_internal

Civil Society with the support of the UN GTG/International organizations:

Around 60 initiatives were organized by NGOs, including:

Public hearings, workshops, trainings, roundtables, student conferences, discussions, public lectures and debates on EVAWG issues

Public marches and demonstrations calling to end violence towards women and girls

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Ethno-competitions, drawing competitions, quizzes, essay contests, and other competitions

Various flash mobs, forum theatre shows, showing films and plays SMS mailing with the text of the status of Article 155 of the Criminal Code of KR Various sports events/competitions

Lighting candles as a sign of solidarity and in memory of all women and activists

Working meetings with village activists, leaders of women councils, social workers, etc. Psychological consultations on gender-based violence Case studies, anonymous polls Open dialogue meetings with media on effectively covering EVAWG issues and the 16 days’ campaign Development, printing and dissemination of various publications on EVAWG issues Competition among media representatives on covering EVAWG issues Work with media at national level

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Work with prosecutors, military services and judges

Other

Active Youth Involvement A series of events such as mannequin challenge, orange flashmobs, orange marches and auctions were held by the young gender advocates of Kyrgyzstan to raise awareness on violence towards women and girls and advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Kyrgyzstan.

Video #mannequinchallenge

#я_могу_повлиять_на_искоренение_насилия_в_отношении_женщин_и_девочек was produced

and posted in FB page, Instagram, UNITEKG o https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/%D1%8F_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%83_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%82

%D1%8C_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B2_%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%B8_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BA?source=feed_text&story_id=597371063780862

Gender equality awareness raising meetings with more than 600 students were conducted under 16

days’ campaign in Bishkek - schools #82 and #1, and Novopavlovka school #1,

Young gender advocates participated in press conference in launching event of 16 days’ campaign

https://www.facebook.com/UNiTEKG/?fref=ts

Involved young gender advocates actively participated in the 16 days’ campaign events held in

Batken, Jalal-Abad, Chui and At-Bashy.

Active involvement of young gender advocates in the advocacy event in the parliament on 29

November. A video and more detailed information is available here:

http://kg.one.un.org/content/unct/kyrgyzstan/en/home/news/kg-news/2016/young-gender-activists-turn-kyrgyz-parliament-orange-to-end-viol.html

Wide mass media involvement:

UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic, Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic, Soros Foundation – Kyrgyzstan, Crisis Center “Sezim” in collaboration with Internews in the Kyrgyz Republic organized a competition with a thematic focus on ending violence against women and girls and harmful practices. More than 100 quality applications were received from all over the republic calling for public attention to the widespread issues of gender-based violence such as early

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marriages, bride-kidnapping, domestic violence, etc. The competition open to media representatives and social activists was launched within the framework of the international campaign “16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls” and the UN Secretary General’s campaign “UNiTE to end violence women”. The main objective of the competition was to actively engage media in raising awareness of the society on violence towards women and girls. On 8 December 2016, the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. René Holenstein, presented awards to media representatives for the best publication, TV/ radio material and multimedia product within the competition "Breaking silence on violence against women and girls".

Civil Society Representatives participated in the Campaign:

1. Crisis Center “Sezim” and Bishkek health enhancement center (Bishkek) 2. NGO Issyk-Kul Center of Social Development and crisis center “Meerman” (Issyk-Kul) 3. Public Association “Women Support Center” (Bishkek) 4. Crisis Center “Shans” (Bishkek) 5. Public Fund “Child’s Rights Defenders League” (Bishkek) 6. Public Association “Chon Alay Youth Movement” (Chon Alay) 7. Bishkek Feminists Initiatives (BFI) (Bishkek) 8. Crisis Center “Meerban” (Osh) 9. Crisis Center “Akylkarachach” under PA “Ene Nazary” (Alay and Chon-Alay) 10. Public Foundation “Podruga” (Osh) 11. Association of Women Communities of Issyk-Kul, Gender Center, Municipal public organizations

(Issyk-Kul) 12. Public Foundation “Resource Center for Elderly” (Bishkek) 13. Public Foundation “DIA” (Osh) 14. Public Foundation “Open Line” (Bishkek) 15. Public Foundation "Center for Research of Democratic Processes" in partnership with girls/young

friends of militia (Bishkek) 16. Public Association «Center for Helping Women – Ariet» (Jalalabad) 17. Association of the crisis centers (Bishkek) 18. Public Association «Community Development Alliance» (CDA) 19. Public Association “New Rhythm” (Osh) 20. Crisis Center “Akylkarachach” under PA “El Agartuu” (Alay and Chon-Alay) 21. Public Foundation "Men Against Violence" (Bishkek) 22. Public Foundation “Omur Bulagy” (Batken) 23. Public Foundation “Janyl Myrza Plus” (Batken) 24. Young gender advocates – peer-educators of the UN Women “My Safe and Peaceful School” course

