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Economic downturn triggers rise in domestic violence in Armenia

13 July 2016 11:23 (UTC+04:00)
Economic downturn triggers rise in domestic violence in Armenia

By Rashid Shirinov

Although an economic downturn itself does not cause domestic violence, it can exacerbate the situation. Reported increases in domestic violence and calls to the police suggest that the current recession in Armenia worsens the situation.

Colonel Nelly Duryan, Head of the Criminal Investigation 3-rd Division of the Armenian Police, reported that the country faced a rise in the number of domestic violence in the first half of 2016.

Over the six months of 2016, 31 cases of domestic violence were detected in the country, while 554 families are currently listed in the register. This figure increased by 2.4 times compared to the same period of 2015.

Duryan stressed that the highest rate of domestic violence was registered in Yerevan, followed by Kotayk, Shirac and Lori cities.

The Armenian Coalition to Stop Violence against Women, in turn, announced that over the past five years, 30 women were killed by their partners, which resulted in 45 children left without mothers.

Head of “Women’s support center” NGO Maro Matosyan said there is no political will in adopting the law on Domestic Violence in Armenia, since it requires prevention which implies establishment of shelters.

“That is to say the adoption of the legislation is linked to obtaining relevant funds. Consequently, the whole process is delayed,” noted Matosyan, pointing to lack of funds.

Overall, 784 cases of domestic violence were registered in the country in 2015, and in 150 of them criminal cases have been initiated, according to iravaban.net. The number has twice increased compared to 2014. In 2015 the cases of violence committed by husbands against the wives were 471, and in 2014 it was 410. There were 15 cases of violence committed by a wife against the husband in 2015, and 6 such cases were registered in 2014.

65 cases of violence against children were registered in 2015, as compared with 62 cases registered in 2014. And 106 cases of violence committed by children against their parents were registered both in 2014 and in 2015.

One of the main reasons for aggression of Armenian men is unemployment, the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Centre (RSC) says in its report.

“The unemployment contributed to emergence of frustration and humiliation feelings for many men, tragically manifested in increase of alcohol abuse and gambling, and is also directly connected with violence against their wives,” Lilit Simonyan, the author of the RSC report states.

The aggression and domestic violence may rise because of the current economic downturn, experts warn.

The rising tendency of unemployment among Armenia’s 2.9 million-population has become a pandemic problem which threatens to generate social dysfunction in society.

The share of poor people represents over 30 percent of the country's overall population. Having a direct link with widespread poverty, unemployment mostly affects the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society

Armenia ranks first in the region for the high level of unemployment. Local media reported that the unemployment rate in 2016 would be some 18.3%. For comparison, the level of unemployment in Azerbaijan is 5%, while in Georgia the figure is 12.5% and in Turkey - 11%.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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