Holding parents financially responsible for their children’s behavior may appear to be a quick way to strengthen discipline and prevent misconduct. However, in Turkmenistan, where child mental health services and parenting support remain severely underdeveloped, such measures risk increasing children’s vulnerability rather than addressing the underlying causes of risky behavior. By shifting responsibility onto families without ensuring access to appropriate support services, the new parental fines may unintentionally increase tension within households and encourage harsher disciplinary practices.
From 1 May 2026, amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Turkmenistan took effect, regulating the responsibility of parents and legal guardians for the improper upbringing and supervision of minors. Under the revised Article 358, the parents or legal guardians are subject to a fine if their children break rules on tobacco and drug use, or pedestrian traffic rules as follows:
- Smoking: A new provision was introduced for the first time for children smoking under the age of 16; parents or legal guardians are now responsible and fined 100-200 manat.
- Drug use (Part 2): Previously, violations could result in a warning or a fine for the use of narcotic substances without a doctor’s prescription by minors under 16; now the option of issuing a warning has been removed; violations will result in a mandatory fine of 100 manat.
- Petty hooliganism (Part 3): Before, parents could receive a warning or a discretionary fine for petty hooliganism committed by minors aged 14-16; now a standardized fixed fine of 100 manat applies to parents.
- Traffic violations (Part 4): Previously, a fixed fine of 40 manat applied, but now it has been increased to a range of 50-100 manat for traffic rule violations by minor pedestrians.
While these amendments seek to strengthen parental accountability, their impact should be assessed within the broader context of Turkmenistan’s child protection and mental health systems.
An Underdeveloped Child Protection System
The World Health Organisation Mental Health Atlas highlighted structural weaknesses in mental-health system of Turkmenistan, including the absence of a stand-alone suicide prevention strategy or policy and a lack of a dedicated child or adolescent mental-health policy or plan. At the same time, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child raised concerns about the lack of publicly available data on the number, qualifications, or distribution of school psychologists. Despite the national census conducted in 2022, data on children’s rights remains largely unavailable, outdated, and insufficiently disaggregated, limiting transparency and accountability. Without reliable data on children’s mental health, school counseling services, violence, or suicide attempts, it becomes difficult to identify vulnerable groups, allocate resources effectively, and develop evidence-based child protection policies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health workforce capacity in the country was reported to be limited with a total of 135 mental-health professionals: 134 psychiatrists, 1 psychologist and only 8 child mental health workers in child and adolescent mental health services nationwide in 2020. Having little or no access to appropriate psychological support undermines early intervention, leaving children’s emotional and social problems unaddressed.
What is more, schools in Turkmenistan do not appear to offer structured programs on depression and suicide while school psychologists fail to support students due to limited professional training and concerns about confidentiality. Instead the existing approach is “preventive talks” with students led by deputy principals, representatives of state agencies, and officials from the Interior Ministry. These talks focus on discipline and moral conduct, relying more on intimidation than support. This approach is alarming in a country where violent discipline is already widespread within households. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) data on Turkmenistan reveal that 69.7% of boys and 67.4% of girls experience physical punishment by a parent or caregiver, with slight variations between urban and rural areas. 58% of children were exposed to psychological aggression by caregivers, with an average of 59% of boys and 57% of girls. The exposure to psychological aggression is high between the ages of 5 and 9, at 66%, while 62% are between the ages of 10 and 14, suggesting violence remains a common disciplinary practice during early and middle childhood in the country.
In this context, introducing parental fines for children’s behavior may unintentionally reinforce fear. Young people who struggle with mental health problems or engage in risky behaviors such as smoking, substance use, bullying, or violence may choose to hide these issues for fear of punishment at home or school.
Additionally, domestic violence further affects children’s well-being. According to the WHO, exposure to corporal punishment and violence against children has lifelong impacts on children’s emotional well-being and results in negative coping and health riskbehaviors; being substantially more likely to smoke, misuse alcohol and drugs, and having suicidal thoughts among adolescents. UNICEF documented that 25.5% of children in Turkmenistan witnessed physical violence, while 5.9% experienced violence directly, and 61.3% of women experiencing partner violence report that their children were affected by it. In 2022, Turkmenistan recorded approximately 168 attempted suicides among adolescents, with estimated fatality rates between 67% and 90%, one of the highest reported figures in the region. These figures suggest that many children already grow up in a climate of fear and violence. In such circumstances, punitive measures are more likely to increase children’s fear and reluctance to seek help. As opportunities for early intervention remain limited, the underlying causes of these behaviors are left unaddressed, creating a vicious cycle of silence, punishment, and unmet support needs.
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SUPPORT OUR WORKChild Rights and the Way Forward
From a child-rights perspective, corporal punishment is unlawful under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Turkmenistan has been a party to since 1993. Article19 requires State Parties to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child. Article 28(2) obliges to ensure that discipline in schools respects children’s human dignity, and Article 37(a) prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.
In this regard, the 2024 concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on Turkmenistan identified priority concerns and issued recommendations to strengthen child protection and support systems as follows:
Violence against children (para. 22): Ensure that children who are victims or witnesses of violence have access to child-friendly, multisectoral support services, including psychological therapy, without secondary victimization.
Corporal punishment (para. 23): Establish confidential complaint mechanisms, promote positive and non-violent forms of discipline, and strengthen awareness-raising efforts to eliminate corporal punishment in schools and alternative care settings.
Mental health and suicide prevention (para. 33): Provide free and confidential consultations by school psychologists, develop a comprehensive child mental-health program, adopt a suicide prevention protocol to address suicidal behavior among adolescents, and improve the collection of disaggregated data on child suicide and suicidal behavior.
Access to justice and remedies (para. 12): Ensure children’s access to confidential, child-friendly, and independent complaint mechanisms in schools and care settings, as well as counseling and remedies, including compensation and rehabilitation.
These recommendations make clear that children’s risky or problematic behavior should be addressed through protection and access to psychological and social support, not penalties directed at their parents. In Turkmenistan, however, the introduction of parental fines shifts responsibility onto families without ensuring the support services needed to assist children in distress. In the absence of comprehensive child mental health services, counseling, and positive parenting support, financial penalties are unlikely to prevent misconduct and may discourage help-seeking and increase children’s vulnerability. Therefore, strengthening child protection systems and investing in family support services should be the utmost priority to promote children’s well-being and healthy development.
