WUNRN
Direct Link to Amnesty International
Report:
Website Link: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/no-pride-silence-domestic-sexual-violence-against-women-armenia-20081113
ARMENIA
- There’s No Pride in Silence: Domestic & Sexual Violence Against
Women in Armenia
13 November 2008
National
surveys suggest that more than a quarter of women in Armenia have faced
physical violence at the hands of husbands or other family members. Many of
these women have little choice but to remain in abusive situations as reporting
violence is strongly stigmatized in Armenian society.
Violence in the family takes many forms, ranging from isolation and the
withholding of economic necessities, to physical and sexual violence, and even
murder, yet women have few options to escape situations in which they are at
risk.
Violence in the family is not defined in law separately from other kinds of
violence involving strangers, and abused women face powerful pressures not to
report violence to the police. Strong family bonds are an integral aspect of
Armenian culture and women who report violence are seen as threatening the
family and are pressured to keep domestic violence a private “family matter”.
The social stigma associated with separation or divorce is worse than that
associated with domestic violence. The pressure not to report rape is even more
powerful and rape victims commonly encounter the attitude that they are to
blame.
Women who try to report violence in the family often experience social
isolation, as friends, relatives and neighbours reject them. This culture of
preserving silence on violence extends to the police force.
Women often experience reluctance on the part of the police to get involved,
and in some cases the police endorse the view that domestic violence is a
"family matter".
Since 2002, a handful of shelters have been operating despite facing widespread
criticism for their part in making domestic violence a public issue. These
shelters, which are run by non-governmental organizations, are reliant on
intermittent funding, and most of them have been forced to close or reduce
their operations in recent years due to lack of funds.
While shelters are not a catch-all solution, they fulfil a crucial role in
providing women who face violence with an initial, short-term step out of their
situation. Establishing a network of shelters must be a key element in
government strategies to address the issue of violence against women in
Armenia.
The fact that some state officials now acknowledge that violence against women
actually exists both signifies progress, but also the fact that there is a long
way to go. Some positive steps have been taken towards addressing violence
against women:
Amnesty
International is calling on the Armenian authorities to clearly and forcefully
condemn violence against women. They must also take other urgent steps to
change wider social attitudes to domestic and sexual violence. These should
include, though not be restricted to, the following:
____________________________________________________________________
13
November 2008
ARMENIAN WOMEN "VICTIMS OF
ABUSE" - Amnesty Report
Armenia is failing to tackle pervasive"
violence and domestic abuse against women, according to a report by rights
group Amnesty International.
|
|
||
|
The group says studies estimate that "over quarter of Armenian women have been hit or beaten by a family member". It also warns that, according to some data, about two thirds of women may have experienced psychological abuse. The BBC has contacted the Armenian foreign ministry but has not received a response to the report. Amnesty calls on the Armenian authorities to provide support for women leaving violent relationships, and to draft new legislation to combat domestic violence. Stigma of rape "Women in Armenia suffer disproportionately from violence and abuse at home and at work, but this is seldom understood as a violation of their basic human rights," says Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK. "The preservation of the family unit comes at the expense of women's rights, their safety and even their lives," says Ms Allen. Greta Baghdasaryan, an Armenian woman who suffered domestic violence describes how she felt "afraid of the consequences of complaining". "My neighbours saw my bruises but who will listen to them now? It never occurred to me that I could turn to the police," Greta said. Amnesty says its report, Countering violence in the family in Armenia, looks at case studies and the background to social attitudes among Armenians. It is based on testimonies from the databases of Armenian women's organisations, reports in the Armenian media, and interviews with some women. It cites the stigma of rape victims and the reluctance of police to investigate domestic violence cases as hurdles. Amnesty calls for "a real sea-change in attitudes" across Armenia, from initial protection for abused women with shelter, to the criminalisation of domestic violence.
|
||
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.