Violence and early marriage. Children’s rights are partially protected in Armenia

Armenia partially implements the final observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which refer to the fulfillment of the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We read this conclusion in the report published by the Eurasian Cooperation Foundation.

The author of the study, Narine Solomonyan, analyzed the implementation process of the final three observations addressed to Armenia, with the aim of highlighting the implementation process of Armenia’s assumed obligations and presenting recommendations for the implementation of partially fulfilled or unfulfilled obligations. Let’s look at the problems of violence against children and early marriage, which are included in the report.

Violence in the family and at school

The Committee expressed concern about the ill-treatment and violence against children in the family and in public educational institutions. And although the law on domestic violence has been adopted in Armenia, according to the author of the report, the RA law is very incomplete in order to fully ensure the protection of a child affected by domestic violence, the child often faces real risks of double victimization. “Particularly, a child who witnesses violence and is in an environment of violence is not recognized as a victim of violence, and therefore is excluded from the care of the state. There are no separate procedures for promptly reporting the incident of violence against the child, for immediate removal of the child from the environment of violence, and for restricting the rights of family members in cases of domestic violence against the child. “, it is stated in the report.

The report states that since 2020, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has been implementing the “Support to Families, Women and Children” program, within the framework of which support centers and shelters are operating to provide the necessary services to persons subjected to domestic violence, as well as providing temporary support to victims of domestic violence, exposed persons.

According to the report’s author, although legislative changes have been made and many programs of a social nature, as well as public awareness, have been implemented, however, limited actions are being taken regarding the prevention, early detection and reporting of cases of violence against children.

Early marriages

The Committee singled out the problem of early marriage of girls of the Yezidi community of Armenia from the harmful practices applied to children. “In the Yezidi community, girls get married at the age of 14-15, without getting education and relevant life experience, which, in turn, leads to isolated life and non-integration of girls and women in various spheres of life,” the report states.

It is stipulated in the Criminal Code that having sexual relations with a person under the age of sixteen or performing sexual acts against a person under the age of sixteen is punishable as a criminal offense. However, early marriages continue in the Yezidi community, and if the case is discovered and the case reaches court, often the already married couple appears in court with a newborn child. “There is no procedure in state bodies that would allow to control whether marriages are forced or not. In addition, unregistered marriages are very common, which complicates control even more,” the report states.

In order to change the approach in this field, educational programs have also been implemented, in particular, the “Healthy Lifestyle” course has been taught since 2008 based on the program and educational materials guaranteed by the Ministry of Education and Science. It includes topics related to reproductive health and sex education, including: “Puberty,” “Love,” “Love as the basis of harmonious relations between the sexes,” “Reproductive health,” “Potential consequences of reckless sexual behavior,” “STDs, HIV/ Prevention of AIDS” and others.

In order to protect Yezidi girls from early marriages and forced marriages, the Committee’s recommendation, according to the report, was partially implemented by the state. The author of the report suggests to continue the implementation of educational programs among Yezidi girls, to develop and consistently implement the program policy aimed at the abduction of Yezidi girls.

The report also refers to ensuring the best interests of the child and the right to be heard, non-discrimination, family environment and alternative care, children’s education, entertainment and cultural activities, as well as measures aimed at disability, basic health and well-being.

Full text in Armenian