The Indomitable Sukhudyan: One Woman’s Struggle Against Child Abuse and the Powers That Be

On March 10, Mariam Sukhudyan was awarded the U.S. Embassy of Armenia’s first ever Woman of Courage Award. In her speech, U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch commended Mariam for her environmental and civic activism: “[Mariam] has campaigned to protect Armenia’s forests, wildlife, and environment; she has volunteered in schools for special needs children; and when she arrived at Nubarashen Special School #11, and found neglect and abuse of children in its care, she knew that she had to act to stop it… Not just for those individual children. And certainly not for her own benefit. But for justice, for the welfare of this country’s children, and for the future of Armenia as a country where the rule of law prevails.”

Mariam Sukhudyan

However, for Sukhudyan, the struggle for justice has not been a smooth path. In November 2008, Sukhudyan, an environmental activist, had publicized allegations of sexual abuse made by students against a teacher at the Nubarashen School #11, a specialized boarding school for disabled children in Yerevan’s Nubarashen suburb, where Sukhudyan had volunteered. To her dismay, in August 2009, the then 29-year old activist was charged with “false denunciation for illicit gain”—she was accused of intentionally slandering the teacher’s name and reputation for her own personal benefit. Even as she received the ambassador’s award in March 2010, the accusations against her stood.

A day later, on March 11, Armenia’s law enforcement authorities announced that the criminal case against Mariam Sukhudyan had been officially dropped.

Child and sexual abuse are serious problems that need to be adequately addressed in Armenia, and much of the rest of the region. Often in Armenia, victims of abuse, especially sexual abuse, are discouraged from speaking about their experience or pressing charges for fear of being ostracized by society, and tarnishing their own reputations. It was in such an environment that Mariam Sukhudyan decided to break the silence and, through Armenia’s Public Television, shared with the country what she discovered at one of the many boarding schools in Armenia.

Sukhudyan was among a dozen volunteers who worked at the Nubarashen School #11 from April to June 2008 as part of the United Nations’ “10 Best Schools” project, with the goal of improving educational standards. While at the school, the volunteers observed the school’s sub-standard level of education, care, hygiene, and nutrition. They noticed that many of the students did not show any signs of mental or physical disability, and it was revealed to them by some students that at times they were instructed to feign a mental condition. Moreover, the school’s director and other administrative workers exploited the students as a free labor force, in their homes, summer houses, and yards.

The most shocking of all, however, was their discovery of instances of sexual abuse revealed to them by some schoolgirls. The girls alleged that their Armenian language and literature teacher, Levon Avagian, had sexually abused them, and at least one case of rape was reported. When the volunteers informed the school administration of these allegations, their claims were dismissed. Sukhudyan videotaped one of the girls’ (identified as D.A.) story and alerted the press.

On Nov. 13, 2008, Armenia’s Public TV’s “Haylur” aired the recorded interview, blurring the girl’s face. However, after being contacted by the school, and being subjected to harassment and “ridicule,” D.A., under the beatings of her mother, went to the police station, retracted her initial claims, and went as far as alleging that Sukhudyan had pressured her into telling a fabricated story.

But soon, four other school graduates came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against the same teacher. Again, Haylur aired a segment, during which a girl by the initials of H.S. gave an account of Avagian’s alleged advances. “He asked me to make coffee. I went and washed the cups and put the coffee on. He came over and held me, his hand on my waist, my bottom. I thought it was normal. We are younger than his children. I thought maybe he loves us like parents do. He knows what parental warmth means to us. It happened once. It happened twice. I thought this is not parental behavior. How could a parent treat his daughter like that, and then he would reach for my breasts, he hugged us, he squeezed us…”

Avagian denied the claims, but resigned soon after.

In an interview with “Haylur,” the school’s director, Meruzhan Yengibaryan, attributed the allegations to the children’s overactive imaginations. “Their imaginative world is vast,” he said. “May be it’s not that they are lying, but that they imagine things and then tell stories. Even fantasy writers couldn’t come up with such books.”

