The bases of the family were rather fragile. The predominant “ego” was omnipresent in their interpersonal relations that very often led to conflict situations in the family. Nothing tangibly changed with the birth of their daughter.

They divorced in the autumn of 2007. It seemed nothing special had happened. Life didn’t stop and they could continue living separately, everyone with her and his own life.

Arayik left for Russia to work. Nune found a job in Yerevan, working as a waitress in one of the city restaurants. It seemed life was running in its normal way without any urgent matters. It was also usual that good-looking Nune attracted the restaurant owner’s attention and a close relationship started between them. In the autumn, Arayik, Nune’s ex-husband, returned to Yerevan and immediately started taking action to penetrate into Nune’s life. He even proposed to Nune to restart their relations, saying that they enjoyed happy days together and everything could be brought back. But Nune refused since she had completely changed during the period of his absence. She had a job, a man interested in her, she felt more self-confident and happy. She refused him without any suspicion that something evil might happen in the future.

The first thought passed through Arayik’s mind was the man who appeared in Nune’s life. Finding out about a new man in Nune’s life, Arayik started his revenge. At first, he scratched Mercedes of the restaurant owner, causing him material damage of 400 thousand AMD. Later, he put the Mercedes on fire, causing material loss of 650 thousand AMD. He burnt the car and called him to threaten if he would continue his relations with Nune, he would kill all his relatives. He also warned him not to call the Police.

To get rid of the menace, the owner of the restaurant stopped any relations with Nune and discharged her from her job. On February 27, 2008, Arayik went to Nune’s house to have a talk with her. While talking to Nune, Arayik started his strange behavior and began scaring her and her sister. Later, Nune’s sister decided to call for help from the neighbors and went out of the house. On coming back home, she found her sister’s face and body burnt from sulfuric acid. The Emergency took Nune to the hospital. Doctors graded her condition as high danger to life. An investigation case was initiated against Arayik Adamyan.

For months Arayik kept everyone in fear. After some time he decided to contact his rival again and by blackmailing grab money from him. They agreed to meet on a road leading to a village near Yerevan at 23:30. This time Levon, the restaurant owner, decided to apply for Police. At the appointed time Arayik and Levon were at the venue and Police officers were nearby. Everything happened so rapidly, it was hard to prevent anything. Arayik appeared on time and stood far from Levon. They exchanged some words and Arayik without any warning threw something towards Levon’s direction that exploded near him and burnt the car. The second bomb followed but, fortunately, it did not explode. Arayik run away.

Police officers managed to catch Arayik only some days later. He was arrested and his case was forwarded to Yerevan Criminal Court.

Hasmik Poghosyan

“02” Daily N 13 (912)  

03.04.2009

Unofficial translation

On April 3, Lisa Fund will hold discussions and screen the documentary “Territory of Silence" within the framework of the program entitled “Domestic Violence: A Primary Care Issue for Rural Women." The program was initiated with the assistance of US Embassy in Armenia.

"'Territory of Silence' was the title that suited best. It was hard to find people willing to acknowledge they’re being subjected to domestic violence. Most of them choose to hush up the problem,” documentary director Mariam Ohanyan related.

The discussion will be attended by Women's Rights Center President Susanna Vardanyan, NGOs representatives, sociologists and lawyers.

The United States Department of Justice held a conference on “Support for Victims and Successful Prosecution of Domestic Violence” in Yerevan, Armenia, on March 16, 2009. Three American prosecutors and one social worker participated - Prosecutor Steven Kessler (U.S. Embassy, Yerevan), Prosecutor Arlene Markarian (Brooklyn, New York), Prosecutor Wanda Lucibello (Brooklyn, New York), and Social Worker Cristin Mathiez (Brooklyn, New York). Joining the Americans at the conference were Armenian judges, prosecutors, police, and representatives from the Women Rights Center, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social and Labor Issues, the Civil Rights Division of the National Assembly, and international organizations such as UNICEF, OSCE and Open Society Institute Foundation in Armenia.

The American and Armenian officials discussed their countries’ respective approaches to fighting all manifestations of domestic violence, as well as support for the victim, investigation of a domestic violence case, and prosecution of such a case where the victim refuses to cooperate.

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch opened the conference. In her remarks, the Ambassador noted that although the statistics on domestic violence in the U.S. are sobering, much progress has been made in the past twenty years. The Ambassador urged the Armenian authorities in attendance to do all that can be done to reduce domestic violence and care for its victims.

The domestic violence conference is just one of several sessions held by the U.S. Department of Justice in Yerevan to support Armenian law enforcement. In 2008, the USDOJ held conferences for Armenian judges, prosecutors, police and defense attorneys on the European Convention on Human Rights, corruption prosecution, financial crime investigations, the rules of evidence in adversarial proceedings, and the development of Armenian jurisprudence and case law.

Published in: www.yerevan.usembassy.gov

16.03.2009

Women often continue living in the families where they are frequently beaten and humiliated

“The first slap in my face from my husband came right on the next day of our marriage. The reason was that I threw his towel and didn’t hand it to him when asked. He told me that by throwing the towel I simply expressed my disrespect to him and he would teach me how to respect. It’s already 5 years that my husband is beating me from time to time”, - 27 year old Narine told to the journalist of “Aravot” daily during the interview. “What else can I do? I already became used to that. A woman is made so that she becomes used to everything by the time”, - says Narine.

As affirmed by the statistical data of the UN Organization, every 3^rd woman in the world at least once is subjected to violence. By stating violence one must consider not only physical and sexual but also psychological means. Even bad-mouthing, making someone forcibly do something, ignoring one’s opinion on housing issues, disallowing working or forbidding meeting with parents or relatives is also considered to be violence.

26-year-old H. is a hairdresser. After marriage her husband forbade working. “When we got married 4 years ago I was almost convinced that my husband would understand and support me on every issue. Before our marriage he had promised that I would continue working. The first year of our marriage I was working and my husband was taking me home from my workplace. Later, he started demanding that I came back home earlier. He started being jealous about male colleagues in our office. He was visiting my working place in different hours. One day he simply closed the door and didn’t let me go out for work. Therefore, I had to accept the situation. What else? Would I give a divorce only because of his forbidding me to work?”

21-year-old L. lives at her parent’s place with her 4-months daughter already half a yearold. L. says: “Before marriage I knew he had a very difficult temper: crude, irritable, inclined to alcohol. I knew that but I was ignoring it. I was thinking and calming myself down convincing that everyone drinks alcohol and when we get married everything will be fine. But then, everything grew worse. He was coming home drunk and very late. He started to beat me and say indecent words to me. I kept silent so that neighbors wouldn’t hear anything. The next morning, he was apologizing and swearing that it was the last time. However, nothing particularly changed the next day. Until one evening, my parents came and found him beating me. They took me back home. At that time I was six months pregnant.”

As L. said later, her husband was tracing her and coming to her parents’ place for almost one month drunk and asking her to come back. “I refused every time. Later, I found out that he left for Ukraine to his parents. He didn’t see the child.”

Arevik Chaparyan, Student of 4^th grade at Yerevan State University

“Aravot” daily, 26.02.2009

Unofficial translation

Yerevan, February 6. /News-Armenia/.

Women’s Rights Center will organize meeting for Mass Media representatives about domestic violence issue on February 25.

“Women’s Rights Center attaches great importance to the role of journalists and on the whole all media representatives in the process of raising public awareness through understandable illustration of the issue of domestic violence among a wide range of society”, - is stated in the announcement.

According to the announcement, taking into consideration the above mentioned statement, Women’s Rights Center has initiated a meeting-discussion with mass media and representatives of news agencies.

Women’s Rights Center is a non-governmental organization, the mission of which is to support democratic changes in Armenia, promote the increase of the role of women in the social, cultural and political life of the country, shift the attitude of society towards the issue, and support gender equality between men and women as well as protect rights of women and children.

Beginning in 2007, the organization has initiated the development of the draft law on Domestic Violence, involving in the process a Working Group consisting of officials, judges and lawyers from RA Police, Ministry of Social and Labor Issues, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Health.

Compiled from: www.ginsc.net

Information source: www.newsarmenia.ru

06.02.2009

On January 2, 2008, Marineh found out that her husband has married to a woman in Greece. But her husband then contacted her and said not to worry, that it was a passing fancy.

The tension in the Ghevondyan family grew with each passing day and soon led to the fateful day on July 17, 2008, when the family feud erupted and brought the family to ruins.

What is so sad and tragic is that Sanasar Ghevondyan used his young boys against their mother. Sanasar had planned everything to discredit the mother and to woo away the boys from her. The bickering started when Marineh went into the other room to get a new set of clothes for the youngest boy, Gorik. Instead of pacifying the boy, Sanasar orders his 13 year-old son Garik, “Go tell your fool mother to come and shut this kid up.” Garik enters the other room and insulting his mother says to take care of the kid.

Insulted, Marineh slaps the boy on the shoulder. Sanasar orders the boy to answer his mom back and the two of them proceed to beat Marineh.

Given that Sanasar had long-range plans connected to his wife, instead of smoothing out the family tension, he directly went to the police with his boy. Marineh also went to the police to report the incident. Materials for preliminary investigation were prepared and the result received coincided with Sanasar’s intention. According to the conclusion of Investigator Movses Tamazyan, “Garik Ghevondyan, born July 18, 1995, the adolescent son of Marineh Ghevondyan, insulted his mother and she threw a coffee dish in the direction of her son. As a result the son sustained a minor physical injury.”

During the family quarrel, Sanasar Ghevondyan hit Marineh once in the face with his hand and she sustained a minor injury. According to the investigator, police Lieutenant Movses Tamazyan; the young boy hadn’t committed a chargeable offence by insulting his mother. The investigator also didn’t show any interest in the fact that Sanasar, instead of punishing the boy for insulting his mother, slapped his wife instead. It turns out that the mother and son quarrelled and that the father hit his wife to have it out with his son. Such deviations on the part of the investigative bodies do not take place by accident. What’s also comical is that in the eyes of the investigating officer the fact that a young boy insults his mother and that a grown man beats a defenceless woman weren’t viewed as chargeable offences.

