Mongolians Call for Stricter Anti-Child Abuse Laws
Demonstrators gather in Sükhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, to protest against child abuse.
In Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar, thousands of peaceful demonstrators gathered outside parliament on March 31 to urge lawmakers to take greater action against child abuse, reports Reuters.
Earlier in March, news outlets including theUB Post reported on the sexual assault of a minor in the southeastern Dornogovi province. The “shocking and disturbing” case drew widespread attention and led a group of seven mothers to organize the demonstration. These mothers created a Facebook group to publicly announce the event and over 400,000 people joined.
One demonstrator, Chuluunbaatar Odgerel, said, “Everyone was posting and writing on social media, saying that they are against abuse and sexual harassment. But we didn’t want to just write or post. Even though we had no experience organizing a protest… we decided to do it because our intentions were clear and true,” reports WIO News.
Holding up signs emblazoned with slogans such as “Our Children, Our Future” and “Every Little Beating Heart Must Be Happy,” activists united under the theme “No More Tolerance,” Montsame reported.
Several celebrities, including Olympic medalists D. Sumiya and D. Otgondalai, came to show their support. Also present were members of the national “Open Your Eyes” movement, which staged multiple protests in late 2017 to raise awareness about violence against women and children, according to the UB Post.
The “No More Tolerance” marchers addressed their message to the Parliament, the Cabinet, and the President. Organizers reported that over 15,000 people had signed a written petition listing the group’s demands, which was then delivered to the government on April 2, Reuters reported.
In addition to stronger implementation of existing laws and stricter penalties for offenders, some demonstrators also pressed the government to provide improved support services for survivors. On the Facebook page, others called for the creation of better sexual health education and abuse prevention programs in schools.
In an open letter, President Khaltmaa Battulga wrote that many citizens had recently asked him to tighten the punishment for child abusers. The organizers of “No More Tolerance” do not support the death penalty, but some members of the group have advocated for restricted use.
Mongolia formally abolished capital punishment when its revised Criminal Code went into effect on July 1, 2017, according to Amnesty International. In recent months, Battalga has worked toward partially restoring the death penalty in cases of child sexual abuse, cruelty, and murder.
Identifying child abuse as an “urgent problem in our society,” Battalga submitted an official proposal regarding the reinstatement to the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs on November 27, 2017, but has not received a response.
At the commencement of the Parliament’s spring session on April 5, Battalga announced that he will soon submit a draft law to the Parliament. He also invited the public to share their opinions with the Office of the President.
Aside from the main demonstration in Ulaanbaatar, similar protests have taken place in fourteen other Mongolian provinces, as well as countries around the globe including Hungary, Sweden, the U.S., and France.