Anna Aghababyan: domestic violence in Armenia not yet criminalized

PanARMENIAN.Net -
The UN Office in Yerevan hosted Thursday a presentation of a document highlighting the outcomes of RA legislation’s assessment in terms of gender-based violence, carried out in the framework of United Nations Population Fund's Combating Gender Based Violence in South Caucasus program.



The assessment was aimed to identify the correspondence of Armenian legislation with international documents, legal rules and principles and to prepare a package of reforms.



“International experience proves that without an appropriate legal framework it will be difficult to protect women's rights,” Dafina Gercheva, UN resident coordinator in Armenia, Permanent Representative of the UN Development Program, stressed in her opening remarks.



According to local and international experts, the Armenian legislation is mostly consistent with international standards. “But gaps have been detected in the law, and we work on them. Domestic violence in Armenia has not yet criminalized. There is no compensation paid for domestic violence and the mistakes which led to its occurrence,” Anna Aghababyan, expert group coordinator said.



Experts will provide a package of identified weaknesses and proposals to the government of Armenia.