«Southern Kazakhstan», №108(18.807), 20.08. 2010

 O. Sivtsova

On August the campaign “Family without violence” was held all over Kazakhstan.

Since the issue of the Law on “Prevention of Domestic Violence” to this problem is directed to the attention of all relevant bodies and agencies. Their main task is to develop multi-agency approach to the solving of problem, involving here as an authority as the public, and also to raise public awareness on these issues. In the framework of the campaign were conducted the raids with the aim to provide psychological legal and social assistance.

Weekday, afternoons in the office of the Legal Center for Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim” I’m meeting with a psychologist of NGO Vera Zakutnyaya and the police captain, chief inspector of the group on the protection of women against violence of Al-Farabi Regional Department of Internal AffairsGulchekhra Muminova. Our plans are preventive detour of dysfunctional families, where are domestic violence and if it is necessary, to provide psychological, legal and social assistance to victims.

This joint detour is not the first time for my travel companions. Gulchekhra Oktambekovna  has in her hands a special magazine with addresses of dysfunctional families, the place where might be domestic violence, and if it is necessary to provide psychological, legal and social assistance to victims. She looks through the magazine and chooses the one – the grandmother with young grandson drinker.

Galina Nesterova meets us with tears in her eyes on the bench at the gate.

–My Sasha is in hospital in a serious condition, he has drunken a lot at all- answered the crying grandmother.-I have one request to you: please visit him and talk to him!

It is not difficult to understand heartbroken Galina: she is grandmother and at the same time mother for her grandson. The mother of Sasha Nesterov also was an alcoholic, leaved her son in infancy. That’s a cruel joke played the genes. Although a native son of Galina does not take a drop in his mouth.   

Gulchekhra Oktambekovna calms the woman: “Do not worry!  Hi is well carried in hospital”. And Vera hands her the informational brochure with the“Confident telephone” of NGO “Sana Sezim”. 

We are going to second address, the street Moldagulova. The doors of the hose of Rashida Gaynutdinovna Beleutdinovna are opened widely. The old woman is resting in her bed.  Moreover she is resting not only from the heat but also from her son, who was sent again to the six month compulsory treatment from alcoholism. Rashida does not hide a smile of joy from the loneliness, as if he is not her son.

He began to drink in 1987, when he crashed on a motorcycle. He underwent craniotomy and it was found the disability of the third group. Since then I have never seen him in sober,-said the woman. He had drunk 2-3 battles in one day! And he also preferred to drink alone without companions. When money was not enough, he began to pull something out from the house to sell, and to say nothing of pension.

Once Rashida Gaynutdinova returned home, and the house was empty! Everything was sold. Then she began to take him to the compulsory treatment. So what’s the point! As he returns he begins to drink again. One day, after another compliance of his mother he pushed him with full force. She hit the corner of the bed. Gulchekhra Oktambekovna also confirmed the aggressiveness of the son who took part in the expulsion him from the apartment.

–I used to everything during the years of my work, but I was afraid of coming to him closer than five meters. How much he has force and anger - says the police captain.

Rashidda Gaynutdinova is immensely grateful to us for a good visit and promises to call if something will be quite bad.These are the only two stories from the magazine of Gulchekhra Oktambekovna. In total, according to her 92 people are registered in Al-Farabi Regional Department of Internal Affairs who are consisting on domestic violence. And if we count the number of householders suffering from them, it turns a decent figure. And this is just one area of Shymkent!

Therefore preventive raids are conducted to control dysfunctional families and it is not only in the framework of different campaigns. According to Article 10 of the new Law, now the law enforcement authorities are responsible to this case. Of course not everything is worked out clearly on these issues in our region.For example, as it turned out in the case of leaving the house victims of domestic and psychological violence have no place to wait out temporarily “better times”. Vera Zakutnyaya claims that the NGO is not the first year fighting on these issues of opening a shelter. Although in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 15 of the Law the organization which renders the assistance in accordance with the capacity   must provide temporary accommodation for victims. However there is no such an opportunity and the local authorities should think about it and to support the work of such organizations. Meanwhile the“Confident telephone” of NGO “Sana Sezim” works uninterruptedly and around the clock 50-07-85.