YEREVAN (A.W.)—The United Nations (UN) Armenia office released a statement on Nov. 28, strongly condemning recent cases of violence in the country. The statement particularly focuses on two cases of domestic violence that occurred over two days in Shengavit and Yerevan.
In the statement, the UN also calls on the government to adopt a law on domestic violence as a legal protection mechanism.
The statement can be read in its entirety below.
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The United Nations in Armenia strongly condemns the recent cases of violence against women in Yerevan and widely reported by media and social networks. In one instance, on Nov. 25, a 37-year-old woman was fatally wounded by her partner in Shengavit administrative district, while in another case, on Nov. 26, a woman was brutally beaten by her spouse during the day on Teryan Street in front of many passersby.
It is a brutal and sad irony that this happened during the days when the United Nations, together with international partners, national authorities and civil society, is observing the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, a campaign that runs annually from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10.
Stopping domestic violence, which is a serious violation of human rights, and bringing perpetrators to justice must be a priority not only for law-enforcement bodies, but for each and every citizen in our society. Indifference is as unacceptable as the crime itself, and the United Nations is determined to play its own part by ensuring that such cases are not left unpunished.
These cases once again prove the urgency of adopting the Law on Domestic Violence, and we urge our partners, the Government and the Parliament of Armenia, to bring this legal protection mechanism to life as soon as possible. Any further delays may cost more lives.
There should be a law against violence and perpetrators should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Amot. Hazar amot.
Somebody should educate Armenian men, beating women isn’t sign of being tough, contrary is act of the weak.
In plain daylight or not violence against anybody is not acceptable and condemned.Why doesn’t the Armenian Christian church strp in and be visible as an instition for tolerance and forgiveness.
Domestic Violence is a problem throughout the world. Armenia has an opportunity to be a worldwide leader by passing legislation condemning this atrocity and offering help to both the abusers and the abused. Please step up and end this cycle of violence.
Where is the voice and influence of the Armenian Apostolic Church on this issue? Silence is unacceptable and it equates with acceptance.
Sadly, one night my son & I witnessed two couples out together where a fight erupted between one couple. The wife of the other couple tried in vain to stop it & she herself was also assaulted. It was so ugly and didn’t stop until they noticed the flashes of my camera. This happened right outside of Parliament, in front of guards, in front of police. Yet none bothered to intervene.
The more voices that condemn the violence, the easier it will become for women to start speaking up. The women shouldn’t be embarrassed; the men ought to be!!
They are at the same level as barbarian turcs. I don’t see any difference between those men and animals. Alas, in Armenia men are still considered superior to women, and their education is consequently done the way that they feel themselves like gods and rightful in everything and everytime. Really shameful for our people.
Can’t believe there are only a handful of readers who are brave enough to say something about such abuse publicly. “Amot” to them, too.
Beating a woman is the ultimate act of cowardice.
How sad and tragic that this is happening in our homeland, a country that designates a day of beauty for women.
So disappointed that an Armenian man can can commit such an heinous crime!
Very unfortunately, violence against women happens all over the world, not only in Armenia. In America, too, domestic violence is a huge problem. Passersby watching and not interfering is especially painful.
When will the world evolve to the point that all women everywhere are treated with kindness and respect, as are all people. A vision to keep alive in our hearts.
In Armenia, the church, the government, media -and all levels of society should condemn domestic violence and send a strong message that this is a crime, it should not be tolerated, it should not be accepted and it should not be left unpunished.
I am surprised that the Armenian church still asks the bride during the marriage ceremony, “Do you promise to obey your husband?” or, “Do you promise to submit to your husband?” In this century, I find this very upsetting as a woman. The church should try to educate the public first, otherwise the new generation will be alientated from the church totally.
I SAID IT AND WILL SAY IT AGAIN,MOTHERS SHOULD STOP RAISING AND TREATING BOYS AS IF THEY ARE GOD’S GIVEN GIFT. WHEN THE PERPETRATOR IS INCARCERATED THE GOVERNMENT, THE NGOS AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION SHOULD STEP IN AND HELP THE VICTIM AND HER FAMILY SO THAT SHE WILL NOT STOP THE CHARGES AND RETURN TO EVEN MORE DREADFUL AND DANGEROUS SITUATION.VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES SHOULD REMAIN IN A SAFE PLACE, SHELTERS FOR ABUSED WOMEN SHOULD INCREASE IN ARMENIA DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS A WORLD WIDE DILEMMA BUT IN A SMALL COUNTRY LIKE ARMENIA IT SHOULD BE CONTAINED AND BRING TO MINIMUM. THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS WE HAVE IN ARMENIA IS SHAMEFUL…..
