RAPID GENDERASSESSMENT
ON THE IMPACT
VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMENTECHNICAL REPORT - KYRGYZSTAN SURVEY FIELDWORKAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

1 Introduction
Prompted by strong concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the risk of different forms ofviolence against women and girls, particularly intimate partner/domestic violence, and realizing the need tocollect reliable data that are in line with methodological, safety and ethical standards, UN Womencommissioned Ipsos to conduct a study on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s well-being and safety in 13
countries across several regions all over the world. The participating countries were Albania, Bangladesh,
Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand andUkraine.
The core objectives of the study were to:•collect data on the impacts of COVID-19 on violence against women in low- and middle-income
countries.

•

strengthen measurement and methodologies for violence against women data collection and use.

•strengthen available knowledge on all forms of violence against women and improve capacities tocollect, analyse and use data on violence against women in accordance with globally agreed
methodological, safety and ethical standards.

•

inform where the policy and programmatic response of UN Women should focus and support
UN system-wide efforts to scale up actions to address violence against women in the context of
COVID-19.

The following groups contributed to the project’s management and execution:1.

the UN Women project team, comprising statisticians, researchers and policy specialists;

2. the Technical Advisory Group – an external reference group established by UN Women to provide
independent technical advice and expertise to the project;
3. the Ipsos project team involved in the set-up and delivery of the study; and4. national fieldwork partners.

1

Methodology of the study
Target group
TimingData collection method
Sampling approach
Sample Size

Questionnaire lengthand type

Women aged 18 +•Two-phased approach: Phase I (four countries) took place May–June 2021;
Phase II (nine countries) took place August–September 2021

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)•

Random probability sampling with monitoring of quota on age and region•

Random-digit dialling to mobile sample frames•

1,200 women aged 18+ per country•

Target duration of max. 20 minutes•

No open-ended answers•

Informed consent asked to each participant at the beginning of the interview•

Awareness of safety, privacy and confidentiality of women respondents•

Guided by the “do no harm” principle applicable to the women respondents
and the interviewers/research team•The questionnaire was adapted in each country by localizing characters’
names and cultural references (i.e., popular food, music, sports).

ScriptingCentral scripting in software applications - iField and Dimensions

Language

At least one main language per country

The country chapters provide information on the set-up of the data collection process (obtaining of ethicalclearance, sampling and translation), description of the fieldwork, main characteristics of the achieved
sample by several indicators (age group, region, area type, educational attainment), technical information(interview duration, contact outcomes, screen-outs, temporary interview suspension at safety questions,survey dropouts, use of safety word, and item non-response), key field observations and relevant lessons
and recommendations.

22 Country information
2.1

Kyrgyzstan

2.1.1 Obtaining ethical clearance
UN Women sought general support or tacit approval for the study from the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz
Republic. A ‘no objection’ signed by the Deputy Minister of Health was granted on 29 June 2021 in support ofthe project.

2.1.2 Sampling plan
A single-frame cell-phone random-digit dialling (RDD) survey design was used to reach a nationally
representative sample of women aged 18+. The sample mirrored the telephone database distribution (framesize) by provider.1 The gross (unscreened) sample included numbers for each of the providers in the country
to the same proportions as in the frame size. In 2019, 135% of the population had a mobile subscription.2
Of the 56,100,000 numbers available in the sample frame, 8,622,5653 (15%) were expected to be working
numbers (based on cell subscriptions in 2019). The sample was pulsed, meaning that a signal was sent to
the randomly generated phone number to verify if the number existed (i.e., if connection could beachieved). The upfront pulsing of the gross sample closely reflected the market shares of the different
operators (in terms of subscriptions). The sample was also screened against business registers to exclude
numbers that were used by companies. Further details on the sampling frame are provided in section 2.4.1of the main technical report.
To ensure a representative sample, quotas were set on age (18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60+) and region(first-level administrative division), using the following statistical sources:•

Age: National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (population at beginning of year, 2021)4•

Region: National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Demographic Yearbook of the Kyrgyz
Republic 2015–2019.5

2.1.3 Translation
The questionnaire was translated into Russian and Kyrgyz. The translation procedure is explained in moredetail in section 2.5.3 of the main technical report.

