“38% of children are subjected to any type of physical punishment in the family”

They say the child is a sanctity in the Armenian family, but it does not exclude the use of violence by their parents … At the request of WomenNet.am, Aida Muradyan, Project Manager of World Vision Armenia presents the latest data on violence against children.

“According to Armenia’s Demographic and Health Survey (2015-16), 7 out of 10 children aged 1-14 were subjected to any psychological or physical punishment during the 30 days preceding the survey. Psychological aggression is more common than physical. More than two-thirds of children (65%) were subjected to psychological aggression and 38% to any type of physical punishment. Violence against children of early ages was rarely applied to children aged 3-14. Nevertheless, almost a half of children aged one and two have been subjected to a violent method of upbringing, “said the expert, noting that this data once again proves the issue of violence against children.

According to our interlocutor, the violent methods of upbringing are equally used against  urban (68%) and rural (71%) children. The children of Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions were comparatively least affected by any violent method of education (56 and 59%, respectively). And, on the contrary, some of the violent methods was applied to eight out of ten children of Aragatsotn and Lori regions.

44% of the National Institute for the Study of Violence by the Armenian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs finds that violence against children in the Armenian society is one of the problems that requires an urgent solution, concluded the expert.

Full text in Armenian