What should the state do to prevent domestic violence? Assessments of the European Court of Human Rights

On October 1^st a number of public events will be held in the framework of the Day against domestic violence. Although after Zaruhi Petrosyan’s tragic death women’s rights organizations and individuals united to fight more effectively, until now it was impossible to reduce the number of victims of domestic violence.

In recent years, the Armenian media more often covers stories about victims of domestic violence which journalists very often do not qualify as violence, but it rather serves as a means of increasing the number of readers at the expense of bloody descriptions. Few media raise the issue of the role and significance of the state in the solution of the problem.

And the future of the draft law “On preventing domestic violence” is still unknown, although last year “Coalition to stop violence against women” sent it to all deputies of NA.

In Armenia legal protection of the victims of domestic violence by investigative bodies, prosecutors and courts is the most problematic. As a result of criminal investigation of a small number of cases of domestic violence perpetrators very often carry minimal penalties, resulting in loss of hope of victims, and they stop to hope that the state will support them.

None of the cases of domestic violence in Armenia were investigated by the European Court; however women in other countries have applied to it and received compensation from the state budget.

We remind that Armenia has ratified the European Convention of Human Rights back in 2002, becoming a member of the Council of Europe. It gives an opportunity to the citizens to represent application to the Court if they have reasonable grounds that the state has violated their rights defined in the Convention.

Arman Gharibyan

Full text in Armenian