1 7 Mobile 2,000,000; Alfa Telecom 15,100,000; Nur Telecom 17,000,000; Sky Mobile 22,000,000.
2 Calculations made using 2019 World Bank data.
3 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS?end=2019&locations=KG&start=2019
4 http://www.stat.kg/en/statistics/naselenie/
5 http://www.stat.kg/ru/publications/demograficheskij-ezhegodnik-kyrgyzskoj-respubliki/3

No issues related to equivalence (conceptual equivalence, semantic equivalence, etc.) were encounteredduring translation.
The questionnaire required localization for several items in the text of the questions and answers, including
widely known, yet neutral in meaning, male and female names, which were used in the vignettes in the
Safety Section of the survey. In Kyrgyzstan, the male name used was Айбек and the female, Айгерим.

2.1.4 Fieldwork period
Fieldwork took place between 19 August and 19 September 2021. The local team experienced a slower startduring the first week of fieldwork, which contributed to a higher than usual number of non-active numbersin the sample. Therefore, the Central Coordinating Team requested the sample provider to re-examine theprovided sample. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that a blockage in the system of the sample
provider did not allow for the proper identification of all inactive numbers. This was promptly fixed, and thesample provider prepared a new batch of contacts, which was shared with the local team who continued
their work without further experiencing such problems. The team continued its work with 20 interviewers
and managed to make better progress over the following three weeks of fieldwork. The fieldwork paused on
30 and 31 August, due to bank holidays – Victory Day and Independence Day. The local team’s progress slowed
down during the last week of fieldwork, once they had mostly met their quotas for easier-to-reach groups,
and their focus shifted more towards achieving interviews with harder-to-reach groups, including women in
the 60+ age group. Therefore, the fieldwork had to be extended by a week and Kyrgyzstan reached thetargeted number of responses on 19 September.

2.1.5 Achieved sample
In total, 1,201 valid interviews were completed in Kyrgyzstan. In general, the distribution of the sample acrossage groups was in line with the targets, with the exception of the 18–29 and 60+ age groups, where thenumber of the completed interviews was 3 percentage points each, lower than the set target.
Table 1: Achieved sample, by age group (Kyrgyzstan)Age group

TargetTarget %Completed(unweighted)

Completed %(unweighted)

Weighted %6

Difference
unweighted %vs. target %7

Difference
weighted %vs. target %

18–29

351

29%

315

26%

29%

-3%

0%

30–39

290

24%

325

27%

24%

3%

0%

40–49

200

17%

230

19%

17%

2%

0%

50–59

174

14%

187

16%

15%

1%

0%

60+

185

15%

144

12%

15%

-3%

0%

The regional targets were met for all regions except Jalal-Abad (1 percentage point less than the original
target) and Osh (5 percentage points less than the original target).

6 Weighting procedures are discussed in more detail in section 4.4.2 of the main technical report.
7 The figures in this column reflect the actual difference of the unweighted and target percentages. Any variations are caused by the rounding up of
the percentages in the table.

4

Table 2: Achieved sample, by region (Kyrgyzstan)Completed %(unweighted)

Weighted %Difference
unweighted %vs. target %8

Difference
weighted %vs. target %RegionTargetTarget %Completed(unweighted)

Bishkek City

225

19%

236

20%

19%

1%

0%

Osh City

61

5%

66

5%

5%

0%

0%

Batken

92

8%

106

9%

8%

1%

0%

Chui

185

15%

213

18%

15%

2%

0%

Jalal-Abad

218

18%

201

17%

18%

-1%

0%

Naryn

50

4%

61

5%

4%

1%

0%

Osh

234

19%

178

15%

19%

-5%

0%

Talas

45

4%

43

4%

4%

0%

0%

Issyk-Kul

91

8%

97

8%

8%

0%

0%

The distribution across rural (56,5%) and urban (43.5%) areas (as self-reported by respondents) was relatively
close to data from the World Bank that estimate a total rural population of 63%.9
Table 3: Achieved sample, by area type (Kyrgyzstan)Area

Completed (unweighted)

Completed % (unweighted)

Weighted %

Urban

523

43.5%

41.8%

Rural

678

56.5%

58.2%

About one in ten respondents had completed primary school or had no formal education, while over a halfof the respondents had completed secondary school or attended technical or vocational training. Almost 4
in 10 respondents had attended a tertiary education programme.
Table 4: Achieved sample, by educational attainment (Kyrgyzstan)
Education level

Completed (unweighted)

