There’s no pride in silence: domestic and sexual violence against women in Armenia

25 November marked by the UN resolution as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. UN resolution calls “governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).” On 20 December 1993 the General Assembly adopted Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Report issued today by the Amnesty International (to be formally launched in Yerevan tomorrow) suggests that “more than a quarter of women in Armenia have faced physical violence at the hands of husbands or other family members. Many of these women have little choice but to remain in abusive situations as reporting violence is strongly stigmatized in Armenian society.” (see details below)

Women’s Resource Centre in Armenia organises march against violence against women on 25 November 2008. (below are selected photos from last year's event)

There will be round-table discussion on sexual violence against women in Armenia on 27 November. Also, thanks to the initiative and cooperation of the U.S. Embassy and other organisations, Armenia's first-ever walkathon to raise awareness about domestic violence issues in Armenia is being organized in connection with the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence," spanning from November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women, to December 10, International Human Rights Day. Walkathon for a Violence-Free Future for Women is on Sunday, November 30, 2008.

There’s no pride in silence: domestic and sexual violence against women in Armenia

Amnesty International /12 November 2008/

Full report

National surveys suggest that more than a quarter of women in Armenia have faced physical violence at the hands of husbands or other family members. Many of these women have little choice but to remain in abusive situations as reporting violence is strongly stigmatized in Armenian society.

Violence in the family takes many forms, ranging from isolation and the withholding of economic necessities, to physical and sexual violence, and even murder, yet women have few options to escape situations in which they are at risk.

Violence in the family is not defined in law separately from other kinds of violence involving strangers, and abused women face powerful pressures not to report violence to the police. Strong family bonds are an integral aspect of Armenian culture and women who report violence are seen as threatening the family and are pressured to keep domestic violence a private “family matter”.

The social stigma associated with separation or divorce is worse than that associated with domestic violence. The pressure not to report rape is even more powerful and rape victims commonly encounter the attitude that they are to blame.

Women who try to report violence in the family often experience social isolation, as friends, relatives and neighbours reject them. This culture of preserving silence on violence extends to the police force.

Women often experience reluctance on the part of the police to get involved, and in some cases the police endorse the view that domestic violence is a "family matter".

Since 2002, a handful of shelters have been operating despite facing widespread criticism for their part in making domestic violence a public issue. These shelters, which are run by non-governmental organizations, are reliant on intermittent funding, and most of them have been forced to close or reduce their operations in recent years due to lack of funds.

While shelters are not a catch-all solution, they fulfil a crucial role in providing women who face violence with an initial, short-term step out of their situation. Establishing a network of shelters must be a key element in government strategies to address the issue of violence against women in Armenia.

The fact that some state officials now acknowledge that violence against women actually exists both signifies progress, but also the fact that there is a long way to go. Some positive steps have been taken towards addressing violence against women:
• A draft law criminalizing domestic violence is currently under discussion.
• Police training programmes have been initiated to implement guidelines for police responsibilities in responding to domestic violence.

Amnesty International calls on the Armenian authorities to clearly and forcefully condemn violence against women. They must also take other urgent steps to change wider social attitudes to domestic and sexual violence. These should include, though not be restricted to, the following:
• Criminalizing domestic violence, facilitating its prevention and providing support to its victims and survivors;
• Ensuring that victims of domestic and sexual violence have access to the criminal justice system without facing pressure to withdraw their complaints;
• Raising awareness of family violence as a crime and a human rights violation.