Orange the world: 16 days of Activism against Gender-based Violence”  

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25, launches the 16th Day of Activism Against Gender Violence, which runs until December 10, International Human Rights Day.

As in previous years, orange will be a key color symbolizing unity, drawing public attention to the issue of violence against women and girls. This year the 16 days of activism  will be marked under the slogan “Equality Generation. Women’s rights for Equal Future” within the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Action Plan proclaimed the UN Women Against Sexual Violence and Harassment.

Violence against women is a major obstacle on the path to world development, the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, with gender equality, including the empowerment of women and girls, among the priorities. The global-backed global agenda, in particular, proposes to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls so that states can achieve the 2030 global goals.

UN experts point out that human rights abuses are the most widespread, pervasive, disastrous consequences of violence against girls and women in the modern world. Violence includes physical, psychological, sexual, as well as human trafficking and early marriages.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was adopted 26 years ago in 1993. Violence is defined here as sexually motivated violence that can cause physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, as well as the threat of acts such as deprivation of liberty in personal or public life.

During this year’s events, special attention will be paid to the issue of sexual violence against women and its fight against armed conflict. The program is to be implemented within the framework of the UNiTE UN Global Campaign for the next two years.

UN experts call for developing the capacity of victims of violence and encouraging them to become the bearers of change in their home, society and country. As long as women and girls in the middle of society do not live without fear, violence and everyday danger, we cannot truly say that we live in a just and equal world.

UN Statistics on Sexual Abuse against Women

• One in three women or girls is subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives. Most often violence is committed by a partner.

• Only 52 percent of women who are married or are in relationships make their own decision about using contraceptives or seeking medical services.

• Around 750 million women and girls around the world marry up to 18 years of age. About 200 million women and girls have undergone genital mutilation surgery.

• One of the two dead women has been killed by her partner or relative, this is 2017. For men, this ratio is 20/1.

• Women and girls make up 71 percent of trafficked persons, with three in four of them being sexually exploited.

• Violence against women is one of the main factors in the death or disability of reproductive women.

Sexual violence in Armenia. figures and facts

• There have been 109 homicide-related deaths in Armenia over the past four years (2010-2013), with an average of one million deaths per woman in one year.

• Sexual violence is one area in which the least is reported. In Armenia, many women prefer to remain silent. The problem of “rape”, being in the limelight of the public, creates more of an accusation about a woman or a girl than being viewed as a criminal act committed by a criminal.

• In the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) 2016 Survey of Men and Gender Equality in Armenia, only 52-53% of men completed the sexual assault questionnaire, however, even within this data, men who answered the questions Of those who reported having forced women / girls to have sex with them (rape), 5.1 percent reported that they had forced their spouses to have sex with them (marital rape).

• The international #MeToo campaign in Armenia began after Hetq media reported the case of a Czech woman rescued from sexual assault. In the summer of 2019, hundreds of women began sending anonymous personal stories of sexual abuse to journalist Lucy Kocharyan. The stories of women posted on her “Voices of Violence” Facebook page prompted some circles of the public to speculate that the stories were false and specially trained to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

• The definition of rape under Armenian law completely covers domestic rape, however, 5 out of 100 couples who have ever been raped have reported rape to their spouse.

• The definition of rape in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia does not criminalize rape of a spouse, although the wife may file a complaint. Whereas, according to NGOs dealing with violence against women, all applicants supported by its hotline and shelter service reported being raped by their husbands (OECD, SIGI 2019).

• Early marriage surveys in Armenia show that 13 out of 100 women reported getting married before the age of 18, with 1% of women aged 25-49 getting married before the age of 15 (DHS, 2015).

• According to NGOs, sexually abused women rarely file complaints or report such incidents to the police or women’s organizations, but instead try to resolve the situation on their own, often asking male relatives to talk to “employers, managers, or even clients”. ADB, 2015).

• According to the RA Police, there were 74 cases of sexual violence against women between January 1 and September 1 of this year, 40 of which were against minors.

• According to the RA Investigation Committee, during the first half of 2019, 209 criminal cases were investigated in criminal proceedings, including 10 in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Violent acts of sexual character envisaged by Article 139 of the RA, 1 st. forced to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual activities under Article 140 of the RA Criminal Code, 22 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia Sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16, or engaging in sexual activity with a person under the age of 16; 1) The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia Involvement of a minor under Article 165 of the Code.

• According to the information released by the Investigative Committee, in most of the 519 domestic violence cases (267) the perpetrator beat relatives, in 66 cases threatened to kill, cause serious harm or destroy property; The 34 cases caused minor damage to health. In 17 cases of violence against a person under the age of 16; In 15 cases, the parent avoided keeping the child, in 12 cases the victim suffered severe physical or mental distress, in 12 cases moderate health damage, in 11 cases severe damage, in 10 cases the relative killed the relative, and in 8 cases raped. 493 persons have been identified as victims of the proceeding, 25 of which are under 12 years, 8 of them are 12-14 years old, 24 of them are 14-16 years old, 9 of them are 16-18 years old and 183 of them are: 18-35 years old, 244 more than 35 years old. As of February 2019, 82 criminal cases against 85 individuals have been sent to court.