Completed % (unweighted)

Weighted %No formal education

2

0%

0%

Completed primary school

107

9%

9%

Completed secondary school

433

36%

37%

Technical & vocational training

204

17%

17%

Completed university/college

449

37%

37%

Completed post-graduate

5

0%

0%

Don't know

0

0%

0%

Refused00%0%

8 The figures in this column reflect the actual difference of the unweighted and target percentages. Any variations are caused by the rounding up of
the percentages in the table.
9 World Bank Data. 2018. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?end=2020&start=2018&year_high_desc=true

5

2.1.6 Quality control and data processing
No interviews were removed from the Kyrgyzstan sample because they did not meet the quality criteria interms of length, straight-lining and/or item non-response. The local team was ultimately very precise in theinterviewing process. (Section 4.4 of the main technical report provides a detailed description of theimplemented quality control procedures and how data were processed).

2.1.7 Technical information
The interview duration almost perfectly matched the envisaged length of 20 minutes, at 19.62 minutes on
average (compared with a mean of 23 minutes across the nine countries).
Table 5: Interview duration (Kyrgyzstan)
MeanMedianStandard deviation

19.62

18.98

4.56

The response rate in Kyrgyzstan was 8%, calculated by using the first American Association for Public Opinion
Research (AAPOR) definition of response rate – that is, the number of complete interviews divided by the
number of interviews (complete plus partial) plus the number of non-interviews (refusal and break-off plus
non-contacts plus others) plus all cases of unknown eligibility (unknown if housing unit, plus unknown,other).10
The table below shows the incidence of each outcome code.
Table 6: Contact outcomes (Kyrgyzstan)
Contact outcomesCount% of all outcomes

Fixed appointment

5,144

20%

Soft appointment

10%

Incomplete interview with call-back to resume later00%

Telephone answering device / voicemail / message service

2,548

10%

Busy / engaged

441

2%

No answer

1,664

7%

Complete

1,201

5%

Screen-out

8,389

33%

Incomplete interview with no call-back (terminated)

3,118

12%

Immediate refusal (before eligibility of respondent has been confirmed)

453

2%

Refusal by eligible respondent (after eligibility of respondent has been confirmed,
but before the actual interview started)

271

1%

Respondent never available for appointment

00%

10 AAPOR. 2015. Standard Definitions. https://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/Standard-Definitions2015_8thEd.pdf

6

Deceased respondent00%

Respondent physically or mentally unable / incompetent

240%Respondent or household language problem

218

1%

Call blocking / barring / do not call list

00%

Fax / data line / modem / pager

00%

Non-working / disconnected / dead / bad number

1,497

6%

Non-residential number (business, government office, other organization)

72

0%

Technical issue / CATI system error

56

0%

The table below provides an overview of specific call outcomes (completed interview, partial interview, andrefusals) by the time of the day (morning, afternoon, evening) and the day of the week. The figures should
be interpreted with caution, as they do not reflect the percentage out of all contact attempts performed
during this time/on that day, but the split of these specific outcomes across the time of the day/day of theweek. Feedback from the field team on the best time and the best day to obtain an interview is provided in
section 2.1.8.
Table 7: Call outcome, by time of the day and day of the week (Kyrgyzstan)

SundayMondayTuesday

WednesdayThursdayFridayCompleted interviews

Partial interviews

Refusals

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Morning

32

3%

10

3%

1

8%

Afternoon

85

7%

12

4%

0

0%

Evening

24

2%

2

1%

0

0%

Morning

37

3%

7

2%

0

0%

Afternoon

99

8%

22

8%

3

25%

Evening

26

2%

7

2%

0

0%

Morning

21

2%

7

2%

0

0%

Afternoon

65

5%

9

3%

1

8%

Evening

16

1%

8

3%

0

0%

Morning

47

4%

8

3%

1

8%

Afternoon

98

8%

30

10%

0

0%

Evening

25

2%

8

3%

0

0%

Morning

35

3%

11

4%

0

0%

Afternoon

124

10%

24

8%

3

25%

Evening

39

3%

12

4%

0

0%

Morning

48

4%

15

5%

1

8%

7

Saturday

Afternoon

134

11%

29

10%

0

0%

Evening

45

4%

15

5%

0

0%

Morning

41

3%

18

6%

1

8%

Afternoon

124

10%

25

9%

1

8%

Evening

36

3%

9

3%

0

0%

Almost 50% of the sample called were men and so screened out at the very beginning of the survey. This is
generally in line with the share of screened out men in more than half of the countries in the study. Five percent of the sample were screened out because they were younger than 18, while 0.4% were screened out
because they did not want to participate. The respondents who were screened out because they did notunderstand the purpose of the survey and because they did not understand the confidentiality measures
were 0.1% each.
Table 8: Screen-outs (Kyrgyzstan)
Question