Based on the preliminary evidence no criminal case was brought forth and reconciliation was stipulated. Buoyed by his successes, on July 29, 2008, Sanasar Ghevondyan initiates a court case against Marineh and demands that he be granted custody for the care and upbringing of the children. On September 11, 2009, at the Lori Regional Court, Judge Souren Baghdasaryan, reviews the petition of Sanasar for custody of the children and partially finds in the favour of the father. Judge Baghdasaryan rules that Sanasar be granted custody of Garik (born July 18, 1995) and Arman (born October 17, 1997) and that Marineh retain custody of the other two boys, Karen and Gor.

We should note that in his appeal Sanasar noted that his wife “had shown cruelty to the children and had beaten them.” His last trump card in the case was the conclusion drawn by Investigator Movses Tamazyan, which the court also took into account. This went up against the report given by the Odzun Village Mayor that described Marineh as a “positive individual “and the testimony of neighbours S. Kikanyan, K. Mayilyan, S. Atabekyan and L. Ohanyan, that “Marineh was a morally upright woman and good mother and that we never observed anything unhealthy from her.”

Brushing aside these testimonials, the court found that the parties to the conflict differed little in terms of their moral and individual characteristics but that in terms of property and housing conditions, Sanasar Ghevondyan had certain advantages given that he owned a private house and had adequate material resources whilst Marineh lived with her parents and sister’s family in a three room apartment where it wasn’t possible to raise four boys.

Marineh Ghevondyan now works and is trying to get back on her feet in order raise her young boys. She is concerned that her husband will take the boys to Greece without her consent. She told us that she had word that the father had already visited the passport division in Alaverdi to get the children’s passports ready. She is fearful that the four boys will grow estranged from one another. She is also concerned about other possible consequences stemming from the trait in Garik to raise his hand against her. She is aware that her husband has convinced Garik that she is “immoral”. However, she hopes that her son will one day know the truth.

Larisa Paremuzyan

19.01.2009

Compiled from: HetqOnline.am

Official translation

The National Domestic Violence Hot Line service is primarily aimed at providing psychological and legal assistance to women-victims of domestic violence and to raise awareness of society about the issue. We estimate the level of public awareness by the fact that more women apply to us and they have learned about our organization from our beneficiaries. Apart from that, the service is also designed to reveal cases of domestic violence as well as its causes and peculiarities in Armenia in order to work out relevant measures to overcome (combat) domestic violence and to provide adequate assistance to DV victims in future.

Having the experience of recent years' work of the National Hot Line Service, the WRC staff has developed a definite policy to provide, first, psychological assistance to a caller regardless of the actual issue of the phone call. Later, when an applicant is identified as a victim of domestic violence, she receives the full range of psychological help and legal counselling. 

The National Hot Line service does not limit itself only to provide unitary psychological assistance and legal counselling. The majority of cases are continuously followed up: beneficiaries receive more profound psychological assistance and a wider range of legal services.

Within the period of 2008, we registered 831 calls, 428 of which were primary and 403 repeated. 350 calls regarded psychological issues and 481 calls - legal matters. 415 calls of the total number were calls on domestic violence (248 primary and 167 repeated; 293 (70.6%) calls out of 415 concerned psychological domestic violence, 112 (27%) - physical, 10 (2.4%) – sexual) (see first Chart).

During the period of 2008, 248 primary cases of domestic violence were registered through phone calls. 131 (52.8%) cases of violence out of 248 were cases of psychological abuse and 107 (43%) of them were cases of physical violence, and 10 (4.2%) cases of sexual violence were registered (see second Chart ).  

Our National Hot Line service covers the whole territory of Armenia and is free of charge. In 2008, we received 61 calls from the regions, 38 of which concerned domestic violence (24 calls on psychological violence, 12 – physical violence and 2 – sexual violence).

The majority of women who apply to the National Hot Line service are depressed, hopeless and confused, regardless of their age, social status, place of residence and background. Most of the time they suffer from anxiety and a groundless feeling of guilt as well as suicidal thoughts and aggression towards surrounding people in general and the violator in particular. In some cases they have an inadequate attitude towards their children.

The psychologists of the National Hot Line service primarily aim to help applicants to overcome destructive emotions, to go through the disappointment, humiliation, and insult fast and easy, to give them a possibility to realize and express their negative feelings in order to relieve themselves from those destructive emotional experiences. Based upon victims’ newly gained emotional balance, WRC psychologists can start using rational and cognitive psychotherapeutic skills, which are oriented to introspection and re-evaluation of interpersonal relations. As a result of our psychologists’ work and effort the majority of women-victims of domestic violence acquired emotional balance, changed their attitude towards themselves and their families, and developed adequate self-esteem.

As for legal counselling, women usually apply regarding the following matters: housing problems and problems with other types of property, custody of children, divorce, aliments, inheritance, etc. WRC lawyers provide them with the full range of comprehensive consultation. At that stage, being informed about their rights, women victims of domestic violence can make decisions and apply for our legal assistance to proceed with their issues. As a result, WRC lawyers have successfully dealt with the composition of corresponding documents, applications, the composition of written requests to receive information from governmental and non-governmental bodies regarding a certain case, as well as receiving information by phone, establishing interrelations between the applicants and executive bodies, and providing attorney’s assistance in Courts, etc.   

We provide psychological and legal counseling also to those people who are not victims of domestic violence but have called us for other reasons. We do this to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence and to present to the applicants the activity of the National Hot Line Service.   

During implementation of the project “Combat violence against women in Republic of Armenia”, every activity carried out by WRC was directed towards women’s empowerment. Various legal services that were provided to women promoted learning about their rights and making use of them in their own favour. It also promoted the formation of an ability to protect their right to live a free-of-violence life. Thanks to psychological services women victims acquired self-confidence and were able to use their inner resources and to reintegrate into the society.

In mid-September Armen noticed that a separate gas tube led from his mother’s place to the house of his ex-wife. He didn’t notice it before and got seriously furious. Armen ordered them to uninstall the tubes within two days. On September 14 around 21:00 o’clock, the drunken Armen came back home and the first thing he noticed was that the ill-fated tubes were not uninstalled. It meant for him that his word was neglected and it was the last straw for him. Even the presence of his son didn’t stop him from quarrelling.

The quarrel became more intense, everyone insisted on his or her own words. Anahit demanded her husband to quit and stop bothering them. Armen, inflamed with rage, started beating his wife. Their son, unwilling to hear the quarrel anymore, started pushing his father and made him leave the house. It seemed that everything calmed down...

Next day, Anahit Harutunyan left a statement at Police Department of Erebuni district.

A criminal case was initiated according to RA Criminal Code Article 118. During preliminary investigation phase Armen Karapetyan pled completely guilty. The investigation is finished and the case is in the court.

Anna Aslanyan

“02” weekly, 12.12.2008, N48 (897), www.police.am

Unofficial translation from Armenian

For Armenian version, click here.

They left for Russia. The parents of Mher’s wife were living there. They could support the newly married couple by their advice. However, as it appeared later, Mher didn’t even require any help. He was living the way he wished, ignoring problems which occurred in the family and trying to submerge problems into a cup of drink. Because of these reasons, there were everlasting problems and Mher was beating his wife. She couldn’t bear his husband’s behavior and more than once she left her husband, but later came back. How could she leave her family, they had a child...

In 2007 they came back to Armenia and started living at the house of his wife’s grandparents in Kapan city. Mher found job and they started living a new life. Nevertheless, life in that small family was only relatively calm. The main reason of disputes was the wife’s mother. Mher prohibited his wife to talk to her mother by phone.

...The usual day was coming to its end. Before going home Mher decided to have a cup of drink. On entering home he asked his wife to prepare a cup of coffee and meanwhile started looking in his wife’s phone the contacts to whom she talked with during the day to find out whether she talked with her mother. Then, he started “investigating” and asking questions. His wife was trying to avoid any further quarrel. During the “clarification” affairs another quarrel became imminent. He hit his wife once, went out to shop for another bottle of beer and fuelled with fighting mood, came back home, and announced that her mother had no right to call anymore. Later he took a wood from outside and started beating her, causing her injuries with middle severity.

The wife hardly managed to escape from her furious husband and went to the neighbor’s house. Mher caught her and pulling her hair, tried to take her home. However, the neighbor managed to interfere.

This is how their quarrel ended and Mher was captured and brought to Police Department in Kapan city.

Later Mher pled guilty and gave an avowal of his guilt. The preliminary investigation for the current criminal case is finished.

Kapan-Yerevan

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, 19.12.2008, N49 (898), www.police.am

Unofficial translation from Armenian

For Armenian version, click here.

A horrifying murder has been reported in one of Aparan’s villages this year. A husband pushed his wife into a tonir while she was baking bread.

President of Women’s Rights Center Susanna Vardanyan cited another example. This time the mother of two children was severely beaten by her mother-in-law and father-in-law. The latter cut her ear. Only with the help of the village head was the woman able to run away.

“If I didn’t work in this company and I was told these stories from a second person I wouldn’t believe them. I wonder how an Armenian husband can be such cruel!” said Mrs. Vardanyan.

The Women’s Rights Center has issued a book entitled “What is Violence?” The centre also gives free consultation to women undergoing violence in their families and provides asylum to them.

19 December, 2008

Compiled from: http://www.a1plus.am/am/?page=issue&iid=67542

"When he learned what I had done, he punched me in the face and screamed that I was a prostitute," said Anahit, now 27. Years of abuse followed until she left him last year, taking her three young children to the only shelter for battered women in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

"I was suffering for the sake of our children, they need a father. But when he hit me in front of them and I saw fear in their eyes, I realized that for my children's sake I had to leave him," she said.

Anahit is rare in Armenia not only for seeking help and leaving an abusive relationship, but also for speaking out about what human rights groups say is widespread domestic violence. Armenians are proud of the strong family bonds that have endured for centuries in this remote and isolated ex-Soviet republic, proud of its history as the first state to adopt Christianity as state religion.

But some say those traditions are being warped, allowing abusers to act with impunity and police to turn a blind eye to domestic violence by claiming it is purely a "family matter". Rights group Amnesty International said that Armenia's tradition of strong family bonds "hides an institutionalized culture of silence on violence within the family and injustice for its victims."

