Project Name: Regional Spotlight Initiative Programme for Central Asia “Alliances for Change Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practice in Central Asia.”

Project implementation period: October – December 2023.

Grant amount: 15,000 (Fifteen thousand) US dollars.

Grantor: United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

The main goal of the project. To prepare a pool of lawyers in Kazakhstan to provide high-quality legal assistance to victims of harassment, provide legal assistance to those in need, cover cases related to harassment and stalking of women and girls, and also bring the issue to law enforcement agencies.

Activity 1. Conducting training sessions (online) for 25 defence lawyers, representatives of NGOs and lawyers of Kazakhstan with the participation of Kazakh experts in the field of human rights protection. LPRC experts will conduct training seminars on the following topics: What is harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination against women. They will also provide an overview of international law and Kazakhstani law, with relevant cases to explore the topic.

Activity 2. Creation of an informal network of experts, representatives of NGOs, lawyers and attorneys to combat harassment and discrimination against women and disseminate best practices in combating gender-based violence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Experts, representatives of NGOs, lawyers and attorneys in Central Asia will be invited to the pool of lawyers and experts to provide legal assistance to women who have suffered from harassment and discrimination. For this purpose, a Whatsapp group will be organized for prompt response and exchange of information.

Activity 3. Strategic protection of the rights of women affected by harassment and discrimination in Kazakhstan. Lawyers and advocates who have been trained as part of the project will provide legal assistance to women who have suffered from harassment and discrimination in different regions of Kazakhstan. The LPRC will select cases and experts who will be involved in consultations and will highlight these cases through the media and social networks.

Activity 4. Holding a conference to discuss problems, incidents of harassment and discrimination against women in Kazakhstan, maintaining statistics on such cases, cross-country cooperation and profiling of aggressors. The participants of the conference will be representatives of NGOs, lawyers and advocates of Central Asia, representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, deputies of the Mazhilis of Parliament and representatives of international organisations.

Activity 5. Advocacy for the prohibition of harassment, stalking and discrimination against women in Kazakhstan. LPRC will conduct active advocacy through the media,

social networks and the LPRC website, and  through analytical articles.