In August 2009, following an investigation by the Erebuni Investigative Unit, Mariam Sukhudyan was charged with “false denunciation for illicit gain,” and faced up to five years in jail. In October, the charge was replaced with a “slander” charge, under Article 135 of the penal code, which is punishable by fines and a prison sentence of up to three years.

On Oct. 21, 2009, police offered to drop the libel charges against Sukhudyan—if she’d come forward and ask for a pardon. She refused the offer.

Then, on March 10, 2010, Sukhudyan became the recipient of the U.S. Embassy of Armenia’s first ever Woman of Courage Award. This gave Sukhudyan a much-needed ally. The award was a significant acknowledgement of her outspokenness, persistence, and passionate adherence to social justice.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Office of the Prosecutor-General declared that the Erebuni police had “interpreted evidence collected earlier in a peculiar way.” It also announced that a new criminal investigation was underway, to look into the “obscene acts against minors.”

Sukhudyan is one of the leaders of the environmental protection group “SOS Teghut.” Her supporters believe that the case against her was due to her environmental activism, especially her strong objections of plans to cut down forests in order to mine copper and molybdenum deposits in the northeast of the country, especially in the Teghut forest. “I can’t help but link this case with Teghut because I’m not the first activist to be subjected to such pressure,” she told RFE/RL. “This may be a good opportunity [for the authorities] to break our movement and force me to shut up.” Sukhudyan was not allowed to leave the city until after her trial.

***

Less than a week after the charges against her were dropped, the Armenian Weekly asked Sukhudyan what it means to be a voice that draws attention to Armenia’s social and environmental problems. “Well, it is quite difficult,” she replied. “First you should be well aware of the problems and try to avoid misinformation. Then you should digest the information and try to find [a] way…to present it [at] appropriate instances and how to behave. This is the technical part of the question. The emotional part is, once you are a person who voluntarily takes this responsibility, you should encourage all the people suffering from these problems to act together and fight for justice.”

However, we cannot deny the fact that sometimes those that have been hurt the most, the victims, are the ones that are the most reluctant to fight—especially if the fight is not simply against one individual, but against societal norms. Sometimes the victims back down in fear, like the Nubarashen School girls.

So we asked Sukhudyan how she had felt being caught uup in the middle of the Nubarashen case. “Very bad, of course,” she answered, “at first disappointed but later trying to understand and find the reasons of this nonsense. The most painful part was not [the] authorities’ behavior, but [the] poor girls’ denial, whom I intended to protect. But thinking about it over and over, I understood them completely, and started to feel even more sorry for them.”

Maria Titizian, a writer, editor, and founding member of the Women’s Coalition of Armenia, believes that the lack of “free, independent, and objective” reporting is partly responsible for the lack of awareness and outrage, which has its roots in 70 years of Soviet rule. “Mariam Sukhudyan was not only ostracized for carrying out her civic responsibility by shedding light on what was going on in Nubarashen, but she was harassed and eventually charged by the police… As a rule, authorities strive to keep people from speaking the truth or reporting criminal activity by creating an atmosphere of fear and recrimination. And the media, for its part, does not exercise its responsibility by checking facts and reporting objectively on events. Independent media is sorely lacking.”

“The inherent problem in Armenia is that there is a fine line between truth and decency, on the one hand, and truth and the outright falsification of facts, on the other,” Titizian explained.

On Sept. 25, 2009, the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of the Women’s Resource Center invited different NGOs, government representatives, and citizens to a round table discussion on child sexual abuse in Armenia. The event was organized as a response to the Nubarashen #11 scandal. The discussion had two aims: to assess the reality of child sexual abuse in Armenia based on the work of various organizations, and to devise the appropriate methods for raising awareness and advocacy. The participating organizations included World Vision, Fund for Armenian Relief, Armenian Relief Society, Society without Violence, Pink Armenia, and Democracy Today.