As many as one in four Armenian women have at some time experienced violence at the hands of husbands or other family members, Amnesty International said in a report released last month. But the speaking out about abuse has remained a taboo, with family secrets remaining behind the closed doors of family homes.

"When my husband was beating me, my mother-in-law used to say that it meant he wasn't indifferent and that he loved me, and that her husband used to beat her as well," said Karina, 32, another woman at the shelter.

In a survey Armenia's Women's Rights Centre conducted last year, 88 percent of respondents said domestic violence was a private matter best handled within the home. That culture of indifference and secrecy extends to law enforcement, rights groups said, with police often ignoring abuse and in some cases pressuring women to drop complaints.

"Police endorse the view that domestic violence is an internal 'family matter' that should not be publicly pursued," the Amnesty report said. It said that during police training sessions run by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, senior officers with more than 20 years experience said they had never dealt with a single case of domestic violence.

But activists are now hoping that a draft law to finally criminalize domestic violence will be adopted by parliament next spring. Unlike in many other countries, domestic violence is not dealt with separately under Armenian law and falls under general provisions for assault and other violent crimes.

"We hope that lawmakers will take our initiative seriously and that the silence on this problem will finally end," said Susanna Vartanian, the director of the Women's Rights Centre, which along with other non-governmental groups helped draft the bill.

Supporters of the bill say a separate law is needed in order to push police to deal with domestic violence and to protect women who decide to come forward about abuse. The law would make it mandatory for police to investigate allegations of domestic violence and legally prevent husbands from claiming that a woman's behavior was a "mitigating factor" in abuse.

"The police and the courts are not taking this problem seriously," said Rafik Petrosian, a pro-government lawmaker who supports the bill. "A strong family is simply the most important thing for Armenians. That's why the police try to reconcile spouses and to prevent divorce."

Activists are also pushing for government support for a nationwide network of crisis centers and shelters offering advice and protection to battered women. And while legal reforms are a vital step, many say changing public attitudes is just as important.

"This is a perversion of national traditions," said another lawmaker supporting the bill, Naira Zohrabian. "According to Armenian tradition a husband is the head of the family. But tradition doesn't say that the husband should be a tyrant and that the wife can't develop as an individual, can't work, can't decide what to wear or choose her own friends."

By Mariam Harutiunian, Armenia France Press
December 17, 2008  

We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that 7 judges from the Common Jurisdiction Court of First Instance expressed their willingness to participate in our event after the invitation letters had been distributed. Likewise, representatives from city and 12 community municipalities accepted the invitation letters and were present at the public hearing. In the course of the meeting, it became obvious that they didn’t simply come to be present as they were told, but that they were quite interested in the topic and were commenting and making suggestions.

The meeting started with the opening speech of S. Vardanyan, director of WRC. Ms. Vardanayn welcomed all participants, gave a brief summary of the meeting’s purpose, how the draft law was worked out, and its procedures from the very start. A note about the survey “Domestic violence and abuse of women in Armenia,” conducted by Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis to find out the situation on domestic violence in Armenia, was also stated. The survey was available for the participants. At the end of her welcome speech, Ms. Vardanyan mentioned that the public hearing was part of the worldwide "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence."

The floor was given to Anna Platonova, OSCE/ODIHR Project Officer, who expressed her delight to be present for the Public Hearing on Draft Law on DV, organized by WRC. She also expressed her warmest sympathy for the work done by WRC and its working group. The stress was given to the fact that violence in general directly affects any sector in society. More analysis, a serious approach, and sincere willingness would advance the shift of mentality among people and promote the well-shaped law on domestic violence.

She mentioned that DV is a violation of human rights and a worldwide phenomenon, and there are significant proofs that Armenia is not an exception. OSCE/ODIHR, as stated by Ms. Platonova, is rather interested to improve the situation in this region. Many former Soviet Union and East European countries have already adopted the Law on DV and the experience of these countries proved the necessity of the adoption of such law.

The project lawyer, Artak Gevorgyan, highlighted main aspects in the draft law: the purpose of enabling the draft law, authorized institutions, special preventive measures against violence, protective order, rehabilitation fund, etc. He also mentioned that in a majority of cases women are afraid to come to law enforcement agencies since they have no guarantee to be protected or understood. The law being enabled completely would advance the awareness of women being legally protected and decrease the number of domestic violence cases.

Discussions were conducted and suggestions were accepted from participants after every speaker’s speech. It should be also added that participants expressed their preparedness and willingness to provide their suggestions and recommendations to acquire an improved version of the draft law.

Though all our meetings, both individual and group ones, including the last Public Hearing, were conducted with certain difficulties connected with a lack of knowledge and stereotyped mentality, nevertheless, WE ARE HAPPY TO MENTION that significant changes have occurred in the mentality of our society and its attitude towards the problem of domestic violence has been shifted tangibly.

The results of the survey, conducted in 2007-2008, showed that 66% of women in Armenia had been subjected to the psychological violence, and 7% of them to  sexual violence. According to the survey, psychological violence mainly prevails in families. Experts also state that despite the oppressive picture, however, Armenian women are not willing to wash their dirty linen in public, preferring to keep silence.  The authorities also overlook the lawlessness within the cells of society too. According to the expert of the organization, Lorence Broerce, the authorities are doing nothing to create favorable conditions for women as long as there is no acting regulation or system in the country to defend and ensure long-term assistance to women-victims, be it providing them support in finding a job, or in housing. He is of the opinion that there is a need for crucial changes of attitude toward the urgent problem in the system of justice and society as a whole, which holds victims back from their quest for justice.

Assistance to the victims of domestic violence is provided by the Women’s Rights Center NGO. Perhaps it is the only organization providing temporary shelter to women of the appropriate category. Nonetheless, evidently, these efforts are insufficient. The correspondent of “Novoye Vremya” newspaper was informed by the organization that the mentioned project had been launched in 2002. According to psychologist Tsovik Karapetyan, within that program there is also a Hot Line (54-28-28) project. Through this service specialists find potential victims, who later become inhabitants of the shelter. The interlocutor also says that the dynamics in the numbers of calls has been quite low in the recent years. At the same time the number of calls from victims who were brutally treated at home has considerably increased. Unfortunately, the Center’s resources are limited enough and the number of people willing to be temporally sheltered is more that the shelter can accommodate. Victims with their children are provided with housing, consultation from specialists and concrete help from lawyers. Men beat their children very rarely, but wives are beaten by them harshly. Although there are not many men with a definite psychosis, but as to raising his hand on his wife, a man is unable to stop it. Sometimes, not only a husband, but also a mother-in-law or a father-in-law beat their daughter-in-law.

The period the women can stay at the Shelter is also limited. Very often having overcome emotional stress and depression, women themselves are capable of breaking the deadlock by finding an appropriate job or simply shifting something in their lives. One of formerly sheltered women, - T. Karapetyan says, entered into University, received the second high education and found a relevant job. She also stated that awareness of women regarding their rights has tangibly increased. The psychologist also added that the fate of those who had applied to them once is traced by specialists. At the shelter a women's support group meets monthly and no one remains out of attention. T. Karapetyan says that women resort to rupture of relations with their tyrant-husbands very seldom, only in extreme cases. The most important thing is that self-appraisal of Armenian women, who have suffered from such trouble, is increasing.  

Until now, no law to control violence has been enacted in Armenia, although currently the Government has already started studying draft laws related to the mentioned issues. For example, in Israel, a strict policy has been undertaken related to domestic violence. According to the law, any use of force is punished with a sentence for two and more years. But that happens as the best case.

Generally, violence against women is a widespread phenomenon throughout the world. It has different shapes – from such physical aggression as beatings, slaps, kicks and slashes to psychological pressure via intimidation and humiliation. Reportedly, in Egypt, 35% of married women have been beaten by their husbands at least once. In the USA, every 15 seconds a woman is subjected to beatings by her husband or cohabitee. 50% of murders in Bangladesh are murders of women by their husbands. In Pakistan, 42% of women encounter violence as a usual phenomenon. Presently, crimes of domestic violence are punished within general cases of the RA Criminal Code and no distinction is made between the cases, whether the crime has been committed by an unknown person or the victim’s relative. According to the expert, in the present Armenian reality, it is considered that a man has the right to resort to violence since he actually does not treat it as a crime.

Marietta Malumyan

“Novoye Vremya”, 15.11.2008

Unofficial translation from Armenian

Based on the received complaint, a criminal case was instituted at the Erebuni Investigation Department by the RA Criminal Code Article 118. Pre-investigation has been initiated.

… Meline and Artak got married in 1986; they have two children. In the beginning of their marriage everything was fine, warm relationship, mutual confidence, and love. Time passed and Artak started misusing alcohol, and quarrels occurred frequently.

On August 18 Artak went for a walk and Meline left home for shopping. While Meline was doing her shopping, Artak came back home, entered, closed the door from inside, left the key inside the doorlock, and lay to rest. 

Around 12:30 Meline came back home from shopping and tried to open the door, but in vain; many other attempts failed, but her husband stayed sleeping. In despair, his wife sat near the door and started waiting. A while later, the husband woke up, opened the door and found his furious wife entering the home, scolding her husband that he had left the key in the key-lock on purpose. As Meline says, it became a habit. The husband tried to explain that nothing was done deliberately, but she didn’t accept his explanations. Soon the backchat turned into a quarrel. According to Meline’s testimony, her husband was saying indecent words to her, then used his hands, causing her physical damage.

Artak Martirosyan partially accepts his guilt. According to his testimony, he did not beat his wife, but simply gripped her hand and, forcing it away, caused her some pain.

During the procedures, police officer Harutyun Avagyan carried out a forensic expertise, as a result of which bruises had been found on the lower parts of Meline Minasyan’s hands in their front and backsides. The injuries were caused by thumb, blunt objects, although they cannot be defined as light damage to health. The preliminary investigation has already been completed. The case is in the court.  

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, 14.11.2008, N 44 (893), www.police,am

Unofficial translation from Armenian

 “Novoye Vremya”, 18.10.2008, www.nv.am

Unofficial translation

On September 27, at 13:40, the police of Armavir region were informed about a murder in Lermontov Street, apt. 10.  Arriving at the place of the accident, the operational team discovered the body of the dead host, Alvard Nikoyan, badly damaged by sharp-cutting tools.

