“End violence against children”: High Level Discussion in Armenia

The first two-day high-level event on violence against children took place in Yerevan on September 26-27, after the country joined the “End violence against children” global partnership.

As a landmark country, which has undertaken practical steps to end the problem in the course of 3-5 years, the Government of Armenia is currently developing a roadmap that is the main theme of the forum. Under the slogan “Make the Invisible Visible” this event focuses on violence as a negative childhood experience and its destructive effects. The conference will pay special attention to preventing violence from two perspectives: general prevention and prevention through early detection. It was tackled with different strategies for the elimination of violence against girls and boys in the context of violence prevention and response.

“Violence is a choice and it can be prevented. Violence against children is often justified as a necessary or inevitable phenomenon, but there is only one opinion that violence against children is a violation of rights that requires a comprehensive response, “said Mrs. Afshan Khan, UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Director, within the framework of his first visit.”Significant gaps in the capacity to detect and resolve the violence cases can be successfully completed only through early detection of violence against children, through interdisciplinary cooperation and coordination to prevent and respond to violence.”

Recent data on child abuse in Armenia show that 7 of 10 children have been subjected to physical or psychological violence among children aged 1-14. 65% of children were subjected to psychological violence, and 38% were subjected to physical violence. Almost half of children aged one to two years have been subjected to a violent method of upbringing.

Violence has a disastrous effect on children and adolescents, the most vulnerable members of our society, causing them health and social problems. In an early age, violence may undermine the brain and damage the nervous system, as well as endocrine, blood, muscular, reproductive, respiratory, and immune systems that can endanger the lives of children exposed to life.

Immediate and long-term public health consequences and economic spending on girls and boys negatively affect the country’s development, devaluate investments in education, health, child welfare, and undermine the potential of future generations.

The Assembly is a step to reinforce the commitment of the Republic of Armenia to ensure that every child is protected from violence, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goal 16.2, which addresses the abolition, exploitation, trafficking and elimination of all forms of violence and torture.