On the occasion of the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, the international community commends members of Armenian civil society, concerned Armenian government officials, and others across Armenia who call for an end to violence against women and the international community renews its commitment to work with Armenian partners dedicated to protecting the rights of women and girls, and promoting women’s empowerment in Armenia. One out of three women in the world experience violence. Violence against women remains a serious issue also in Armenia. The UN studies suggest that about 60% of women in Armenia are exposed to at least one type of violence, while the annual loss resulting from depriving women of economic opportunities amounts to about USD 7 million.

We praise the Government of Armenia for taking positive steps to tackle violence against women. The establishment of a specialized police department dealing with cases of domestic violence and broadcast of awareness raising reports on domestic violence on the police website demonstrate readiness to combat domestic violence. We welcome the legal amendments on broadening the scope of responsibilities of social workers to provide support to victims of domestic violence and hope that they will be adopted by the National Assembly in near future. We also commend the adoption of the National Action Plan by the Government on combating one of the most heartless forms of violence against women, pre-natal sex selection. We also encourage authorities to continue the implementation of the outstanding international and national commitments that promote equal rights and opportunities for men and women, respect to and protection of women’s rights. We call on the authorities to establish a legal framework to combat domestic violence, including the adoption of a separate law and to set up an institutional referral mechanism for victims of domestic violence to provide them with multi-faceted support and aid in their recovery and empowerment. We call on the Armenian authorities to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the “Istanbul Convention”). We also commend the efforts of grass-roots organizations to prevent violence against women and to assist victims of domestic violence in Armenia. We urge the Government to build upon the civil society efforts and establish shelters to provide a timely and necessary response to those in need. As a long-term strategy, it is also important to work with perpetrators of domestic violence to address the root causes of violence against women. The international community stands ready to continue its support to the Government of Armenia and civil society to take concrete steps to realize the rights of all women and girls, allowing them to live lives free of violence. Ending violence against women should be a priority for every human being. With the new Sustainable Development Goals, we have a collective responsibility to end violence against women and girls by 2030. We invite everyone to join forces in eliminating violence against women by partaking in the events planned as part of the campaign on 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

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