/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In every country, women and girls continue to be plagued by violence, causing tremendous suffering. Such violence undermines development, genereates instabiity , and makes peace that much harder to achieve, We must demand accountability for violations and take concrete steps to end impunity, UN Secreatry General Ban Ki Moon said on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

A campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” aiming to increase public awareness of gender-based violence was launched Wednesday in Yerevan. On that occasion, UN House hosted a news conference. Ms. Lala Ghazaryan, Head of Family, Women and Children Issues Department at Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs presented the current challenges and results achieved by the government in the field of combating gender based violence.

Ms. Jina Sargzova, UNFPA coordinator of «Combating Gender Based Violence in the South Caucasus» project and «16 Days» campaign in Armenia talked about various activities, such as press conferences, public hearings, public service announcements broadcasting, film screenings, round table discussions with participation of refugees, rural women and local government representatives,

The planned activities focused on cultural and national aspects of violence against women, including domestic violence, trafficking and HIV/AIDS, men's participation in combating gender-based violence and the importance of the youth involvement.

The program which will last till December 10 envisages psycological consultations for violence victims, meetings with refugee women, as well as radio broadcasts on other topics.
The 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1, World AIDS Day and December 2, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.