“Even my mother now wonders how I was able to stand up ․․․” 

When she got married in 2006, she could not even imagine what family life would turn into in a month. She says that her husband was addicted to drugs, did not come home for days, and as soon as he arrived, another argument started, which, as a rule, turned into a beating, which had already become unbearable ․

They lived together for three years, full of violence and humiliation. During that time, Araksya once tried to leave her husband, but soon returned, believing in the promises to be saved, hoping to save the family, but the quarrels and violence did not stop even after that.

The decision to leave her husband for good became the only salvation for her and her child. Returning to her parents’ house was not a solution, she knew her husband would find her again. Araksyan had to flee the country without seeking any other support in Armenia ․

Araksyan is not the only one who has suffered from domestic violence, according to official statistics. During the first half of 2021, 326 criminal cases on domestic violence were investigated by the RA Investigative Committee, in which 145 persons were involved as defendants; 291 persons were recognized as victims.

There are no summary statistics on women who have left the country due to domestic violence, but according to the Women’s Support Center, 20 out of 452 women who have been abused in the last two years, realizing that they are not safe from violence in Armenia, have left the country.

According to Arman Gharibyan, the first step in the fight against violence should be to ensure the safety of the victim of violence, to keep him / her free from violence, as domestic violence is a crime that is almost always repeated.

According to Sofi Bostanchyan, Head of the Women’s Issues Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, in 2020, in all the regions of Armenia, in the city of Yerevan, with the co-financing of the state budget, support centers for victims of domestic violence were launched, whose services were used by 1067 people.

According to Bostanchyan, 135 people used the shelter service in 2020, 53 women, 82 children, and 15 citizens applied for financial assistance, although the program is designed for at least 100 people a year. This year they already have 5 applications, which are in progress.

Full text in Armenian