The 40-year-old father, Stepan Terzyan, who already had a criminal record, killed the mother of three children. At about 14:00, the murderer voluntarily appeared at the police of Armavir region with his justifications and explanations.

The conflicts and fights on each simple occasion were almost inseparable from the Terzyans’ family. The main reason was jealousy:  the husband was jealous of his wife and this feeling had been torturing him all the time.  Suspicions had already distorted his rationality and logic.

According to Stepan, he had lots of reasons for jealousy and suspicion.

On September 27, he did not want to go to work, but eventually decided to do so. He told his wife that he was going to Talin. He was involved in trade and chose his destination on purpose. Thus, husband had to go to Talin, and as for his wife, she had to go to school. There was a problem with one of the children. However, according to Stepan, his wife deliberately changed her mind just as she knew about his visit to Talin. Actually, wife did not do deliberately, it just happened so, and that’s all.

On September 27, the husband left the house and started to follow his wife. Having no idea about her husband’s sneaking suspicion; she was going here and there, meeting some people in the meantime. Following from a distance, the husband made sure that he was right with the matter. Unfortunately, he was completely mistaken. Since that moment Stepan was hardly able to control his rationality and logic. He did not forget her attitude, gradually losing his sense of reality.

On September 27, Alvard Nikoyan saw off her children and returned home. Then her husband came. It was their last meeting.

Later, when the tragedy had already happened, Stepan Terzyan left a note, trying to explain why he killed his wife. However, who cares about the explanation? How can one console the children, orphaned forever...

The case is still under investigation of the police.

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, 10.10.2008, N 39 (888), www.police,am

Unofficial translation from Armenian

Aram and Karen are brothers, mature men. They have not been in touch for many years. Both have been unsuccessful in their lives. They are divorced, although Karen lives very close to his family, being fully aware of what is going on in their lives.

On May 14, 2008, Aram decided to visit Karen’s family. Why? He did not know himself. However, he was aware that Karen did not live with his family.

At about 6 p.m. he rang the doorbell. His nephew decided not to open the door, but the uncle knocked the door violently. In the end, the little girl was forced to open the door. The moment the door was opened, Aram started to bite and curse the girl.

The hostess and neighbors ran to the place, trying to stop the unknown guest, but they failed to do it.

Hearing the noises of his children, Karen went up the fourth floor and tried to interfere. He wanted to take his daughter from his brother’s hands. However, Aram turned to his brother and started to bite him.  One of the neighbors quickly took the little girl to her house and locked the door.

After the uncle left, they called the police. The case was transferred to the police department in Malatia.

Aram refused to accept the crime, insisting that he had not bitten or cursed anyone. The case is at the court now.

Anna Aslanyan

“02” weekly, 24.10.2008, N 41 (890), www.police,am

Unofficial translation from Armenian

At 2 P.M. on 18 September, Shengavit Police Department received information from “Erebuni” Medical Center regarding A., born in 1964, who came to the Center with a broken arm and a soft tissue bruise around her thorax. The woman works at a taxi service as a coordinator. The operative group discovered that around 10:30 A.M. of the same day the woman’s father beat her with his hands and a walking stick, causing the above-mentioned injuries.

It is nonsense that a father, whose identity is currently being clarified, lifted his hand and a stick at his adult 44-year-old daughter.

Rita Nahapetyan
Compiled from:  “02” weekly, N 37 (886), www.police,am
Unofficial translation from Armenian
14 October 2008

The conference will assess the impact of the Council of Europe campaign within parliaments and discuss the involvement of men in combating violence against women, and ways in which parliamentarians can follow up the campaign, which will draw to a close in June 2008.

The Council of Europe campaign was launched in Madrid in November 2006 with three main themes: strengthening support and protection for victims, encouraging policies and legal measures to combat violence against women, and changing attitudes towards the phenomenon.

For nearly two years now, the Assembly has been doing a great deal to rally parliamentary support for the campaign, in particular by setting up a network of contact parliamentarians to identify and promote initiatives by various national parliaments in the course of the campaign, and thus encourage the sharing of good practice among parliaments and the strengthening of legislation as a means of combating domestic violence against women.

*****

The conference will be held from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Austrian Parliament (Dr Karl Renner-Ring 3, Vienna) and will be open to the press.

Conference programme

Parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence Against Women

Я в Моем Мире - http://my.mail.ru/mail/opendoors75/

Press contact : Nathalie Bargellini, PACE Communication Unit,

mobile: +33 (0)6 65 40 32 82

Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax : +33 3 90 21 41 34
pace.com@coe.int
www.coe.int/press

Press Release - 297(2008)

Strasbourg, 30.04.2008 – In a declaration adopted today in Vienna at a conference on domestic violence against women held by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Austrian Parliament, the participants underlined the urgent need for action in national parliaments in this field, in terms of passing legislation and monitoring its application. The declaration also recommends that the networking of parliamentarians in the 47 member states should continue and that a Council of Europe framework convention should be drawn up to combat domestic violence.

“In implementing the parliamentary dimension of a Council of Europe campaign, the Assembly initiated a unique form of pan-European co-operation to counter domestic violence,” said PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig. “The Austrian Parliament led the way in Europe by passing exemplary legislation 11 years ago and our parliamentarians must now step up their commitment to give effect in national legislation to the clear political will that has been expressed since the start of the campaign at the end of 2006,” he added.

Nevertheless, “legislative advances are not enough on their own to prevent or curb domestic violence, as demonstrated by the terrifying tragedy which shook Austria recently,” said the Austrian Chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, in an address to the participants. “We all have a responsibility to break the silence surrounding domestic violence and denounce any offences against human dignity.”

For two years, PACE has been raising awareness among parliamentarians in many different countries and urging parliaments to adopt minimum legislative standards on violence against women at the earliest opportunity.

Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax : +33 3 90 21 41 34
pace.com@coe.int
www.coe.int/press

Press Release - 316(2008)

As reported by “Novosti Armenii”, with a reference to the Police source, the victim was Ani’s ex-fiancé.

A witness said that cruel act occured in the stairwell of one of the multi-storey buildings of the Arabkir district. The police were informed about the incident and police officers found Ani late at night next to one of Yerevan’s cafes. The ex-fiancée was brought to the police department.

The victim was delivered to the Scientific Center of Radiation Medicine and Burns of the Ministry of Health in the evening of August 23 with severe burns over 90% of his body.

Vahram never regained consciousness and died on August 31st.

Marietta Malumyan

“Novoe Vremya” 07.10.08

 www.nv.am

Unofficial translation from Russian

This couple from Nor Nork got married in 2001; they have a daughter, who has undoubtedly brought happiness to both parents. Since 2003, the family has been living in one of non-residential premises of Nor Nork district buildings. Later the local governance body granted the property certificate for the venue to the wife. The spouses were happy to have a place of their own, but…

The damned “but” slips into this family too; the husband was upset, because the venue was his wife’s property, not his. Vague indications of this could be noticed till 2005, but in the recent 3 years the issue has risen in the family’s agenda in its full gravity. …

The wife, who is the victim of the case, testified that relations with the husband started deteriorating ever since the previously non-residential premises were registered as her property. Every now and then her husband demanded that she transfer the property rights to him...

Apparently, the man had his own ideas of what the family was. His manhood was deeply offended by the fact that his wife was the owner of their house. Their domestic quarrels always evolved around this issue. The man stubbornly forced his wife to do what he said and his wife opposed it. Their life was spiced by fights and arguments for some time, and they did not notice how they became aliens to each other. This situation eventually came to violence, just as it happened in the beginning of 2008. Early in the morning that day, the husband started the old and hackneyed conversation, the woman arrogantly refused, the quarrel started and the man hit his wife in the face, ear, and squeezed her neck. The woman barely escaped from the house with the baby and asked neighbors for help. Further, she reported the occurrence to the police. …

The accused husband did not pledge himself guilty and claimed that the only reason for their fights was his wife’s hot temper. There is not a word about property demands in the man’s written testimony.  As for the bodily injuries, which caused short-term health problems, according to him, everything happened not as his wife described, and he had no intention to cause such problems. He reported that his wife, as usual, lost her temper and ran out of the apartment with shouts. He tried to avoid embarrassment and asked her to come in, but she resisted. So he had to use force and return the woman to the apartment, pushing her back. That’s when, he thinks, those signs of injuries appeared. As for hitting her in the face with a wrist, then nothing of the kind happened. This man with a university education considered such cruelty inappropriate, yet injuries on the woman’s body could hardly have appeared due to a simple push. …           

Certainly, how the woman got the injuries is important. However, the most important thing is that the woman escaped from home with her daughter.  Have they ever thought, so preoccupied with their fights, how deeply they damaged their child’s emotional world with their humiliations, screaming and wrist waving. The consequences were not visible, could not have been ….Only when the girl grows up they will suddenly realize that they do not understand each other, that their child has become a stranger to them.

The question is whether or not they will understand that it is not their child; anyway, they have become strangers to her. Because of quarrels and fights, when they were in between “this is mine” and “this is yours,” they ignored the presence of the child, who saw, heard and remembered everything.    

Rita Nahapetyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am

 30 (879) 01-08-2008 

After the beating, the son grabbed a bottle of bleach and forced his mother to drink the contents. Vardanush was brought to  hospital. Her son is under criminal investigation.

Marietta Malumyan

Novoe Vremya

N1630, 10.07.2008, www.nv.am, unofficial translation from Russian.

At first, he was enjoying his family life, tried to make mutual understanding last forever, but after months, the spouses no longer understood each other. The reason was Arthur’s connection to his ex-wife: they had two children and they needed to be taken care of. Those were his children. It did not matter that they were not living together. His new wife did not want to tolerate the situation; constant quarrels around the issue became a habit. Days passed by, quarrels deteriorated. The woman wanted to have a baby, but her husband objected: he had no job, thus – no stable income, and yet, he had two children to take care of…

In other words, people living under one roof were drifting apart because of these disagreements. The “iron curtain” fell between them. They could no longer speak normally, just argue and yell at each other. During a regular quarrel the husband battered his wife: grabbed her by the hair, pushed her down to the floor and kicked her. Arthur’s brother, who was in the house, calmed them down. The woman immediately announced her verdict: she was returning to her parents. But she had no money. Arthur gave her the necessary sum. The woman packed her belongings and spent the night at Arthur's uncle’s place; in the morning, she headed to her parents. She arrived there, but said nothing about the occurrence to her mother, as if she had just come for a couple of days and would return. She thought that her husband would deplore what he did and come after her, but...   

