Armenian Domestic Violence Bill Does Not Ensure Effective Protection for Victims, Activists Say

The Government’s unexpected amendments to the bill on preventing domestic violence distort the essence and the idea of the draft, a group of women’s rights activists announced on November 23 during a demonstration outside the Government building in Yerevan. The demonstrators demanded that the authorities change the name of the bill back to its original one and make other contextual changes to the draft to ensure that the future law is effective in protecting domestic violence victims.

Recall, the draft’s final version published on the government’s official website in mid-November showed that the bill had undergone several significant amendments since it was first put to public discussion early last month. The authors had also changed the name of the bill to “on prevention of family violence, protection of persons subjected to family violence, restoration of family cohesion.”

“‘Cohesion’ is a term which allows for subjective perception; it can also manifest itself in a woman putting up with the violence used by her husband. We believe that the inclusion of this principle contradicts the principle of the law’s legal certainty, and subjects human rights – the highest value – to the subjective perception of other members of the society about ‘cohesion in the family,’” members of the Coalition to Stop Violence against Women wrote in a letter addressed to the Government, stating also that the internationally-accepted term “domestic violence” should not have been replaced with the phrase “family violence.”

The definition of domestic violence has been significantly limited and narrowed down in the final draft; violence committed by a former or a separately-living spouse, for example, does not constitute domestic violence, and the future law therefor will not cover this type of crimes.

“In the previous draft, the wording was broader and included all members of the family, regardless of the fact of cohabitation, which provided more support and protection to victims of domestic violence,” the activists argued.