In an interview with Armenia’s Public TV, psychiatrist Haroutyun Minasian described how in 1988, when he worked at Nubarashen #11, he was instructed to diagnose the healthy children as “mentally disabled,” since the school director feared that if the number of disabled children decreased, the school would be shut down.

An article by Onnik Krikorian in Frontline reports that in recent years the number of students enrolled in special schools has declined from 12,000 to 5,000. Children from extremely poor families attend these schools to receive food and sometimes clothing that is donated to these schools. “At one specialized boarding school for the blind and visually impaired in Yerevan, for example, 60 percent of children have no problems with their sight,” writes Krikorian. While a report on the round table discussion that was organized by the Sexual Assault Crisis Center states that “For one child in every special public institution, the state allocates 5,000 U.S. dollars annually, while families receive 200-300 U.S. This may explain the resistance of these institutions’ leadership, safeguarding their positions.”

We asked Lara Aharonian, the founder of the Women’s Resource Center of Yerevan and its sister branch in Shushi, to speak about the levels of child abuse in Armenia, and about Sukhudyan’s case.

Aharonian explained, “…usually Armenians don’t like to talk about these issues, and try to keep silent because it is “shame” to do that. Only recently are we hearing and reading in the media about cases of incest, child rape… And also it is important to mention that parents, families, rarely report cases of child rape or sexual abuse, especially if she is a girl—to not endanger her reputation for the future.” Aharonian also noted the lack of adequate psychological care, and awareness and prevention campaigns for those responsible for a child’s wellbeing.

“Change starts when we start talking,” she added. “[The] Sukhudyan case helped us make this issue public and voice our concerns and not try to hide it because of the shame. The more we talk, write, report about it, the more we will help change, and we are on the right track.”

In 2009, the Women’s Resource Center started a Sexual Assault Crisis Center and Hotline to spread awareness on this issue. In March they will be launching a multimedia national campaign, including TV, radio, and billboard ads.

“An activist in Armenia is not always an easy job and doesn’t merit many friends. Young women like Mariam are breaking through this rigid mindset with their bravery and courage and grace. Instead of being encouraged for her activism, she had charges brought against her, a sad reflection of our society to be sure,” Titizian said.

Society, however, is not static. It has its Mariams. And despite the immense obstacles and roadblocks, these women and men march on. Armenia is changing.

“Nature,” that was Sukhudyan’s first response when we asked what inspires her. “When I feel exhausted, I need to go out of the city and feel myself a part of the whole. Then, I am inspired by my friends, by our “small” victories, by people who are thankful for our work…”

Nanore Barsoumian is a staff writer for the Armenian Weekly.

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian was the editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2014 to 2016. She served as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2010 to 2014. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk and Turkey. She earned her B.A. degree in Political Science and English and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts (Boston).
Nanore Barsoumian

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8 Comments

  1. Bravo! Courage and patience… that’s all I can say, and oh yeah! Though it is scary, don’t be afraid to fight for your rights.

  2. Ms. Mariam Sukhudyan is a great Personality with a capital letter.
    Thank You Ms. Mariam Sukhudyan! All  citizens of the World that have kind will are pleased with what You are doing.

  3. Congratulations and thanks for all what you do in name of humanity.   It is time to get rid of some disgusting creatures. 

  4. I had the opportunity to meet Mariam at the last conference on Child Abuse and Trafficking in Armenia.  We found her to be honest and forthright about the issues facing Armenian children, especially those that are orphaned and have no voice.

    We have established 2 more orphananges and shelters with training centers so the children will learn a technical skill.  The First Lady of Armenia is also a big supporter of our programs.  By 2016 Armenia hopes to shut down the state run orphanages and build up the great Foster Care program.

    Many of the local Armenian Families are taking in our children and offering loving homes and care. 

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