Days went by, but the husband did not come. Pain of soul added to body pain. He must have decided that they should not be together any more. Thus, since her husband was not coming after her, she told the truth to her mother. Certainly, the woman noticed bruises on her daughter’s body, and even asked where did they come from, but the daughter hid the truth. The truth, which was later disclosed in the Police Department…

The investigation of the case, initiated by the Kotayk Marz Police Department, is over.

Karine Muradyan

”02” police weekly, www.police.am

25 (874) 27-06-2008 

Muradyan was delivered to the local hospital with knife wounds of the neck. The body of his wife, Rose, was delivered to the same hospital. As the police investigation group found out, Muradyan stabbed his wife and then tried to cut his own throat, operating, for some strange reason, with three kitchen knives at the same time. Circumstances are to be clarified.

Novoe Vremya

26.06.2008

Extract

…Often in the world of men such crimes are committed, that one does not even know how to name them, how to believe to the unbelievable, inhumane, immoral … Thus, we still have a lot to think about and our route to becoming Human Beings is long…

On 26^th of May, at 11 o’clock, Artashat police station was informed by an unknown person that in one of the apartments of 6 Marks street there was the bloodstained body of Roza Martirosyan, the owner of the apartment. The operative group went to the crime scene and discovered that the 69-year-old woman died due to head injuries. 

The operative investigation group immediately commenced the investigation.  The apartment had been turned upside-down, which suggested a robbery with violence. Yet, the other suggestion was of a frame-up robbery: in order to cover tracks and to mislead the police, the perpetrator has, so to say, staged a robbery assault. The police investigators started their work in these two directions. It is worth mentioning that the experienced police officers were more inclined towards the second hypothesis: the retired woman lived alone and had no such property and money which could become a reason for robbery assault.  …

The investigation continued and one thing was clear from the very beginning: the only wealth that the late woman had – her apartment, could have become the reason for homicide. Only her relatives could inherit the property. Thus, all relatives of Roza Martirosyan were interrogated, including her sister’s son, 28-year-old resident of Artashat, Artak Manaseryan. That’s when the inhumane occurrence was revealed. Regardless of the fact that the young man, by finding himself in a difficult situation, tried to present it as an act of despair. Artak had murdered his aunt. A woman, who loved him as a son….        

In May 2007 Artak took a 800 000 AMD loan from the bank, and then decided to “start a business”. Presenting a business-plan he received another loan. Yet, as he explained himself, due to bad organization, his plans were ruined and debts were growing. The state of his family had simply deteriorated, domestic quarrels became a usual thing. Thus, he sent his wife and children to her parents.

The social part of the problem was resolved temporarily; however, the major part – debts, remained to be dealt with. The only way out, according to Artak.s opinion,  was his aunt’s one-bedroom apartment: the flat shall be sold, debts shall be paid and with the rest of the money he shall start a new business.

That was the business-plan he went to his aunt with: presenting everything in bright colors he offered her to sell the apartment and move to his place. With that money he shall give a start to a new “royal” life, and they, his mother, his aunt and himself, shall live in happiness and prosperity. Yet, the aunt didn’t share her nephew’s bright ideas. She was still a capable woman and could provide her own living in the own apartment. His aunt’s stubbornness irritated Artak, they argued a bit and then the old woman asks the demanding young man to leave. Artak left with his plans broken.

However, evil thoughts were already in his head. He visited his aunt again at midnight with an intention “to frighten her a little.” It is not clear how he imagined it, but his intention was to make the woman understand how dangerous it is to live all alone. “I wanted to scare her, but she was asleep, so I pitied her. Then I realized that she was awake, so I went to the kitchen in the dark.” –Artak told the details of his actions….The reality is that he has murdered his aunt, someone who was like a second mother for him. …

The woman must have heard the noise or simply had a bad feeling, for she woke up and went to kitchen in the dark. “I saw her entering the kitchen. There was no other way. There was a full bottle of vodka on the table, so I took it and hit her head three times”, - Artak said emotionlessly.

His conscience blacked out, but not his thoughts. He turned the flat upside-down, arranged everything to look like a robbery and left.

Yet, his “robbery” play was not successful; he did not manage to fool the police officers. The grave offence was uncovered hours after the report was received by the police.

Artak Manaseryan is detained, the investigation of the case is in the process.        


Hasmik Podosyan

”02”  weekly, 22 (871) 06-06-2008, www.police.am

Unofficial translation from Armenian 

Extract from “Man and wife are one”

Unfortunately, offenses of a domestic nature currently make a significant number. Particularly in 2007, 406 families were subjected to prophylactic registration in different Police departments. At the same time, numerous cases of deliberate causation of body injuries were registered and in most of them husbands were “key players”.   

In general, such crime as light, medium and severe bodily injuries, including murder, have certain grounds and often the roots of these grounds are to be discovered in the family. Repeated domestic quarrels, bad language, irony, bodily blows, eventually bring people under the jurisdiction of the Law.

Certainly, the atmosphere of intolerance, misunderstanding and intransigence can last for years and it is difficult to foresee when it shall qualitatively change into a criminal act. However, it is evident that one day police interference shall be inevitable; one day the case of the unhappy family shall join the row of legal violations – this is a fact.  …

It is impossible to get the full picture of domestic problems and domestic violence, because people report to the police only when they are brought to the edge of despair, when ugly and unbearable scenes can no longer be tolerated, when the solution can only be found in the Criminal Code.

It is no secret that majority of victims of domestic violence are women and men are the main “authors”. Yet, in my opinion, the major victims of these situations are children. Every day they witness how relations are ruined, values are crashed and such things like love, family, respect and tolerance are violated. Repeated domestic arguments, yelling, bad language, and battering first affect children of the family.  … Thus, before turning one’s family into a battlefield we should think, take parental care about the inner world of our children... Children are extremely attentive and careful creatures. Nothing escapes from their eye, so before turning a disagreement into a quarrel and battering, one has to be brave enough to look into the child’s eyes. This is not just a helpless little baby, who is trying to interfere your fight with his eyes full of pain and tears, this is the most important person in your life and he is to be accountable to when you decide to resolve domestic issues in an aggressive way.     

Hasmik Podosyan

“02” weekly newspaper,

They often argued on trifling and serious matters, and even forgot the pleasant expressions they would say so often before.

The gap between the young couple kept deepening. Months later, on the 28^th of March, the girl told her father about the problem. Her only hope and supporter was her father, in whose presence their future life was to be decided.

When the husband came home and learned that his wife’s father was now aware of their affairs, he lost his temper. He started arguing. Then he started beating with his fists and feet, and after that he started strangling her. The woman was crying for help. Some neighbors came up to their door on hearing her cry. When her screams got louder, they knocked at the door. The husband opened it. It did not take him long to give the answer to the question that could be read in the neighbors’ eyes. “There is no need to worry”, he said. Meanwhile, the wife managed to escape from the apartment and sought help at the neighbors.

According to the forensic expert's conclusion, a light temporary health injury has been caused to her.

In the examination department of Shengavit, the investigation is over and the case has been forwarded to the court.

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am , unofficial translation from Armenian

18 (867) 09-05-2008

Only hatred has remained after 26 years of living together. The man could no longer stand woman’s voice, step, and breath.  Years spent side by side did not unite them, but in contrary – separated them. Thus, now both aliens were living under same roof with a feeling of doom.

According to the woman’s relatives, they should have divorced 5 years ago. Truly, this would be the best solution in their situation, when intolerance was accumulating. 

In some cases, the disease cannot be treated without a surgery. Also in some cases a surgery is needed to eliminate the unbearability of family life. There are situations when a cracked family cannot be glued with any patience or other efforts. In such families everybody is suffering: both spouses and children; sometimes as far as relatives and neighbors. Yet, due to either habit or fear of divorce, perhaps even because of a feeling of shame, people do not separate; they stay together and become prisoners of hatred, family hatred.

*****

Strangled woman

On 10 March 2007, three days before the crime was committed, they had a serious fight. In his speech at the Appeal Court Hovhannes described it as follows: “It was a storm on a sunny day, a provocation, much ado about nothing.” Perhaps this “storm” enlightened and revealed the old intention, which has nestled in Hovhannes’s soul.   

Three days later, on March 13 in the morning, Hovhannes left home to go to work. However, he stayed at the nearest bus stop and waited until their 14 year-old son, their youngest child, went to school and his wife remained home alone.

Hovhannes went home again, argued with his wife one more time, as if he wanted to make sure that there are no grounds for reconciliation and what he had in his mind was inevitable from that moment on. From words he passed to hits. The woman was fighting back, struggling. Hovhannes was getting more and more angry. At last, he strangled his wife with a curtain. …. Making sure that the woman was not breathing he sat still beside the victim. Actually, he considered HIMSELF a victim. That’s exactly how he presented the situation, when hours later he went to the police with a confession.              

The accuser

Hovhannes H. was both admitting his guilt and denying it at the same time. He was admitting it in theory, consciously, because he knew that remorse is an extenuating circumstance. Yet, he was denying his guilt, because in his entire life he used to blame others; he never noticed his mistakes, furthermore – never admitted them. They were all responsible for his failed life: his wife, her relatives even their children, but not himself. He thought that his wife was inciting their sons against him. …

After each domestic quarrel, he felt more and more hateful towards his wife; their cohabitation seemed more and more unbearable. Maybe his wife promoted their arguments; maybe her character was not gold either. Yet it was she who paid with her life and had no need to look back anymore.  …

One year

Hohvannes demanded another forensic psychiatric and psychological examination, stating that the previous examiners were not good enough and did not manage to delve into his psyche. ….

His appeal was declined and on March 27, 2008, the Criminal Appeal Court of Kotayk marz considered his sentence appropriate and confirmed 9 years of imprisonment.