AnswerCount% of total answered

S3

Sex: Male

2,209

49.3%

S4_1

Age: Below 18 years

134

5%

S1

Willing to participate: No

12

0.4%

S6

Understand purpose: No

2

0.1%

S7

Understand confidentiality: No

2

0.1%

The interview was temporarily discontinued in 49 cases because the respondent answered “no” to one of thefour ‘safety’ questions (listed in Table 9 below). This number is similar to the results in Colombia but higher
than the number of temporary interview suspensions in Bangladesh, Jordan, Morocco, Cameroon and Kenya.
Table 9: Temporary interview suspension due to responses at safety questions (Kyrgyzstan)
Question

AnswerCount% of total
answeredS2

Can you let me know if the speaker phone is off? No

16

0.9%

S5

Can you confirm if now is a good time? No

22

1.3%

B01

Can you confirm that there is no one around you over the age of two thatcan overhear our conversation? No

8

0.6%

C18

Alternatively, if someone over two is listening to our call or is nearby that
can hear, please say no. No

3

0.2%

Two hundred eighty-nine respondents dropped out of the survey. The table below shows the questions at
which the dropouts occurred.

8

Table 10: Survey dropouts, by question (Kyrgyzstan)

Question

Question text

No. ofparticipants
dropped out% of total
dropouts

S11

Great. If you don’t have any further questions we can proceed. Now
we just need a bit more information about you. Would you consider
the area you live in to be urban or rural?

3

1.0%

A01

What is your marital status?

27

9.3%

A07_ASKHow many of the people living in your household are aged 0–17?

19

6.6%

A08_ASKHow many of the people living in your household are men aged
18 or over?

17

5.9%

A06

How many people, including yourself, live in your household?

17

5.9%

A02

What is the highest level of education that you completed?

7

2.4%

A03

Which of the following best describes what you mainly do each
day…?

6

2.1%

A04

In addition to this, do you do any activity that generates an income,even if only for a few hours a week?

3

1.0%

A04_1

Would you say that the money that you earn is…

2

0.7%

A05

Do you have difficulty doing any of the following – walking, seeing(even when wearing glasses), hearing (even with hearing
assistance), remembering or concentrating, self-caring orcommunicating?

4

1.4%

A11

Has your household’s income changed at all since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic?

8

2.8%

A12

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack ofmoney or other resources, you or others in your household…

16

5.5%

B02

I would now like to ask you some questions about your thoughts
and feelings since the onset of the COVID-19 situation. How often
have you been bothered by the following problems since the onsetof the COVID-19 situation? Please answer with: not at all, several
days, more than half the days, or nearly every day.

25

8.7%

B04

Overall, would you say your own mental or emotional health (e.g.,stress, anxiety, confidence, etc.) has been affected AS A RESULT OF
THE COVID-19 SITUATION?

7

2.4%

C02

To what extent, if at all, do you feel safe when walking alone during
the day in the area where you live?

11

3.8%

C03

To what extent, if at all, do you feel safe when walking alone atnight in the area where you live?

11

3.8%

C04

How, if at all, has your feeling of safety while walking alone at nightchanged SINCE THE ONSET OF COVID-19?

5

1.7%

9

Question

Question text

No. ofparticipants
dropped out% of total
dropouts

C07

To what extent do you think that physical harm, abuse, orharassment of women is a problem in the area where you live?

9

3.1%

C08

How, if at all, do you think physical harm, abuse, or harassment of
women in the area where you live have changed SINCE COVID-19?

8

2.8%

C10

How common do you think this type of situation is for women in
the area where you live?

4

1.4%

C11

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better,worse or the same for [Scripter: insert Female name] from thisstory?

6

2.1%

C12

Do you think [Scripter: insert Female name] would seek help for thissituation?

2

0.7%

C14

How common do you think this type of situation is for women in
the area where you live?

