Abused and humiliated children

June 1 is International Children’s Day. This time, we look back at the bitter fate of children who suffered over the past year because of adults’ indifference and cruelty, became victims of pedophiles, or were brutally subjected to mob-style violence by their peers.

We often proudly say that we are a nation that loves children. However, if we look at the reports involving children over the past year, many questions arise behind this phrase. Today, children need protection not only from strangers, but in some cases also from their own relatives, neighbours, teachers, caregivers and even parents.

In May this year, a mother was detained in Tashkent while allegedly attempting to sell her 3-year-old child for $10,000. In Samarkand region, reports emerged that a woman beat a first-grade pupil at school after the child had argued with her son. According to reports, the children had a disagreement after class. A few days later, the mother of one of the pupils came to the school, insulted the children inside the classroom and used force against them. In one of the schools in Surkhandarya region, it was revealed that a senior pupil had sexually assaulted a younger student.

Most troublingly, such cases are not isolated or rare. According to official data, the number of children under the age of 15 in Uzbekistan exceeds 8.8 million. In 2025, more than 3,000 minors became victims of various crimes. Of them, 1,225 were children under the age of 12. This means that, on average, several children suffer from different forms of crime every day.

In recent months, reports of sexual crimes against children have appeared almost every month. In Yangikurgan district of Namangan region, a 13-year-old girl was assaulted by a 53-year-old man. In Bukhara, reports emerged that a 13-year-old girl had become a mother. In Uchkuprik district of Fergana region, it was reported that a 14-year-old girl had been assaulted by a group of people.

Violence against children is not limited to sexual crimes. In Toyloq district of Samarkand region, it was found that two young girls had been regularly beaten by their guardian. The woman allegedly subjected the children to physical and psychological abuse in an attempt to extort money from their mother, who was working abroad, and even filmed the incidents. In Surkhandarya region, a 36-year-old woman beat an 8-year-old child who had argued with her grandchild. Sometimes adults’ involvement in ordinary disputes between children becomes so extreme that the children themselves end up suffering the consequences.

Violence against children is not committed only by adults. In recent years, aggression among teenagers has also become a serious problem. In Fergana region, a criminal group that had been intimidating schoolchildren and other citizens was exposed. Minors were also among its members. The group was reportedly involved in threatening people, seizing their property and committing other illegal acts. The situation among girls is also concerning. In Bukhara, several girls beat a peer and filmed the incident, which later spread widely on social media. It was later revealed that they may also have been involved in other fights. In Samarkand and other regions, there have also been reports of girls beating one another following disputes over boys or social media correspondence.

To learn more about the details of these cases, watch the video on QALAMPIR.UZ’s YouTube page.