Thus, Hovhannes hurled blame on the prosecutor…

Gohar Kalashyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am

17 (866), 02.05.2008.

The call from the Burn Medical Center to the Arabkir District Police Department was regarding the fact that one of the inhabitants of Mamikonyants street was transferred to the medical center with thermal burns of different body parts.

The victim’s burns were results of a fire started at the door of her apartment. Severe and deadly damage was caused to her health.   

The investigation was instituted at Arabkir Police Department in accordance with 1 and 2 points of section 2, Article 185 and section 1 of Article 120 of the RA Criminal Code. During the preliminary investigation, Nerses Yapunjyan, the victim’s son-in-law who has a criminal record of 10 imprisonments, was delivered to the police on suspicion of commission of a crime.

Yapunjyan confessed and pleaded guilty.

... He had tense relations with his mother in law due to domestic issues. After a regular quarrel he threatened to burn the woman in her own flat.

And he did:  three days after the quarrel he bought one bottle of gasoline and made his way towards the target. After midnight he poured the gasoline on the door of his mother-in-law's apartment and set it on fire.

According to his words, he didn’t want to harm her, only to scare her.

During the preliminary investigation, a psychiatric examination was made. According to the expert’s statement, Yapunjyan had alcoholic dementia. The decision was made to stop the investigation and restraint, and use compulsory medical measures.

The preliminary investigation is finished.

The case has been sent to the court.

Anna Aslanyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am, unofficial translation from Armenian

 16 (865) 25-04-2008

None of the people involved in this case, who are relatives, regardless of the status – accused, victim or witness, ever asked him/herself:  where is the threshold which cannot be passed, at least by blood kin? Thus, since they’ve never asked themselves and never admitted that such a threshold exists, they cannot explain how it happened that 3 members of one family found themselves on the bench. One was a victim, and the aged parents of the latter and their children became witnesses (including one minor, the presence of which should have at least hampered 30-40-and-more-years-olds).

Yet, they were so violent that even in presence of the child they continued to insult and humiliate the widow of their brother, who appeared in the center of the hatred of the three. They beat her and finally caused body injuries with a sharp cutting instrument. 

Let us not mention the names, because they have already been punished enough by bringing their family quarrels to the center of attention of neighbors and law enforcement, not to mention the inevitable criminal responsibility.  

… On December 15 of 2007, the participants of the future quarrel gathered in their parental home with a narrow circle of relatives with the purpose of visiting the grave of their late relative. The parents of the late man, his widow, his sisters, his brother’s wife and children stayed at home. Everybody said that the quarrel between the two sisters-in-law had a domestic nature.  

Let us not specify the cause and the reason of the quarrel because no matter how true and justified they were or how irritating, the quarrel, as the participants stated, “didn’t go above domestic issues,” thus it shouldn’t have had the development that it had.   

All this happened because relatives, arguing around a domestic issue, crossed a line which they had no right to cross.

The argument of two sisters-in-law started with a women’s squabble, but soon it grew into a scuffle.  Then the accused gave way to her hands and started beating the late brother-in-law’s widow. The widow could have protected herself from hits and kicks on the head and face, from nails, scratching her neck, but the niece of the deceased joined the attacker. Have you ever heard how women are cursing? If an outsider man was there on December 15^th,  he would certainly feel ashamed for the words that were coming out of the womens' lips at every move. All admonitions of mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to calm down sank in the noise of women’s fight.

At last they managed to pull the fighting women apart, and the beaten widow made her way towards the door but there she ran into her brother-in-law (the husband of one of the attackers), who had just returned from the graveyard. Apparently, the cause of the argument had a long history, otherwise the man, who opened the door with a kick and who had a sharp cutting tool in his hand, would not block the woman’s way. He would come into the room, clarify the situation and would give resolution to the quarrel with his authorized word. No, he didn’t do that. On the contrary, he cursed his sister-in-law in the worst way possible and hit her in the neck with what he had in his hand. The cut was luckily not very deep, but the woman’s neck immediately turned red. It is clear that when the irreparable happens, it usually becomes the peak of the fight and both sides immediately calm down. However, the thing is that even if both sides calm down, their burning emotions do not extinguish at once and are ready to erupt at any moment, as the cause of the argument is not eliminated, the question around which the argument occurred is not resolved, and it causes arguments at any opportunity.

The fact that, according to forensic examination, the victim received body injuries resulting in short-term health damage was in the second place for the victim, because, as she testified, she was feeling deeply humiliated: “All three of them insulted and humiliated my dignity with indecent words.” She testified the same during confrontational cross-questioning with the accused.

The conclusion is evident: this woman applied to law enforcement with an internal striving:  first of all, for restoration of her honor and dignity in her own eyes. She might not have even wanted to call her relatives to criminal responsibility. Perhaps, in the course of time, she would even make up with them and try to forget the incident, knowing whatsoever that repetition of such incidents is not excluded. Yet, perhaps the experience of already-repeated violence has filled the cup of her patience and has given her enough determination to apply to law enforcement.      

It is not a secret that the majority of domestic quarrels stay inside the four walls: aggrieved family members avoid calling for justice and live their lives in the status of a victim blaming their fate.   

Luckily, this woman decided not to live her life in the status of a victim and chose the most effective route to protect her rights.      

Rita Nahapetyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am, unofficial translation from Armenian
16 (865) 25-04-2008

“Change of Image”

If 36 year-old Edward were strong enough to throw a glance back to 1991, he'd find himself there. He’d recall how his heart stood still when he met or was to meet his sweetheart. How he was preparing himself, fixing his outfit, brushing his hair, shaving. The twenty-year-old young man gave great importance to every detail. After all, he was going to get married. 

In 1992 he reached his longed-for goal - and got married. Yet, in the course of time, emotions faded. Thus, he was looking at everything more calmly. No longer did he care about his outfit and shaving. After all, his beloved was next to him and he had nothing to worry about. There was only one thing left for complete happiness, but that, too, happened soon. During their family life they had 4 children. However, as years went by, they didn’t notice that love and tenderness gave way to disagreements. Children were growing, but the parents could not find a common language. From time to time quarrels occurred, and grew into brawls. Four minor children were witnessing the meaningless, highly emotional quarrels and fights of their parents.

During a regular fight, the woman would receive severe bodily injuries.

The husband didn’t want his wife to work at the bakery. Several times he insisted on her leaving the job and staying at home, taking care of the children. His demands were ignored.

It was an ordinary day:  the woman, as usual, was at work. Edward woke up and, as usual, went to his neighbor’s. Then, as usual, he drank vodka. When hours later he came home and saw that his wife hadn’t returned yet, he got very angry and send his son after the mother.

… When the woman came home, her husband was already in a fit of anger and a quarrel was inevitable. The influence of alcohol added some temper as well. After words were said, he started to use his hands and feet. He kicked his wife in the face. The woman fell on the floor. That’s when Edward allowed himself to use his feet. He kicked his wife in the abdomen.  After the “torrent” of kicks, the woman somehow went out and went in the direction of her uncle’s house. Bellyaches were intensifying. Her state was deteriorating. It was late at night when she was transferred to the Eghvard city hospital, where she had surgery.  

Information about the incident was forwarded from the hospital to Eghegnadzor District Police department. The operative group, which came to the hospital, clarified the circumstances of the case.  

An investigation was instituted in accordance with part 1 of Article 112 of the RA Criminal Code. The preliminary investigation is finished.

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, www.police.am , unofficial translation from Armenian

The roundtable participants will also discuss the Draft Law on domestic violence, elaborated by the Center.

Marietta Malumyan

“Novoe Vremya”, Unofficial translation from Russian

22.04.2008

N 1600

53-year old Levon Grigiryan has spent years of his conscious life in jail. Imprisonment has become his way of life: he has been convicted and imprisoned 7 times. Once for possession of drugs, all other times – for theft. In 2006, he was granted parole. Ever since he has had no regular job, but from time to time he did some construction.   

In autumn of 2006. he met G. and got into a close relationship with her. His girlfriend had neither place to live, nor job. She used to sleep on the street and in underground stations, she was hungry very often. Levon, as a caring boyfriend, tried to ease her burden, however, not by his own work, but at the expense of others'  property.  

In May 2007, he was wandering around the Kanaker hydroelectric power station, planning to steal something. Finally he noticed an electric handsaw on a window sill. He broke the window glass with a stone and snatched it. He sold the handsaw for 2500 drams and enjoyed the “earned” money with his girlfriend.

The next theft was from a summer in the “Korean gorge” – a locksmith’s press.

At the end of 2007, Levon, with his girlfriend, was in the park near Arabkir market. There they met some friends, bought some food and alcohol, and enjoyed all that. After parting with friends around 16:00, they headed for Levon’s place. They chatted while walking, but the chat grew into quarrel, then into a fight. “A caring boyfriend” was beating his girlfriend with his hands and feet. They ceased fighting only with the interference of the police. Both were brought to Arabkir Police station, where the woman filed a complaint, demanding that Levon be brought to justice for causing physical injuries.  

Criminal proceedings were instituted on this case.          

As the investigator of this case, Vagharshak Mkrtchyan stated, other misdeeds of Levon Grigoryan were revealed. He pled guilty of all accusations and wrote a frank confession.  

Charges against Levon Grigoryan were presented by Article 177, part 3, point 3 and Article 177 of RA Criminal Code.

Anna Aslanyan 

A Stool Hit

The young man get married years ago. Life was beautiful, days that passed by – fabulous. Soon his son, the Eighth Wonder, was born. The family became complete and grew stronger. Yet, there were trials as well.   

Several months before, his son received treatment in one of the hospitals. After a week of nightmare the man took his son and his wife home. On that very day he, for some strange reason, also drank a couple of bottles of vodka. The amount of alcohol drove the young man away from reality. In such a condition, he could hardly comprehend anyone. Thus, he didn’t comprehend his wife and had an argument with her. It was all about everyday life. The woman, trying to avoid the quarrel, went to the neighbors’, but she couldn’t stay there for a long time. Her husband followed her there and demanded his wife to return home. Yet, his wife didn’t express any wish to return and preferred to stay for some time with her parents, who lived in the same building.