This is a very disturbing picture that is gut wrenching and makes absolutely no sense on any ground.
Condemning the violence is a reaction that is expected from everyone. But that is not enough. The problem is the laws of the country. For reasons that are beyond comprehension, the Armenian Parliament has not taken the steps necessary to stop this morally unacceptable behavior and pass laws that imposes heavy penalties and punishment on offenders and perpetrators.
The Parliament has to pass very clear laws on domestic violence and abuse of wives and children. There should be a clear legal process on how violations will be tried and what the verdicts and penalties will be.
There is nothing manly about abusing a wife. It is immoral, cowardice,
sign of disrespect and outright abhorrent that should not be tolerated. But it needs laws and powers to the police and the jurisdiction to enforce it.
The pressure should be placed on members of the parliament by all organizations in Armenia and the diaspora.
Morale pressure alone does not work. Laws and appropriate punishment will yield the results .
Vart Adjemian
{Can’t believe there are only a handful of readers who are brave enough to say something about such abuse publicly. “Amot” to them, too.}
(Alice Calaprice // November 28, 2016 at 7:15 pm //)
Ms. Calaprice: your ամոթ should be directed at those ‘brave enough’ who continue sensationalizing and politicizing a matter that is of no concern of US, UN, or any other organization with an agenda. In my previous comments, I have provided extensive statistics over the years @AW threads discussing DV, comparing US, Europe, Armenia, and others – debunking the anti-RoA narrative.
For this thread, I will only compare US and RoA to show how absurd calls for passing DV legislation in Armenia are.
Such legislation will solve absolutely nothing in practice.
But its proponents, knowingly or not, are promoting an agenda that has ulterior motives.
Anyone who lives in US knows that there are 100s of DV laws on the books: federal, state, local.
You call the cops about DV, they’ll show up in minutes and arrest the man (or woman in some cases), even if the woman changes her mind and refuses to press charges.
Now let’s take a look at some numbers:
{Just last week another women was murdered by her husband, bringing the death toll to 36 in the last six years and leaving over 50 children motherless.}
This from the [Crowd Funding] article in AW.
So RoA has 36 DV murders over 6 years, or 6 DV murders per year for a population of ~3 million.
In US, with its abundance of DV laws, there are ~1,500 DV murders per year for a population of ~300 million (averaged over time period)*.
18,000 women murdered in US in 12 years (2003-2015)*.
Since US has 100X the population of RoA, the equivalent DV murder rate is 15 DV murders per year, adjusted for population.
2X the rate in RoA: 100s of DV laws in US; No DV laws in RoA.
Explanation please.
As another poster wrote at another thread in this issue, any UN condemnation of DV murders in US?
Anybody hear a UN condemnation of Turkbaijanis murdering and mutilating 3 defenseless elderly Armenians last April?
One last thing:
There are two articles in this issue related to young Armenian military men.
[Armenian Serviceman Wounded in Four Day War Passes Away]
0 comments.
[One Step at a Time: Injured Armenian Soldier Adjusts to New Life]
1 comment in a foreign language.
During the 4-day war last April about 100 Armenian men were killed. Most were young men of 18-20 years old.
All you posters raggin on Armenian men take a moment and contemplate what that means.
These young men were there to protect their families – their mothers, sisters – from anther Sumgait.
But no concern from SorosaNGOs, because, you know, they were men, i.e. expendable.
No comments re dead, crippled men.
13 comments re DV/women.
Ամոթ indeed.
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* The stats are from [30 Shocking Domestic Violence Statistics That Remind Us It’s An Epidemic]
(10/23/2014 09:25 am ET | Updated Feb 13, 2015) (Alanna Vagianos
Women’s Editor, The Huffington Post): “18,000 women killed The number of women who have been killed by men in domestic violence disputes since 2003”
I will play the devil’s advocate here and say, as a starter, perhaps the church should show its condemnation of such despicable act by changing some of the words stated by the priest during the wedding ceremony. The groom is asked if he will be the “protector – տեր կանգնել” of the bride but the bride is asked if she will “obey – հնազանդվել” the groom.
Bravo! Good point. So stuck in the past. And I don’t understand the last comment from the ‘Armenian American Man’ . . . bad joke if it is meant to be a joke. There are undoubtedly some violent Armenian American men. They just hide it better because it is known to be a cowardly act in America. As for the comment about our culture of praising boys and criticizing girls . . . unfortunately true. If Armenia wants to be protected/accepted in the new world economy this is a great way to continue being ignored.
Thankfuly i am an American Armenian Man. We arnt violent at all. We are gegentlmen just like our American Presidents.