Oppositionists did not change the minister’s opinion. The law must be adopted

A public discussion on the draft law “On the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of victims of Domestic Violence” and related laws elaborated by the RA Ministry of Justice took place today in the new building of Matenadaran. Even though Marine Manucharyan, the moderator of the debate, expressed hope that this would be a sample discussion where the participants would not be offended and labeled, and the debate took place in a very tense atmosphere so that the security guards had to intervene.

RA Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan touched upon the need to have a law in his welcoming speech, underlining that the need for such a law has long matured. The Minister presented official statistics on domestic violence, saying that they did not reflect the real picture, as many of the victims avoided to apply to law enforcement bodies for various reasons. Taking into consideration the various misinterpretations and fraudulent information in the online platforms, the Minister specifically touched upon what was not provided by the draft law. The law does not provide for any deprivation or restriction of parental rights or the adoption of a child.

“I really do not have any doubt about the necessity of the law, it is necessary for our society, the Armenian family, to create a truly strong family. Very soon we will present this draft law to the Government and then to the National Assembly”.

During the discussion, the tension was created when the official speeches ended and those who wanted to protest against the draft law found out that they could only ask questions but could not speak. The discussion was temporarily disrupted and turned into group discussions and debates; a group of people surrounded the minister and began shouting their voice. Security officers were also unable to calm the fierce opponents.

Full text in Armenian