Stalking his wife, the man followed her there. The argument resumed, and soon his wife’s parents became a part of it.  А scuffle started. The sea, indeed, is knee-deep for a drunken man: he started to swear. Furthermore, the obscene language was addressed not only to his wife, but to mother-in-law as well. That’s when the father-in-law interfered and tried to get his son-in-law in line. All in vain, though: the son-in-law cursed again. At that moment the mother-in-law took a stool and hit her son-in-law, causing bodily injuries.

The son-in-law didn’t bear his mother-in-law a grudge. Yet it didn’t release her from liability….        

The investigation, instituted by Shengavit investigation agency, is over.        

Karine Muradyan

“02” weekly, Unofficial translation

5 (584)

By the same clause

24-year-old Karapet Karapetyan, a resident of Yerevan, is a student. He got married in December 2006, before graduating the University and starting his career.  Two months later he registered his marriage officially, and in a few more months his first child – a daughter, was born. Yet, even the birth of a child couldn’t improve the couple's strained relations. Domestic, everyday problems that occurred were deepening, instead of receiving solutions. Intolerance only made difficult relations worse.

Finally, in August 2007, the woman took her baby and left for her parents’ place, without telling her husband. When she returned, the decision to divorce was made. The decision wasn’t final, though. They could avoid divorce, if the husband agreed to rent an apartment for young family to live separately from his parents.

Stipulating that, woman didn’t take into consideration the fact, that her husband was a student and that she didn’t work either. The question - at whose expense and how was the rent supposed to be paid? – remained unanswered.

Before September 2007,  the spouses met a few times, conversed and tried to resolve the situation, but all in vain. Relations deteriorated.       

The regular rendezvous was set for September 7^th by mutual agreement. On the evening before that, when the woman called to set up a meeting for the next day, Karapet was still thinking that things were not hopeless, that his child and wife shall be with him, at his house.          

At the set time, Karapet with his friend went to his wife’s parent's place. His friend stayed outside, while Karapet went up the stairs. His wife, mother-in-law and their daughter, sleeping in her cradle, were at home. The spouses separated for a talk. A conversation that lasted almost 10 minutes resolved nothing. Again, no agreement was reached. A little later, the mother-in-law joined their conversation. This intervention irritated an already angry Karapet even more, and he started to talk in an arrogant and rude manner. After mutual biting remarks Karapet took his daughter and said that he is taking his baby with him, even if his wife is not coming. The situation burst into a scuffle, argument and fight. Karapet pushed his mother-in-law and then kicked her leg, causing light body injuries.

The mother-in-law, in her turn, scratched Karapet’s neck, and furthermore, thinking that it wasn’t enough, bit the little finger of his left hand….    

Yet, this was not the end. Karapet started swearing, grabbed the baby and ran out, demanding his wife to follow him. The woman, though, managed to convince him again and he gave back the baby. After that Karapet and his friend took off. Of course, at home he told nobody about the occurrence of the day, but…   

On the same day, his mother-in-law reported the incident to Arabkir district Police station. A criminal investigation was instituted.

During the investigation charges were brought not only against Karapet, but also against his mother-in-law – by the same 117 clause of RA Criminal Code.

The investigation is over; the case was forwarded to the court.

Anna Aslanyan

“02” weekly, 3 (852)

Unofficial translation.

Another “strong” husband from Kapan battered his wife on 31st of December, when everybody else was busy with preparations for the New Year. The woman didn’t forgive her husband and on the 7^th of January went to the police.

“02” weekly, 11.01.2008, 1 /850/.

 23.11.2007, 45 /844/

23.11.2007, 45 /844/

            In certain cases the beaten lady, driven to despair, resolved her problems under the lynch law. A couple of such avengers are serving their sentence in Abovyan female correction facility. Its warden, Arsen Afrikyan, in his interview with the correspondent of “NV” said that, as the experience shows, women’s vengeance is more terrifying then men’s, and is remarkable for its cruelty. According to Ani Dallakyan, representative of Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis of American University of Armenia, 1006 women took part in the survey. 281 of them (25%) were subjected to beating not only by husband, but also by mother-in-law. Survey was conducted among 18-75 years old married women and women who had partners. 3% of respondents refused to give any information at all, fearing that the compromising information will reach the husband’s ears and he won’t like it. Let us remind, though – the survey was anonymous.

            Besides, not only experienced husbands prefer to raise their hand on their wives. For example, of the young men told the following to the “NV” correspondent: “Yes, I shall hit my future wife. Not all the time though. Only when it is needed”. That is to say, that being unmarried he is already programmed to violence. Specialists say that in these cases boys take over the model of their father’s behavior.

            61% of interviewed think, that wife should obey to her husband even if she disagrees with him. Only 39% of interviewed women concurred that a woman can choose her friends by herself. 22% respondents consider it right that their husband forbids them to work. Thus, says A.Dallakyan, it is possible to conclude that Armenian women’s conception of domestic violence mostly doesn’t concur with that of women of the world.

Her husband started to unmercifully beat Lusine P. when a couple of months after their marriage, she discovered that he suffered from enuresis. As a rule, the majority of men vent on their closest ones their weakness in certain circumstances. Mostly these circumstances are of social character. Domestic violence evokes anger of 80% of interviewed women, 48% experience self-underestimation, 47% women notice indications of depression, 46% feel ashamed, 42% - scared. Furthermore, for 40% the display of aggression in the family causes chronic insomnia, 33% fear for their children. On a common level a victim of violence evokes the feelings of compassion and sorrow, but when it comes to public censure, the truth turns always to be on the man’s side. Thus the victim appears one to one with her troubles. In civilized countries there are special shelters for these women. Here they will be provided with rehabilitation assistance of a social and psychological character. In Armenia not many people have enough courage to go counter to the circumstances, and the concept of “namus” (honor), which is elevated to the level of national “idee fixe,” takes over. As A.Dallakyan noted, the main aim of the survey was to gather reliable data on the situation in Armenia. It is necessary, in particular, to elaborate the draft law on the protection of women’s rights.

Marietta Malumyan

 “Novoje Vremya”, 13/11/2007, 1541

The extent of usage of bad language in Armenian families was not the only goal of the survey, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, National Statistics Agency and UN. It became clear that the most prevalent form of violence in the country is beating. Women are the main object for beating, then – children, and in the third place – mothers of husband or wife. 16% of interviewed women consider themselves ignored in the family. 16.1% of mothers-in-law also consider themselves ignored. Children deprived of attention amounted to 13.6%. Among men, only 11.9% think that their household doesn’t consider their opinion.

Compiled from:  “Novoe Vremya” newspaper 08/11/2007, N 1539,

Unofficial translation from Russian.         

            The tranquility of a once peaceful family has been disturbed. By mutual consent and the will of both husband and wife - each of them followed their own way. So one family is less in the world now. However, the happiness didn’t vanish at once, but over the years. They couldn’t even remember how it all happened. After all, they had been living together for years, without complaining. But the moment for complaining, intolerance and incomprehension has come. Maybe it was inevitability of the moment, that they couldn’t overcome?

            True, they were divorced, but they would still meet from time to time. Those ‘meetings’ were usually accompanied with mutual insults and discrediting. They couldn’t avoid it. That day was no exclusion; as usual ex-husband visited his ex-wife. As soon as he opened the door and entered the room, the atmosphere in the flat immediately changed. The tension rose, but the “exes” didn’t expect that the day would finish by committing a penal action, for which not only the former husband and wife, but their daughter also would be charged with a proper article of the RA Criminal Code.       

            So, as soon as the former husband entered, he started quarrelling with his ex-wife about some domestic issue. Then he struck her first with his hands and then with a wooden stick; furthermore, when their daughter interfered, he hit her too.

           The quarrel became so intense that words were useless. The girl took a vacuum cleaner tube and struck her father. While the man was under the shower of strikes, the woman managed to grab the stick out of his hands and then started to beat him mercilessly.  

            In Nor Nork investigation department the preliminary investigation of the case against members of the former family has been finished.

            The bill of particulars has been forwarded to the Court of  first Instance.

     By Karine Muradyan

           A newly created family has just unexpectedly collapsed. Also unexpectedly, a husband and a wife discovered that the love and respect that they had for each other was shallow and insincere.

            That unexpectedness made them say ‘goodbye’ to each other. Two years of coexistence showed that they have nothing in common. From now on the only common thing they had was dispute. Yes, the ex-spouses had a  dispute related to their property to be settled only with mediation of the court.   

            When the court hearing was over, 34-year old Armen approached his ex-wife to say a couple of words and to unburden his heart. The woman was not alone, but with her representative and neighbor. The “heart-unburdening” process took place in their presence. He started to insult the woman, told her indecent things and spat in her face.  

            For that behavior Armen S. was charged by 136/1 article of RA Criminal Code.

            However, he didn’t admit his guilt. According to him, he had neither approached his wife, nor insulted her. Yet, the facts, elicited during the preliminary investigation showed the opposite.

            The preliminary investigation of the case at Kanaker-Zejtun investigation department is over.

  By Karine Muradyan

Published in “02” weekly, 21.09.2007, 36 (835)

11 cases of domestic quarrels, which frequently resulted in the deliberate cause of physical injuries, were registered. For instance, Vardenis Police Department registered a case: 35 years old son, Vardan Vatyan - resident of Kakhakn village, beat and caused body injuries to his 72 years old mother. The woman was taken to the hospital, her son escaped.   

            At midnight the Erebuni police department received information from the hospital about Arshalujs Stepanjan (born in 1927), who arrived with second and third-degree burns on 10% of her body. The 80-year-old lady told the operative group that she was set on the fire by her nephew Benik Stepanyan.

8 July 2007
The Police Department of Nor Nork was informed by the hospital at 1 o'clock in the morning that a female resident of Jrvezh Majak district was delivered to the hospital with abdominal injuries. As it turned out, the victim's husband beat her in a domestic quarrel.

Summer heat is at its peak. Laziness and idleness are in the air. Meanwhile, a police summary report shows that between the 1st and 5th of July, 60 cases of deliberate physical cruelty were registered in different police departments.

