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Armenia - Research Study On Domestic Violence
05.08.2010
Almost one in ten women in Armenian has been physically ill-treated by
their husbands or partners, according to government research commissioned by a
United Nations agency.
In what was the most comprehensive ever study of domestic violence in the
country, the National Statistical Service interviewed nearly 2,800 female
residents aged between 15 and 59 in late 2008 and early 2009. Yerevan-based
representatives of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) made its findings available
to RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Thursday
They show that 9 percent of respondents said they were occasionally or
regularly beaten in domestic disputes. Another 3.3 percent alleged sexual
abuse, usually accompanied by physical violence, at the hands of their husbands
or boyfriends. A quarter of those polled claimed to have faced intimidation and
other types of “psychological pressure.”
The UNFPA survey identifies “economic violence” as another form of domestic
violence. According to it, 7.5 percent of Armenian women are not allowed to
work, while 8 percent of those having jobs are forced to give their incomes to
their male partners.
“We live in a patriarchal society,” Garik Hayrapetian, deputy head of the
UNFPA’s Yerevan office, told RFE/RL, commenting on the results of the survey.
“The man plays the role of family protector and main breadwinner. That brings
with it a sense that if he is the main breadwinner then he must have final say,
and any objection to that leads to what we have,” he said.
In another finding emphasized by Hayrapetian, more than half of the female
respondents justified the beating of wives and girlfriends for infidelity and
other perceived serious offenses. Such attitudes are particularly prevalent
among women in rural areas, the UNFPA official said.