Armenia

Armenia Country Gender Assessmentthe 550 minutes that depicted women, more than half the time they were portrayed as“experiencing violence, crying, or in a state of despondency,” and of the 10 lead femalecharacters, all were subjected to violence and only 1 was employed. 208145. Other factors that prevent women from seeking redress for GBV includeinadequate legal protection; a lack of protective measures and crisis services, especially forvictims of domestic violence and sexual violence; and impunity for perpetrators. Despite asolid policy framework for developing a system to address GBV, government action has notbeen adequate. In January 2013, the National Assembly rejected a draft law on domesticviolence, which had been lobbied for by women’s NGOs for many years and was supportedby the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. 209 According to agovernment report, “[a]ll state agencies involved in the legal and justice sphere … expressednegative opinions on the draft law.” 210 Officially, the law was not approved becauseof ongoing large-scale legal reform, and the Prime Minister called for the inclusion ofprovisions on domestic violence in relevant legal acts during the amendment process. 211Experts interviewed for this assessment pointed out, however, that the draft law containsnew legal protections (e.g., protection orders) that were not part of existing legal codes andthat it also addresses prevention of domestic violence. The actual reasons for rejecting thelaw are thought to be lack of political will, a failure to acknowledge that domestic violence isa problem in Armenia, and an unwillingness to devote government resources to developingservices for victims. NGOs have also lobbied for reform of Criminal Code provisions onsexual assault and rape and to improve how the Labor Code treats gender discriminationand physical violence in the workplace.146. Assistance to victims of GBV is provided almost exclusively by NGOs that offertelephone hotline advice, psychological and legal counseling, and sometimes temporaryaccommodations, but these organizations do not have the capacity to address the needs ofall victims. Armenia has no special legal protections for victims of domestic violence, onlytwo shelters (neither of which has government support), and no assistance programs tofind housing or jobs for women who cannot return home.147. The lack of alternative housing for women who have experienced violence, eithershort or long term, is especially problematic given that there is no legal mechanismto remove a perpetrator from the home, and more than 88% of women who left afterexperiencing domestic violence reported that they eventually returned. 212 Internationalgood practices recommend 1 crisis center per 50,000 people and, at a minimum, 1 place ina shelter should be provided for each 10,000 people. 213 At present, Armenia, with an officialpopulation of approximately 3 million, is falling short of this goal.148. During this assessment, it was established that service-providing organizationshave not estimated the economic value of the services that they provide. This could208 Exploring Women’s Rights and Feminist Movement Building in Armenia: Learning from the Past and Strategizing for the Future, p. 24.209 Women’s organizations began drafting a domestic violence bill in 2007, which they submitted to the Ministry of Labor and SocialAffairs in 2009. In 2011, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs created a working group to review the draft, which was opened forpublic discussion in 2012.210 National Review of the Republic of Armenia on Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the Outcomes ofthe Twenty-Third Special Session of the General Assembly (2000) in the Context of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conferenceon Women and the Adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2015, p. 26.211 Ibid.212 Domestic Violence and Abuse of Women in Armenia: Report on Nationwide Survey Findings, p. 88.213 United Nations Secretary General. 2010. UNiTE to End Violence Against Women Campaign. New York. p. 2.44