Armenia

Crosscutting Gender Issuesbe a useful calculation when estimating potential costs to the state of implementing acomprehensive domestic violence law and for budget planning.149. While the economic impact of GBV on the larger community has also not beenstudied in Armenia, internationally, it is recognized that GBV places a considerablestrain on national resources, to say nothing of devastating consequences for individualwomen and their families. Assessments in other countries have found that GBV reducesthe capacity of victims/survivors to contribute productively to the family, the economy,and public life; and drains resources from social services, the justice system, healthcareagencies and employers. While even the most comprehensive surveys to dateunderestimate the costs, they all show that the failure to address violence against womenhas serious economic consequences. 214150. In Armenia, domestic violence has been identified as leading directly to losses inwomen’s productivity, which can be considerable when aggregated. Sexual harassmentin the workplace is a factor that limits women’s choice of jobs and ability to advance.Although there are no figures for Armenia, calculations of the economic losses incurredthrough direct costs (e.g., expenditures related to services for survivors, medical care, lawenforcement costs, legal costs, and property damage), indirect costs to the private sector(e.g., lost or reduced productivity at work, and absenteeism), and pain and suffering inother countries are high. The European Parliament, for example, estimates that the annualeconomic cost of violence against women across the European Union (EU) amounted to€228 billion ($285 billion) in 2013 (1.8% of the EU gross domestic product [GDP] in 2011). 215Prevention measures are estimated to cost substantially less and to be more cost-effectivethan treating the consequences of violence once it has occurred.3. Skewed Sex Ratio at Birth151. In the last 3 years, the issue of skewed birth sex ratios in Armenia has come tothe fore and been the subject of public debate and research. Since the early 1990s, thesex-at-birth ratio has been consistently widening, with male births outnumbering femalebirths in a greater proportion than occurs naturally. The same trend has been observed inAzerbaijan and Georgia. Immediately after independence, the sex-at-birth ratio rose fromthe accepted normal biological ratio (102–106 boys to 100 girls), peaking at 120 male birthsper 100 female births, the highest level ever observed in the world. Neighboring countriesreached peaks of 115–118 male births per 100 female births. 216 Since then, the sex-at-birthratio has oscillated between 114 and 116, and seems to have stabilized at 114 male births to100 female births in 2012. 217 There is also considerable regional variation within Armenia insex-at-birth ratios—as high as from 122–124 boys to 100 girls (in Aragatsotn andGegharkunik marzer) and as low as 110–113 boys to 100 girls (in Yerevan and Syunik Marz). 218214 United Nations. 2006. Ending Violence against Women: From Words to Action. A Study of the Secretary General. New York. p. iii.215 Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, European Parliament. 2013. Draft Report with Recommendations to theCommission on Combating Violence Against Women. 2013/2004(INL). Strasbourg. p. 5.216 C. Guilmoto. 2013. Sex Imbalances at Birth in Armenia: Demographic Evidence and Analysis. Yerevan: UNFPA. p. 40.217 Ibid., p. 6.218 Ibid., pp. 54–55.45