12

4.2%

C15

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better,worse or the same for [Scripter: insert Female name] from this story
in terms of her feelings of safety?

9

3.1%

C16

Do you think [Scripter: insert Female name] would seek help for thissituation?

3

1.0%

C19

When people live together in the same household, they usuallyshare both good and bad moments. And it is normal for people wholive together to have arguments. How often in the last six months
would you say that adults in your household have argued or have
had some sort of conflict among themselves?

11

3.8%

C21

In the last six months, did you ever feel unsafe in your home?

2

0.7%

C22

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better,worse or the same in terms of how safe you feel in your home?

2

0.7%

C23

Why do you feel unsafe in your home?

3

1.0%

C24

How often, if at all, did you go out of your house by yourself in thelast month?

2

0.7%

C25

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has limited yourinteractions with your friends and social groups, such as seeing or
speaking to them?

2

0.7%

10

Question

Question text

No. ofparticipants
dropped out% of total
dropouts

C28A_

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard astrue:
1.I prefer [LOCAL FOOD ONE] to [LOCAL FOOD TWO]
2.I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN LOCAL MUSICIAN, BUT NOT ONE
EVERYONE LIKES]
3.I have been slapped or hit by my husband or partner BEFORE THE
ONSET OF COVID-19
4. Women in my family enjoy watching [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].

7

2.4%

C28B

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard astrue:
1. People in my family have played [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].
2. I have been slapped or hit by my husband or partner AFTER THE
ONSET OF COVID-19
3. I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN TV SHOW, BUT NOT ONE
EVERYONE LIKES]
4. I prefer [LOCAL FOOD THREE] to [LOCAL FOOD FOUR]

1

0.3%

C28_2

INTERVIEWER: PLEASE ASSESS WHETHER YOU THINK THE
RESPONDENT UNDERSTOOD HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION.
FOR INSTANCE, DID THE RESPONDENT ASK FOR INSTRUCTIONS TO
BE REPEATED? DID THEY TAKE A LONG TIME TO ANSWER? DID THEYSEEM UNSURE?

1

0.3%

C29B

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard astrue:
1. People in my family have played [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].
2. I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN TV SHOW, BUT NOT ONE
EVERYONE LIKES]
3. I prefer [LOCAL FOOD THREE] to [LOCAL FOOD FOUR]
98. Don’t know
99. Refused

1

0.3%

C30

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any
other women you know may have experienced. For each situation,please tell if you or any other women you know have experienced
this only before the start of COVID-19, only since the start of COVID19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not at all. Pleaselisten carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.

9

3.1%

C31

Are any of the following support services available for women inyour community?

4

1.4%

Total

289

100%

11

As previously explained and as part of the safety protocols, respondents were given a safe word, a specificpopular local food (PLF), that they could use if they were disturbed by a third party or otherwise felt unsafe
at any point during the interview. In the Kyrgyzstan, the food used (in both the Kyrgyz and Russian versionsof the questionnaire) was “Плов”. It was used six times during the course of fieldwork. The table below
shows the questions at which this occurred.
Table 11: Use of popular local food, per question (Kyrgyzstan)
Question

Question text

PLF mentioned

S6

What region in [COUNTRY] do you live in?

1

A07

How many of the people living in your household are aged 0–17?

1

A11

Has your household’s income changed at all since the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic?

1

C02

To what extent, if at all, do you feel safe when walking alone during the day in thearea where you live?

1

C10

How common do you think this type of situation is for women in the area where you
live?

1

C16

Do you think [Scripter: insert Female name] would seek help for this situation?

1

Total

6

In terms of item non-response (INR), this varied across the survey but was highest at C11 (16.3%). This can be
explained with a possible uncertainty on the side of respondents when trying to estimate the effect of
COVID-19 vis-à-vis the situations described in the vignettes in the questionnaire. The item non-response at
C11 in the Kyrgyz Republic was higher than the average for this question in phase I (6%) and phase II countries(less than 5%). Other questions with high INR were C15 (14.20%), C10 (11.10%) and C08 (9.80%) – most of which
are linked to the vignettes included in the questionnaire.
Table 12: Item non-response (Kyrgyzstan)
Question

Question text

Item nonresponse

A01

What is your marital status?

8.00%

A07

How many of the people living in your household are aged 0–17?

