Local authorities of the northern Sughd province says female crime and suicide rates have increased in the area.
556 crimes have been committed by women in Sughd province over the first six months of this year, which was 219 crimes more than in the same period last year, Ms. Nigora Ghafforzoda, the chairperson of the Sughd Directorate for Family and Women’s Affairs, told reporters in Khujand on July 27.
According to her, the highest increase in the female crime rate in the province has been reported in the cities of Khujand, Buston and Konibodom as well as in the Asht district.
In Khujand, women have reportedly committed 142 crimes in January-June this year, which was 79 crimes more than in the same period last year.
“We have analyzed these figures and revealed that 47 crimes related to deliberate infection with HIV have been committed by five women alone,” said Ms. Ghafforzoda. “Besides, twenty-five cases of fraud committed by women have been registered in the province over the same six-month period.”
She also noted that the female suicide rate has also increased in the province.
“Over the first six months of this year, 62 cases of female suicide have been reported in Sughd in January-June this year, which was eleven cases more than in the same period last year,” said Ms. Ghafforzoda. “Of those 62 suicides, twelve have been committed by underage girls.”
She further noted that the main cause of female suicide in the province was domestic violence.
Meanwhile, a study on suicide in Central Asia, which was presented at a Public Lecture organized by the University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit (CHHU) in Dushanbe on July 3, in particular, revealed that compared to the global suicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 individuals, in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), rates of suicide mostly exceed it, with the highest in Kazakhstan – 48.1. In Turkmenistan, it reaches 15.8, in Uzbekistan 13.6, in Kyrgyzstan 13.4 and the lowest rate is in Tajikistan at 7.2, although it appears to be trending upwards.
The lecture mainly focused on suicide deaths rather than thoughts or attempts and highlighted the lack of nuanced attention to suicides within at-risk population sub-groups. Among the main risk factors, revealed by the study, 11 specific risk factors cente
