27 Nov Prostitution Legal in Kyrgyzstan
The change came after Kyrgyzstan`s Ministry of Internal Affairs last year established a deputy unit officially known as the Department for Combating Human Trafficking and Crimes against Public Morality. Authorities say they are fighting criminal networks, not prostitution, which decriminalized Kyrgyzstan in 1998. However, human rights activists and public health workers say increased police efforts against sex workers make it harder to track sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and keep girls safe. They want outdoor sex training where it can be better monitored. “We should not be afraid to legalize prostitution, because in that case, the state will control the health of the nation,” he said. “But I`m not sure the majority of the population of our country will agree with that. We live in the East. Violence against sex workers, fueled by the stigmatization and criminalization of prostitution, is one of the arguments of legalization advocates. A very recent example was that of a pregnant sex worker who was recently raped by cadets at a police academy. Although she feared for her safety, she decided – with the support of Tais Plus, a member of SWAN from Kyrgyzstan – to report the case to the police. Kyrgyz Republic of Kyrgyzstan: Proposal to increase penalties for prostitution 2014. Website.
www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2014-04-15/kyrgyz-republic-kyrgyzstan-increased-punishment-for-involvement-in-prostitution-proposed/. According to them, it is impossible to ban sex work in the country, as this sector will go underground and the number of cases of human trafficking will increase. However, it is impossible to legalize or decriminalize this area. All efforts are hampered by the moral standards and morality of the country. The wave of mass raids began in mid-2016, when Bishkek`s Municipal Directorate of Internal Affairs announced that it would “clean up the city by getting rid of prostitution.” They even asked residents to carry out night raids, take pictures of sex workers and hand over these photos to the police,” said Shahnas Islamova, head of the NGO Tais Plus. “First of all, the press service reported the arrests to the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs, without hesitation or understanding that they were in fact announcing illegal actions on the part of the security forces. According to her, legalization is often confused with decriminalization, but they are different models: at the roundtable, many voices were heard who were against, but also those who supported the legalization of prostitution. And although it will take some time to decide on future actions and policies on this issue, which is controversial not only in Kyrgyzstan, the event was a big step forward, as it seriously addressed the issue with high-level participants and led to significant media coverage that opened a wider debate in society. Prostitution is not a crime under Kyrgyz law. In 2012, several efforts were made to introduce criminal and administrative liability for the provision of sexual services into the legal system, since, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (police), which was behind these attempts, prostitution in Kyrgyzstan is linked to organized crime and is a major source of drug and alcohol use.
However, these proposals were not supported by the legislator. (The penalty for prostitution is increased in Kyrgyzstan, above.) According to local police, there are about 3,000 prostitutes working in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and this business generates about $10 million a month. (The penalty for prostitution is increased in Kyrgyzstan, op. cit. Press release, Jogorku Kenesh, The public debate on the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code will begin on 19 February [ru] (19. February 2014).) With the arrival of spring, the influx of sex workers from neighbouring Uzbekistan is expected to increase. Journalist Jalalabad Jalil Saparov is one of many Kyrgyz people worried about the republic`s new image. “Liberal attitudes and a weak legal framework on this issue make Kyrgyzstan the sexual capital of the Fergana Valley region,” he said, adding that many fear that moral decay in the country is reflected in a declining international image.
Kyrgyz MP Irina Karamushkina said in her comments to CABAR.asia that the issue of legalising and decriminalising sex work had already been raised by some MPs, but they had not been supported. According to Karamushkina, some parliamentarians maintain the position that Kyrgyzstan should not legalize sex work because “our country is Islamic.” The rise of prostitution in Uzbekistan coincided with a severe economic crisis. “People are starving there, that`s what pushes Uzbek girls onto the streets,” said Bahadyr Abdullaev, a businessman from the Kyrgyz city of Jalalabad who frequently crosses the border. Tais Plus won in 2005 against an amendment to the law criminalizing sex work, and again in 2012 against a proposed amendment to make prostitution a crime. [11] “Every week we have several cases of disappearances of girls,” says Salamat Adylov, the head of the Bishkek vice-force. “In 2013, there were 613 [in Kyrgyzstan]. Most of them are between 16 and 25 years old and many of them are sent to Turkey or the United Arab Emirates for prostitution or organ trafficking. This database helps us identify victims of human trafficking and murder. Currently, this crime is punishable by up to three years` imprisonment. The Kyrgyz draft law defines “engagement of others in prostitution” as the participation of minors and adults in the provision of sexual services and the maintenance of facilities where such services are provided. (Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic [official text, in Russian], Law No.
68 of 1 October 1997 (as amended by Law No. 10 of 1 March 2012), Art. 124, 157, Zhogorku Kenesh website.) In case of legalization, Islamova said, only some sex workers will be able to fulfill the conditions that legalize their activities. For example, migrant women or women who do not have documents or residence registration will not be able to work legally. They will continue to work on the streets or take orders over the phone, and the police will continue to harass, extort money and extort them. “We are not intentionally advocating legalization,” said Shakhnaz Islamova, head of Tais Plus. If the amendments are passed, the crime of “employing others in prostitution” will be punishable by a fine of $6,000 to $10,000 or imprisonment for three to five years. Those who commit this crime within an organized group are imprisoned for up to eight years, with their property confiscated. (ibid.; The text of the legislation in Russian can be downloaded from the website Yogorku Kenesh [Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic] (last visited 7 April 2014).) Sex trafficking is booming in Bishkek and the authorities are struggling to respond.