0.10%

A08

How many of the people living in your household are men aged 18 or over?

0.20%

A02

What is the highest level of education that you completed?

0.10%

A03

Which of the following best describes what you mainly do each day…?

0.10%

A04_1

Would you say that the money that you earn is…

0.40%

A05

Do you have difficulty doing any of the following – walking, seeing (even when
wearing glasses), hearing (even with hearing assistance), remembering orconcentrating, self-caring, or communicating?

0.10%

A11

Has your household’s income changed at all since the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic?

1.40%

12

A12_2

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack of money or otherresources, you or others in your household…
2. were unable to eat healthy and nutritious food?

0.20%

A12_3

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack of money or otherresources, you or others in your household…
3. ate only a few kinds of food?

0.20%

A12_5

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack of money or otherresources, you or others in your household…
5. ate less than you thought you should?

0.20%

A12_7

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack of money or otherresources, you or others in your household…
7. were hungry but did not eat?

0.20%

A12_8

During the last month, was there a time when, because of lack of money or otherresources, you or others in your household…
8. went without eating for a whole day?

0.10%

B02_1

I would now like to ask you some questions about your thoughts and feelings
since the onset of the COVID-19 situation. How often have you been bothered by
the following problems since the onset of the COVID-19 situation? Please answer
with: not at all, several days, more than half the days, or nearly every day.
1. Not being able to stop or control worrying

0.70%

B02_2

I would now like to ask you some questions about your thoughts and feelings
since the onset of the COVID-19 situation. How often have you been bothered by
the following problems since the onset of the COVID-19 situation? Please answer
with: not at all, several days, more than half the days, or nearly every day.
2. Having little interest or pleasure in doing things

0.90%

B02_3

I would now like to ask you some questions about your thoughts and feelings
since the onset of the COVID-19 situation. How often have you been bothered by
the following problems since the onset of the COVID-19 situation? Please answer
with: not at all, several days, more than half the days, or nearly every day.
3. Feeling down, depressed or hopeless

0.40%

B04

Overall, would you say your own mental or emotional health (e.g., stress, anxiety,confidence, etc.) has been affected AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION?

0.80%

C02

To what extent, if at all, do you feel safe when walking alone during the day in thearea where you live?

1.00%

C03

To what extent, if at all, do you feel safe when walking alone at night in the area
where you live?

7.20%

C04

How, if at all, has your feeling of safety while walking alone at night changed
SINCE THE ONSET OF COVID-19?

6.30%

C07

To what extent do you think that physical harm, abuse, or harassment of womenis a problem in the area where you live?

8.80%

C08

How, if at all, do you think physical harm, abuse, or harassment of women in thearea where you live have changed SINCE COVID-19?

9.80%

13

C10

How common do you think this type of situation is for women in the area where
you live?

11.10%

C11

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better, worse or thesame for [Scripter: insert Female name] from this story?

16.30%C12

Do you think [Scripter: insert Female name] would seek help for this situation?

8.00%

C13

Who would [Scripter: insert Female name] most likely seek help from?

1.20%

C14

How common do you think this type of situation is for women in the area where
you live?

8.60%

C15

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better, worse or thesame for [Scripter: insert Female name] from this story in terms of her feelings ofsafety?

14.20%C16

Do you think [Scripter: insert Female name] would seek help for this situation?

5.30%

C17

Who would [Scripter: insert Female name] most likely seek help from?

1.20%

C19

When people live together in the same household, they usually share both goodand bad moments. And it is normal for people who live together to havearguments. How often in the last six months would you say that adults in yourhousehold have argued or have had some sort of conflict among themselves?

0.70%

C20

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made conflict between adults inyour household more frequent, less frequent or about the same?

0.50%

C21

In the last six months, did you ever feel unsafe in your home?

0.10%

C22

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has made things better, worse or thesame in terms of how safe you feel in your home?

