Criminal law measures against digital forms of violence: An analysis of the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its compliance with the contemporary challenges of societal digitalization

Abstract

Rapid digitization of society has led to a significant shift of interpersonal aggression online, making countermeasures against digital violence a highly relevant task for Kazakhstan. This paper provides a legal, comparative, and statistical analysis of protective legislation, primarily Article 115-1 of the Penal Code (stalking) and Article 127-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences (bullying of minors). The aim of the study is to evaluate whether existing criminal and administrative measures meet contemporary challenges. Utilizing formal-legal, comparative, and systemic methods, the authors present an original age-neutral definition of digital violence and substantiate the fragmentary nature of the current protective framework. It establishes that the material construction of stalking requiring "substantial harm" blocks early intervention, while restricting cyberbullying provisions to minors leaves adults unprotected. Drawing on the experience of Germany, Italy, France, and the EU, the authors advance de lege ferenda proposals: reconstructing Article 115-1 as a formal offence, extending cyberbullying liability to adults, criminalizing cyberflashing under a consent model, and imposing a procedural duty on providers to preserve deleted digital evidence prior to its transfer to law enforcement. The conclusions are tested against official