The Mirabad District Criminal Court in Tashkent reached a verdict on March 12 regarding a 21-year-old taxi driver's sexual harassment of a 15-year-old passenger. According to the case materials, the victim's mother reported that on March 9, she ordered a taxi through the Yandex Go service for her underage daughter to go home. During the ride, the driver, M.G., asked the girl personal questions, commented on her appearance, and made inappropriate remarks despite her young age.
Despite the girl's protests, the taxi driver continued to harass her with sexual comments. The driver admitted his guilt, apologized, and assured the court that he had learned from the incident and it would not happen again, requesting a lenient punishment.
The court sentenced the offender to five days of administrative arrest for sexual harassment under Article 41-1 of the Administrative Responsibility Code, along with a fine of 15% of the base calculation amount for each day of arrest. In a similar case in February, another taxi driver in Tashkent received the same punishment for sexually harassing a passenger.
Article 41-1 was introduced into the Administrative Code last year as part of legal amendments aimed at strengthening the protection of women and children. The amendments were developed by a group of representatives from ministries, non-governmental and international organizations, civil activists, including the Nemolchi.uz project activists. Since the amendments took effect, 666 individuals in Uzbekistan have been found guilty of sexual harassment, with an additional 48 individuals convicted for sharing intimate information.
