Ambassadors and UN leaders join students across Kazakhstan raising awareness against gender-based violence

Schools and universities across Kazakhstan organized student contests about gender-based violence in advance of visits by ambassadors of 16 countries and heads of UN agencies who traveled to every region of Kazakhstan to help raise awareness of this issue.

This country-wide campaign dedicated to the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” encompassed all regions of Kazakhstan, aiming to raise awareness and address issues related to gender-based violence. Heads of diplomatic missions and UN agencies accredited in the Republic personally visited the participating educational institutions across the country to bring more profile to the issue and to hear students’ ideas on how to combat this issue.

As part of the contests, students worked individually or in teams on creative entries which drew attention to the topic of domestic violence. High school students created TikTok videos, wrote essays, drew posters, and held debates. University students took part in a Case Championship on Gender Equality - an innovative way to engage young people to formulate a solution to address gender-based violence in the context of their universities and local community and propose it in front of experts, faculty and their peers.

The country-wide competitions were supported by the Ministry of Enlightenment, Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the National Commission on Women’s Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Educational institutions across Kazakhstan actively joined the initiative, demonstrating their commitment to raising awareness of domestic violence among their students.

Following the competitions, Ambassadors from 16 countries and heads of UN agencies visited schools and universities in every region of Kazakhstan. The visiting dignitaries met participating students and faculties of each institution, and awarded certificates to participants and winners. They shared remarks on the importance of fostering a culture where speaking up against violence and offering initiatives are not only encouraged but considered imperative, and had discussion through questions and answers with students.

Every third woman globally, and every sixth woman in Kazakhstan, is subjected to violence in any given year. Only one third of the survivors report these cases to the police. In 2022 alone, more than 61,000 complaints about domestic violence against women were filed with the police. Studies show that women and girls who witnessed their mothers being subjected to violence, are more likely to experience gender-based violence themselves later in life.