0.30%

C23_1

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 1. I have a serious medical condition or
disability and feel vulnerable

0.10%

C23_2

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 2. My shelter is insecure from external
threats (e.g., there are no locks on my front door)

0.10%

C23_3

Why do you feel unsafe in your home?
3. I am unable to communicate/reach out for help

0.10%

C23_4_Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 4. I am living with people I cannot trust

0.20%

C23_5

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 5. There is substance abuse (e.g., alcoholor drugs) in the household

0.10%

C23_6

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 6. There is physical violence or threats ofphysical violence in my home

0.10%

C23_7

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 7. There is verbal abuse in my home

0.10%

C23_8

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 8. Other adults in the household have hurt
me

0.10%

C23_9

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 9. Other women in the household havebeen hurt

0.10%

C23_10Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 10. Children in the household have been
hurt

0.10%

14

C23_11

Why do you feel unsafe in your home? 11. Something else

0.10%

C24

How often, if at all, did you go out of your house by yourself in the last month?

0.70%

C25

Would you say the situation of COVID-19 has limited your interactions with yourfriends and social groups, such as seeing or speaking to them?

0.20%

C28A

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard as true:
1. I prefer [LOCAL FOOD ONE] to [LOCAL FOOD TWO]
2. I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN LOCAL MUSICIAN, BUT NOT ONE EVERYONE
LIKES]
3. I have been slapped or hit by my husband or partner BEFORE THE ONSET OF
COVID-19
4. Women in my family enjoy watching [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].

1.50%

C28B

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard as true:
1. People in my family have played [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].
2. I have been slapped or hit by my husband or partner AFTER THE ONSET OF
COVID-19
3. I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN TV SHOW, BUT NOT ONE EVERYONE LIKES]
4. I prefer [LOCAL FOOD THREE] to [LOCAL FOOD FOUR]

1.20%

C29A

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard as true:

0.90%

C29B

Please tell me how many of the following statements you regard as true:
1. People in my family have played [POPULAR LOCAL SPORT].
2. I like [NAME OF WELL-KNOWN TV SHOW, BUT NOT ONE EVERYONE LIKES]
3. I prefer [LOCAL FOOD THREE] to [LOCAL FOOD FOUR]
98. Don’t know
99. Refused

0.50%

C30_1

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any other women
you know may have experienced. For each situation, please tell if you or any other
women you know have experienced this only before the start of COVID-19, only
since the start of COVID-19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not atall. Please listen carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.
1. Been slapped, hit, kicked, had things thrown at them, or other physical harm

1.30%

C30_2

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any other women
you know may have experienced. For each situation, please tell if you or any other
women you know have experienced this only before the start of COVID-19, only
since the start of COVID-19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not atall. Please listen carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.
2. Been yelled at, called names, humiliated

1.70%

C30_3

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any other women
you know may have experienced. For each situation, please tell if you or any other
women you know have experienced this only before the start of COVID-19, only
since the start of COVID-19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not atall. Please listen carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.
3. Had resources (like healthcare) or basic needs (like money, food, water, shelter)denied

3.30%

C30_4

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any other women
you know may have experienced. For each situation, please tell if you or any other

2.50%

15

women you know have experienced this only before the start of COVID-19, only
since the start of COVID-19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not atall. Please listen carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.
4. Been forced to stay alone for long period of time or denied communication withother people

C30_5

Now I’m going to ask you about some situations that you or any other women
you know may have experienced. For each situation, please tell if you or any other
women you know have experienced this only before the start of COVID-19, only
since the start of COVID-19, both before and since the start of COVID-19, or not atall. Please listen carefully and just answer “yes” or “no” for each question I ask.
5. Been the subject of inappropriate jokes, suggestive comments, leering, or
unwelcome touch/kisses

0.80%

C31_1

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
1. Information about security/crime prevention

6.30%

C31_2

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
2. Access to basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing

6.20%

C31_3

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
3. Medical support

2.50%

C31_4

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
4. Someone to talk to like professional mental health experts

8.10%

C31_5

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
5. Legal support or help in reporting the incident or dealing with police

7.70%

C31_6

Are any of the following support services available for women in yourcommunity?
6. Financial support

7.30%

S12

And as a final question, I would like to know if you have another mobile phone
number besides the one I am calling you on? IF YES: How many other mobile
phone numbers do you have?

1.00%

2.1.8 Field observations
This section describes the observations made by the field managers and interviewers in the course of
fieldwork. The observations relate to the most productive days for fieldwork, the main reasons for refusal totake part in the survey; challenges of reaching certain age groups, and the clarity of terms, concepts andquestions, among other topics. The observations effectively complement the fieldwork statistics included in
the previous section, providing a more nuanced picture of the fieldwork experience.
•

According to the field team, the best days of the week to reach respondents were Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays. As far as specific time of the day is concerned, participants in the survey
seemed to be more responsive in the afternoon, after 1 pm.
16•

The main reasons for refusals to take part in the survey were fear of a risk of collection of personal
information and the length of the interview. Another reason often cited by respondents who did
not want to participate in the survey was lack of willingness to spend one’s personal time on theinterview.

