New city, new home, and new surname: The state will provide assistance to the family of the little girl from Namangan

27 September 2026, 15:46·63·Society

At a time when the heinous crime committed against a 5-year-old girl in a kindergarten in the Namangan region has deeply shocked the public, unprecedentedly decisive and humane measures have been announced by the state to protect the victimized innocent child and her family. According to Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva, First Deputy Director of the National Agency for Social Protection, a comprehensive assistance package will be provided by the state to help the victim of the tragedy and her relatives start a new life.

According to the plan, the family will be immediately relocated to another safe city, provided with new housing, and comprehensive medical and psychological rehabilitation courses will be organized for the girl and her family members. In addition, the girl's mother will be placed in a suitable job and assisted in continuing her education. To ensure the family's security and future peace, it was stated that if necessary, their surnames will also be completely changed in a legal manner. "Most importantly, all conditions will be created for the child and her relatives to start a new life in a safe environment," emphasized Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva.

"Another city, a new home, and changing the surname": 5 main points of the state support package

The most important facts of the comprehensive measures announced by the National Agency for Social Protection:

Relocation to a safe city and a new home: The family will be removed from the environment and pressure where the incident took place in the kindergarten and provided with housing equipped with all amenities in another region;
Full psychological and medical rehabilitation: A recovery program with the participation of professional specialists will be launched for the girl who suffered violence and her relatives;
Providing the mother with a job and education: To guarantee the financial independence of the family, the mother's education and professional activities will be guaranteed by the state;
Changing personal data and surname: The surname of the victimized family may be changed to prevent them from facing social stigma and psychological pressure in the future;
A new mechanism in the "witness protection" format: For the first time in the history of Uzbekistan, a full reintegration model at the state level is being applied for a family that is a victim of child violence.

Support for victimized families: Comparison of traditional assistance and the newly introduced special mechanism

Comparative analysis of state measures taken regarding the situation in Namangan:

Directions and criteria	Standard approaches previously applied	Special measures being provided for the family in Namangan
Place of residence and security	The family remained in their place of residence, with local-level supervision	Relocation to another safe city and allocation of new housing
Mental and medical recovery	Short-term consultations and one-time medical assistance	Continuous and complete rehabilitation course under state supervision
Economic support for the family	Allowances or one-time financial aid	Providing employment for the mother and assisting the educational system
Personal inviolability and confidentiality	Often, neighborhood gossip and psychological pressure persisted	Guarantee of completely changing the family's surname if necessary
Action strategy	Limiting actions only to punishing the criminal	Reintegrating the victim into society and creating a safe environment

Legal and socio-psychological expertise: Why is changing the surname and city a crucial step?

Conclusions of child rights experts, criminologists, and psychologists:

"Overcoming secondary victimization and public pressure": Innocent victims of sexual violence and their relatives often remain surrounded by misconceptions, excessive questions, and whispers in their places of residence, facing severe psychological pressure (stigmatization); changing the city and surname gives the family the opportunity to start a new and safe life with a "clean slate";
Raising state protection to an institutional level: Victim and witness protection programs widely used in developed countries (housing, documents, and employment) are reaching a new stage in Uzbek practice specifically in the field of child protection;
Personal initiative of Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva: The open and resolute position of the National Agency for Social Protection at this level is a precedent proving that the state not only punishes criminals but also assumes full responsibility for the future fate of the injured citizen.

In your opinion, should the practice of relocating children who have suffered severe violence and their families to another region and changing their personal data be legally established for all such cases in our country? What further attention and responsibility must our society show to guarantee the healthy upbringing of victimized innocents? Leave your personal thoughts in the comments and widely share this important analysis dedicated to human dignity and child protection!