Epress.am News from Armenia
The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women (Armenia) invites all interested parties to join them in a protest in front of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan beginning at 5 pm today.
The coalition is demanding the just prosecution of all responsible parties for Zaruhi Petrosyan, a 20-year-old mother who was brutally murdered by her husband and mother-in-law in Armenia on Oct. 1, 2010.
Today’s demonstration follows a similar event in Los Angeles (pictured). On Jan. 30, over 200 men and women gathered in Little Armenia for a march to end violence against women, organized by the United Human Rights Council (UHRC) of the Armenian Youth Federation.
According to the UHRC press release, angered Armenians in the Diaspora and within Armenia demand that the government pass comprehensive domestic violence legislation and work to prevent and punish familial violence.
“Unfortunately it took this terrible incident to truly wake us up and acknowledge the magnitude effects of domestic violence on our people,” stated UHRC Chairperson Sanan Shirinian. “While the death of Zaruhi Petrosyan is a great tragedy, we must see her life and her suffering as a desperate call to bring about change within our social structures, change within our mindsets and change within Armenia’s legal system.”
Photo: United Human Rights Council