•

The oldest age group (60+) was less represented in the RDD sample frame. The field team also had
the impression that when women in this age group refused to take part in the survey they did so
because they found the expected length of the survey too long, or because they were not interested
in the study at all.

•

The (telephone) data-collection method was perceived as appropriate. Interviewers encounteredboth respondents who were enthusiastic and positive towards the telephone survey, andrespondents who hung up the phone in the middle of the interview mostly irritated by the length of
the survey.

In terms of observations relating to the survey questionnaire:•

Regarding specific questions, the field team reported that some of the respondents had difficulty
identifying their region of residence. Upon further inspection of the issue, it was established thatthe share of such respondents was very small (0.5% of all respondents) and they were mainly
concentrated in the regions of Chui, Bishkek, Osh and Jalal-Abad. The interviewers helped such
respondents to correctly identify their region; for example, by probing first on their district. Asidefrom this demographic question no other question in the main survey proved difficult for the
respondents.

•

In the case of some of the more sensitive questions in the survey referring to indirect experiences ofviolence against women, some of the women tended to sound more shy while answering them but
the interviewers were trained to make the respondents feel comfortable while taking the survey sothis was not an issue.

•

Most of the respondents used the popular local food safe word correctly. However, some womenused it as a polite way to finish the survey faster whenever they were pressed for time or lacked
motivation to continue to the end of the questionnaire.

2.1.9 Lessons learned and recommendations
This section draws upon the fieldwork statistics and observations outlined in the previous sections to provide
recommendations for future surveys on violence against women in Kyrgyzstan. Specifically, whether remote
data collection can be considered as an appropriate approach to develop an evidence base on perceptions
and incidence.
•

CATI and the use of a single-frame cell phone RDD design worked well in Kyrgyzstan and theresearchers recommend considering this approach for future data collection activities on VAW. Thatsaid, older women (60+) and those living in certain regions (Jalal-Abad, Osh and Talas) were moredifficult than other groups to reach with the RDD sample. This should be reflected in the time
dedicated to active data collection in future surveys with age- and region-based quotas. A longer
fieldwork period would help to ensure the quotas are achieved. In the case of a face-to-face17

approach, a longer fieldwork period would be absolutely necessary owing to the extra time requiredfor physical visits to prospective respondents’ homes.
•

Given the issue experienced with the initial sample batch in the very beginning of the mainstage
fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, the researchers also recommend that additional checks are performed bysample providers on the numbers in the sample to avoid a high occurrence of non-active numbers.

•

Given the field team’s observations that the latter part of the working week was the mostproductive period for fieldwork, the researchers recommend allocating more interviewers to datacollection via CATI during these days as an extra measure whenever fieldwork progresses to its final
stages and reaching outstanding quotas becomes more challenging. By providing thisrecommendation, the researchers remain mindful of the need to avoid skewing the sample byinterviewing only the most easy-to-reach women.

•

Following the survey pilot in Kyrgyzstan, the field team noted that many respondents had
expressed a wish to skip back to previous questions in the survey in order to change answers they
had given. Accordingly, a back button (allowing for a return to the previous question only) was
introduced for the mainstage fieldwork for interviewers to use as needed. However, in the processof the fieldwork it became clear that this adjustment only led to problems with the script andinterferences with the routing instructions embedded in the questionnaire. Since the value of aback button was not really registered in terms of improving responses to certain questions, the backbutton was removed to avoid losing a large number of completed interviews.11 Therefore, theresearchers do not recommend the introduction of a back button in future surveys, as this adds tothe interview length, it can change the routing and thus questions might be skipped.

11 A back button in the survey can lead to skipping questions or errors because the answer between the last and the corrected question can be
accidentally changed. In this case interviews may have to be removed from the final data file after the completion of quality checks.

18

19

© 2022 UN Women. All rights reserved.
The views expressed in this publication arethose of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views of UN Women, the United
Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.
Produced by the Women Count programme
Research partner: Ipsos
Editor: Jen Ross
Design: Ouissal Hmazzou

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