People living with HIV, TB patients and representatives of key groups*, unfortunately, face many problems other than health issues in their everyday life. In Kyrgyzstan, these people often fall victim to stigma, discrimination, and rights violations. To address this situation, restore justice and improve their life, the UNDP and its partners have established a network of street lawyers (trained NGO employees able to consult their clients on legal questions) and an electronic database to record violations and react to them. Called “REAct” (Rights-Evidence-Actions), the platform is the main tool available in the country to keep track of rights violations among communities affected by HIV and tuberculosis. 

As Maria, a street lawyer working in Karakol, explains, “these documented cases are our chance to reach out to authorities, to decision-makers, and to illustrate with facts the situation regarding the rights of key groups.” 

684 cases of rights violations  

Developed by the British organization Frontline AIDS, REAct is being used in Kyrgyzstan in the framework of the UNDP / Global Fund “Effective HIV and TB Control” project, in partnership with the “Sustainability of Services for Key Groups in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” project. It is coordinated by the “Partnership Network” Association, which also implements other activities for stigma reduction. Under the UNDP project, the Soros Foundation regularly trains street lawyers and REActors and provides legal assistance to clients in need. 

This comprehensive, community-based legal aid has helped many already restore their rights.  

In 2020, a total of 503 cases were registered on REAct, 76% of which (384) classify as rights violations. In the first six months of 2021, 373 complaints were registered, of which 300 are cases of human rights violations.  

Community-based legal aid 

Launched in March, 2020, the platform is now being used by 29 “REActors”, who work for 15 service NGOs around the country. REActors are employees of local NGOs working for HIV and TB control programs. Many of them are themselves representatives of key population groups. As outreach workers, they have unrestricted access to these groups of the population, know their problems better than anyone else, and are able to gain their trust. In parallel, they are trained paralegal specialists, able to give consultations and help their clients restore justice. Thanks to this large coverage, representatives of all key groups can report cases of rights violations and ask for legal support in a supportive environment free of discrimination. 

Periodically, these cases are reported to the government, civil society and press, and recommendations are issued for the elimination of rights violations and discrimination against these groups of the population. 

“REAct has become the main tool for street lawyers,” explains Begimai Myktarbekova, who works for the “Partnership Network” Association. “We hope that the React electronic system will help track each case of rights violations among key population groups, monitor, analyze, and respond to discrimination.” At the end of the day, this platform is meant to denounce cases of rights violations, defend the rights of these vulnerable groups of the population, and reduce all types of discrimination. 

Unjustified detention, abuse, and physical violence 

The cases registered include different types of rights violations, discrimination and denied access to medical or other services. According to the 2020 report, the most vulnerable groups are people who inject drugs, people living with HIV and sex workers. Rights violations are most often committed by law enforcement agents, in the form of unjustified detention and abuse, and by health care workers who refuse to provide services to the clients. 

Clients’ complaints include cases of physical threats, extortion, verbal abuse, physical violence, refusal to provide medical services, police violence, humiliating treatment and even torture. 

The report states that “one of the most striking manifestations of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV is the humiliating treatment on the part of health care workers and their refusal to provide medical services”. For example, a 17-year-old was not able to get medical services, including vaccinations, for a long time due to discrimination at the local health facility. People living with HIV also face discrimination at home and in their everyday life, for instance when trying to solve administrative issues. 

People who inject drugs, or who are on methadone substantive therapy, are most vulnerable to abuse from law enforcement agents, according to this same report: “direct rights violations by the police include cases of physical and psychological violence, coercion to make confessions against the background of withdrawal symptom, by denying access to methadone treatment, the use of forced labor (washing floors in the police department), and numerous cases of unlawful detention, often with no justification whatsoever”. 

Eliminating discrimination case after case 

When cases of rights violations are reported, street lawyers register them on REAct and consult their clients on their rights and the legal steps which can be taken to restore justice. Street lawyers often act as direct mediators between the victim and the rights violator, or, if the client agrees, help them make a claim. If needed, clients can be represented by professional lawyers and advocates, free of charge. 

Unfortunately, not all cases registered into REAct are solved:  one third of the applicants refuse to take action. As the 2020 report concludes, “victims often prefer to endure systematic rights violations rather than disclose their HIV status, gender orientation or affiliation to a key group in the course of legal proceedings”. In cases when clients find the courage to make a claim, most often, without sufficient legal support, they are simply ignored by the police, or, worse, abused. 

For example, one of the cases recorded in REAct concerns two transgender women who, in a public bus, were verbally abused, violently thrown out and beaten by the passengers. They were then taken to the police station, where the driver and passengers filed a complaint against them. In turn, the police did not give the transgender women the opportunity to respond, be informed about their rights or request the assistance of a lawyer. Thanks to the help of the project, though, these clients were able to withstand a long legal process and have the complaint canceled. 

The work of street lawyers and REActors is essential to guarantee the safety and human rights of vulnerable groups of the population, and put an end to the TB and HIV epidemics by lifting access barriers. REAct is being used all over Kyrgyzstan and easily accessible to key population groups, who now have the appropriate tools and assistance to believe in justice.  

But it’s important to keep in mind that many cases are still not reported by the victims, who fear additional discrimination and abuse. However, thanks to the growing popularity of the street lawyers project and its peer-to-peer nature, more and more representatives of key population groups are standing up for their rights, fighting against discrimination one case after another.  

Learn more about REAct, download the reports and monitor rights violations : https://react-aph.org/en/countries/kyrgyzstan/ 

*Key groups: groups of the population which are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection (partners of people living with HIV, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers…).