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A Detailed Look: Europe and Central Asia
Gender discrimination in social institutions is relatively low in the 17 countries of Europe and Central Asia. All of the countries ranked in the SIGI are in the top half of the distribution with Croatia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine figuring among the top ten. However, women’s physical integrity remains a key concern in the region.
Overall, women in Europe and Central Asia enjoy high levels of equality in all aspects of society. This is largely a legacy of the former Soviet system, which was a driving force in much of the region for introducing gender equality into legal frameworks. Today, most countries uphold the principle of gender equality in their constitutions and laws. Women also are generally well protected by the family code, particularly with respect to parental authority. Women and men share equal rights and responsibilities within the family. Similarly, there is very little discrimination in the area of inheritance.
However, in some countries there is a gap between theory and practice. For example, legal codes generally protect women’s formal access to property, but they aren’t always enforced. In Uzbekistan, women have legal rights to own property but the proportion of women who actually have access to land is low.
An important challenge since the end of the Soviet system, especially in rural areas, has been a resurgence in patriarchal attitudes and a reversion to historic stereotypes that place women in traditional family roles or as agricultural workers. In the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, for example, these changes have affected women's access to land.
Key issue: violence against women
Violence against women is a key issue in Europe and Central Asia, especially domestic violence. In Moldova, women represent an estimated one third of murder victims killed by their husbands. In general, women are not adequately protected from crimes committed against them largely due to lack of specific legislation. But even where legislation exists it is often not effectively implemented. Furthermore, victims rarely report crimes for fear of repercussion or social stigma, especially in cases of domestic violence and sexual harassment: In Kazakhstan, an estimated one-third of domestic violence complaints are never investigated. However, it is important to point out that in many countries, like Croatia, Belarus and Georgia, NGOs and special centres increasingly provide victims with shelter and assistance. Finally, trafficking in women is also a serious problem in the region.
