Competing Discourses in the Child Protection System in Kyrgyzstan: Implications for Redressing Gender Violence Against Girls

This paper explores competing discourses within state-sponsored social protection practices in Kyrgyzstan paying particular attention to how gender equality is integrated into the everyday work of professionals. Using Dorothy Smith’s institutional ethnography framework, this article’s analysis focuses on the invisible ruling processes dominating local activities and on prevailing narratives about the family, the state, and the roles of women and men therein. Primary data included 60 in-depth interviews with representatives of state-funded institutions whose mandates comprise guaranteeing safe and violence-free lives for children and adolescents. Findings suggest that protection services are influenced by pervasive discourses that reflect dominant conventions about femininity, masculinity, family, and the nation. The prevailing cultural ideal of a strong Kyrgyz family works to place the primary responsibility for a child’s upbringing and behavior on families and not the state. When such discourse is applied to victims of gender-based violence against girls, child victims are left outside of the protection system, become invisible to it, and ultimately remain marginalized. Front-line professionals use hybrid approaches to navigate multiple discourses, extend their work responsibilities and hours, and use their own resources to resist injustice. Yet these practices are fragmented and unsustainable. Moreover, they support the dominant patriarchal narratives and ultimately work to disempower the workers and the children involved.