Uzbek MP sounds alarm over hundreds of child rape cases

Children too frightened to speak out must not be left unprotected, an Uzbek lawmaker warned as parliament heard that over four hundred rape cases involving under-14s were opened in four years.

Warning: This article contains information some readers may find disturbing.

MP Gulrukh Agzamova, who chairs the democratic institutions and civil society committee, presented the figures during a parliamentary debate earlier on Tuesday. The disturbing statistics included criminal cases opened, rather than convictions or individual victims.

The number of such cases rose from 85 in 2022 to 108 in 2023 and 129 in 2024 before falling slightly to 123 last year.

That brings the overall four-year child rape case tally to 445.

Agzamova warned that children may be too frightened to report abuse, may misunderstand what has happened, or may doubt that anyone will listen. «A child’s silence does not mean consent,» she said.

«Today’s debate is about more than another bill. It is about our children’s lives, their safety and their confidence in the future — and, above all, whether our society truly puts children first,» the MP said.

Read more: Uzbek welfare agency proposes life sentences for child sexual abuse

The debate follows the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl at a state kindergarten in the Namangan region in eastern Uzbekistan. The prime suspect, a maintenance employee whose name has not been disclosed, is in custody after investigators opened a rape case on 12 September.

Life sentence bill passes first reading

The Legislative Chamber approved the child protection bill at its first reading on 29 September. It will have to pass the Senate and be signed by the president.

The proposal would allow lengthy prison sentences or life imprisonment for the rape of children under the age of 14, as well as for certain other violent sexual offences against them. It would also eliminate time limits for prosecuting sexual offences against children and enforcing sentences.

Read more: Saida Mirziyoyeva talks death penalty after alleged rape of 5yo girl

The bill also requires mandatory video recording of interviews with child victims, special procedures for confrontations with suspects, and state-funded legal aid for all child victims and witnesses, regardless of family income. Teachers who engage in violence against children at work may also be fired.