(Bishkek) 25. HelpAge International (Bishkek) 26. Osh State University 27. American University of Central Asia 28. Jalal-Abad State University 29. Others

Government institutions participated in the campaign:

1. Ministry of Labour and Social Development 2. Ministry of Health 3. Mayor’s office of Bishkek 4. Administration of Batken region 5. Administration of Naryn region

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6. GAMSUMO 7. Ombudsman Institute 8. Ministry of Emergency Situations 9. Administration of Issyk-Kul region 10. Administration of Talas region 11. Ministry of culture, information and tourism 12. Administration of Chuy region 13. National Statistics Committee 14. Armed forces 15. Leninskiy rayon court 16. Sverdlovskiy rayon court 17. Pervomaiskyy rayon court 18. Bishkek city prosecutor’s office

Campaign partners in Kyrgyzstan

Main resource supporters: Along with various entities, namely UN Women, UNDP, FAO, UNHCR,

IOM and UNFPA several international organizations financially supported the events organized by

the UNiTE movement: USAID, Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic, the US State

Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Soros Foundation in

the Kyrgyz Republic, the Government of Finland, and Internews in Kyrgyzstan.

Main media partners: ElTR, KTR, Batken ТV, Zanoza, Akipress, Kabar, ON1TV, and others

Academia: within the 16 Days Campaign the following educational institutions took active part –

American University of Central Asia, Osh State University, Jalal-Abad State University, 15 schools in

Batken region, professional lyceum №47, Kyrgyz State University named after I. Arabaev, National

military lyceum named after D. Asanov, vocational educational lyceums №5 and №99, Kyrgyz State

Law Academy, 22 local territorial directorates of Bishkek and others.

Volunteers: UN Women acknowledges a very strong support from peer-educators of the “My Safe

and Peaceful School” and volunteers who contributed vastly in the campaign organizations,

monitoring and provided substantial support to the events, particularly special thanks to Argen

Shergazy uulu who coordinated the initiatives of peer-educators within the 16 days campaign.

Private Sector: unfortunately, this year, the attempts to gain support from the private sector were

not successful.

Social and electronic media information flow:

UNiTE Facebook followers https://www.facebook.com/UNiTEKG/insights/?section=navLikes increased from

964 to 1164 people. All the described activities are posted on the Facebook page. The main messages and the

press-release can also be found at the UN Women local webpage: www.unwomen.un.kg

Videos produced during the campaign:

Video on advocacy event at the parliament calling Parliament to support a draft bill introduced by women deputies “On the prevention and protection from domestic violence”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYLxA2rmizI https://www.facebook.com/pg/UNiTEKG/videos/?ref=page_internal

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Video Mannequin challenge made by young gender advocates – peer-educators of the UN Women “My Safe

and Peaceful School”

https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/%D1%8F_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%83_%D0%BF%D0%BE

%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%82%D1%8C_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA

%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%

D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B2_%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%B5%D

0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%B8_%D0%B4%

D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BA?source=feed_text&story_id=597371063780862

Video on bride-kidnapping: https://ok.ru/video/200913717827

Video on violence towards elderly people: https://www.facebook.com/helpage.eme/

Video on early marriages in Russian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6QAWdy0K0o&feature=share Video on early marriages in Kyrgyz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnpSh4AvpqE&t=3s Video “Not a Mannequin Challenge” made by UNDP in the KR to support the 16 days’ campaign:

https://www.facebook.com/undpkg/ UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan provided the following support:

1. Raised around USD 30 00016 for the 16 days’ campaign actions

2. Facilitated the organization of the 16 days’ campaign in Kyrgyzstan

3. Compiled a list of initiatives/publications into the 16 days’ calendar of events and disseminated it

widely

4. Supported the fundraising call among the potentially interested parties

5. Provided guidance in setting the main objectives together with the UNiTE movement

6. Managed the provision of the publications printed in the frames of the campaign

7. Provided support to partners in making the actions visible to the public

8. Organized the press-conference prior to the campaign to attract media

9. Organized an open dialogue meeting with media representatives to brainstorm of effective coverage

of EVAWG issues

10. Organized and facilitated the advocacy event of the young gender advocates and MP Madam

Altybaeva at the parliament of the KR

11. Designed the press-kit and the branding for the campaign organizers

12. Monitored the events on a possible basis

13. Provided visibility materials to the UNiTE movement such orange balloons, T-shirtsm umbrellas, and

bracelets

14. Provided the final feedback and report to campaign organizers and other interested parties

16 Calculated based on the financial reports provided by the partnering NGOs

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Additional documents attached to the report:

Attachment 1. The 16 Days Calendar Attachment 2. Press-release Attachment 3: Media monitoring report