Relaxing and calming heat, in fact, has had no such effect on one particular group of people. To the contrary, it seems that dulling heat irritated scrappers, those who prefer to use fists, those who tend to turn a simple domestic misunderstanding into a fight. “Authors” of such cases have turned their families’ internal issues into a subject of police interference.

Meanwhile, the amount of deliberate physical cruelty cases in domestic quarrels continues to grow, regardless of the season of heat that makes one lazy, and irregardless of appeals of the police to be tolerant.

Unfortunately injuries become statistics. Intolerance and unfriendliness stay dominant in relationships, sadly – between the dear ones, between relatives. “Love your neighbor like yourself” – this principle still remains ignored.

Published in: “02” RA Police Weekly , 06.07.2007

 26 (825) (Unofficial translation)

Extracts from the article “Women love to be beaten? Some Armenian women consider it normal when their husbands beat them”

“22% of the respondent women think that a husband has the right to beat his wife. Women are mostly beaten for the following reasons: forgetting about the food in the oven, failing to pay proper attention to children, contradicting their husbands or rejecting intimacy.” This was said yesterday during the presentation of “2005 Demographic and Health Survey” (DHS) project. The survey was conducted among 6566 women and 1447 men, aged 15-49.

Compiled from: “Aravot” Daily (http://www.aravot.am), 107/2973, 8 June 2007 (Unofficial translation)

Extracts from “Criminal mosaic” article

27 May

A domestic quarrel in one of the families of the capital ended up in a knifing – Manvel Mouradyan hit his wife with a kitchen knife and caused an injury on her leg.

30 May

Kanaker-Zeitoun police department was informed by the hospital that Tamara Arakelyan, born in 1932, has applied to them with injuries on different parts of her body. It became known that the elderly woman was battered by Arsen Galstyan, her 17-year-old grandson.

An extract from “Criminal mosaic” article

April 30

Hospital staff informed Arabkir police department that Haykanoush A., a resident of Kasyan Street, has been brought to the hospital with burns on her hand and shoulder. The operative group found out that Gagik Badeyan, her husband, had poured gas on her and lit it in a domestic quarrel at home.

The investigation is being held by the Prosecutor’s Office of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeitoun communities.

H.I.

An executor from Nor-Kharberd

Recently a sadist that has beaten 1.5-year-old baby nearly to death has been arrested. The doctors hardly managed to save the baby.

58-year-old Gor Karapetyan left school after 8 grades, has been twice convicted and is unemployed. He tried sadistic propensities on little Aramais and the latter’s mother Narine Atoyan, with whom he lived in the country district of Nor-Kharberd. It was not the first time he had beaten the baby; the execution took place periodically - every time Narine was disobedient. Gor would beat the baby and with pleasure watch the mother’s reaction. One might say he had double pleasure of the baby’s cry and the mother’s pain. Last time drunk Karapetyan surpassed himself – out of strong hits on the head the baby lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital in grave condition. Fortunately it was saved. The sadist-torturer was arrested.

Margarita Aroutyunyan

Altruist-murderer

The profession of goddesses of love is both dangerous and difficult. The same was true about 36-year-old Arpine Margaryan, who was murdered by her client Vahram Zakaryan.

According to the materials of the inquest, the relations of the murderer and the victim began in January of 2005. At that time Yerevan resident Vahram met Arpine and evidently having strong feelings for her, suggested that she move to his flat on Khristophor Street. The prostitute that was renting poor flats agreed with pleasure. Vahram accepted her two underage daughters with her. It could become an example of altruism if not for the subsequent events. Arpine and Vagram lived peacefully for five months; Arpine left her profession and became an exemplary housewife, but the idyll did not last long. Aprine again returned to her profession, which extremely dissatisfied her civil husband and he started battering his mistress. Soon Vahram found himself in prison – he had beaten one Hamazasp. The First Instance Court of Center and Nork-Marash community  sentenced him to imprisonment for almost half a year. All this time Aprine continued living in his house with her daughters.

After being set free Vahram found out that Arpine used to take clients to his house. On that ground the cheated partner started battering his mistress every day to teach her a lesson. Nevertheless, he did not turn her out of home. The woman did not apply to the police either. At the end of the last year Vahram came home violently drunk and beat the woman to death. The jealous altruist pleaded guilty. The materials of the case are passed from the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebouni and Noubarashen to the Firsts Instance Court…

Margarita Haroutyunyan

Former family

The joint life of young spouses has been interrupted as suddenly as they fell in love and decided to get married.

Years have passed from that day, the years of common joy and sorrow. To make it short, a life where they were the main heroes. Then their two children were born and so the family had obtained its final shape and strength. But the achievement of the years disappeared just in a couple of days. They divorced. Yes, there were children, but that fact did not prevent them from their decision...
The reason was the husband’s two convictions. There were disagreements on that issue among the spouses; as a result they divorced. By the way, husband was in prison that time. When he got back, they continued living by the same address, but nothing stayed the same. And it could not have stayed intact.

However, they could not avoid seeing each other every day, and that caused permanent reciprocal tension. And that was the environment in which their children were growing, but this did not relax the tension. They quarreled often and it seemed there would be no end to that. The ex-husband was unable to find himself due to imaginary jealousy.  He could not tolerate that his former wife spoke with strangers, even when she held business conversations. But how could she avoid communicating with people, even though her ex-husband did not like it?  Work required such contacts, but the former husband…

He got angry each time, making scenes. As a result of the last scene, the ex-wife was injured and her health was damaged for quite a long time. That day ex-husband noticed that his ex-wife was speaking with some stranger. Immediately he entered into his ex-wife’s rented studio and demanded her interlocutor to get out.  Then he started to hit his ex-wife with fists and feet, forced her into his car and took her home. The beating was about to be continued at home, but he could not wait and started to beat her right in the car, and then in the lift. So such unruly behavior finally got an appropriate reaction, envisaged by the Armenian Criminal Code…

The Nor Nork Investigation Department has already finished the inquest under the first part of Article 113 of the Armenian Criminal Code.

An extract from the article “Criminal mosaic”

April 30

The Arabkir police department has been informed by a hospital that Haykanoush A., living on the Kasyan Street, was brought there with burns on her hand and shoulder. The operative group found out that it was Gagik Badeyan, her husband, who had poured gas on his wife Haykanoush A. and lit it in the process of a domestic quarrel.

The case is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeitoun communities.

H.I.

H.V., 27 years old

The woman is subjected to psychological violence by her mother and father-in-law. When she visited the Women’s Support and Drop-in Center, she was very anxious, helpless and nervous, as the day before her mother- and father-in-law let their son and grandson in, but closed the door in front of her. The reason was that the woman decided to have the second child, while her mother- and father-in-law tried to force her to terminate the second pregnancy, but the woman would not agree. The husband wants to have the second child as well, but he cannot prevent his parent’s violent actions and tells the wife to give up to the pressure.

They constantly insult the woman, do not allow her to heat the room in the winter, use hot water, took her jewelry. She does not want to apply to the police as her father-in-law has friends there. Her husband takes no steps. He was forced to take her back to her parent’s. Now the woman does not know how to restore her rights.

The Women’s Rights Center lawyer has prepared a letter to be submitted together with the woman’s application to the police.

Together with the family

The young man was “strongly in love” with his female co-villager. He loved her with such “strength” that could not even sleep. But he lacked the appropriate imagination to fascinate her. If he did he would cover her path with flowers, sing serenades for her at midnight or would write poems. No, he was not that romantic, he chose a short way of “winning her heart.” He did not have enough time to write poems, he just wanted to get married at once, and that’s all. Understanding that he would not be able to convince her parents, he decided to kidnap her. By the way the place of the incident was not one of the streets of the village, but the very house his beloved lived in.

So, one day he took a car and drove towards the house of his beloved. He was not alone. One might think he was accompanied by his friends, but not at all – his mother and sister were with him. They entered the yard over the wall, then opened the door and entered the house. The girl and her mother were astonished and they started quarreling with the uninvited guests, who said they would leave the house only if they took the girl with them. So the boy’s mother tied the girl’s mother’s hands, while the boy took his beloved girl out of the house. The mother’s cries would not stop them. They left and the mother continued crying out for help…

The Baghramyan police department was informed about the incident. Days later, thanks to the measures taken, the bride was found in one of the villages. Now she is in her father’s house, and the experts found the bridegroom irresponsible.

The inquest of the criminal case, instituted by the above-mentioned fact, is now over.

Criminal mosaic

11 April 2007

Svetlana Rosova, a resident of the Gyulbekyan Street in the capital city, called the police at 22:40 and informed that Samvel Hakobyan, her husband, had beaten her on the Khachatryan Street and run over her by the car.

The operative group found out that at 22:00 Samvel Hakobyan, with the aim of murder, opened the door of the car, which he was driving, pulled his wife out of it, then tried to run over her by the car, as a result of which the woman got bodily injuries.

Samvel Hakobyan has been brought to the Police department of Arabkir.

H.I.

Extracts from “Alarming statistics” article

Cases of infliction of willful damage to health mainly happen among spouses, relatives, close persons as  a result of quarrels on domestic matters. Those cases are very illogical and alarming; domestic dramas are small tragedies that unfortunately have taken and will always take place every day as long as homo sapiens has not understood the advice ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’

The case registered in the Police department of Vardenis on 9 March had the most tragic end. The quarrel of the spouses on domestic matters became so heated that those people had estranged themselves from everything – children, each other. The people, who shared joy and sorrow for many decades, have lost the sense of reality, and Mikhail Ghoukasyan, husband, bitterly beat up his wife with a wooden stick and other things. The woman writhed with pain for a week at home, and husband, wishing to save his skin, did not take her to a doctor thinking that his wife’s injuries and pain would pass with time. He knew that they would ask at the hospital what and how happened, then they would inform the police. But the pain did not pass; and a week later the woman died of injuries.

Cases of bodily injuries registered at Police departments of Vanadzor and Stepanavan on 29 March were domestic dramas. In both cases sons beat… their mothers. Eduard Sargsyan, resident of Stepanavan, hit his 78-year-old mother so strongly that she was taken to the hospital with a broken nose. As for Shavarsh Torosyan, a Vanadzor town resident, he beat his 72-year-old mother with a wooden stick.

Hasmik Ispiryan

Secrets of family life

Violence against women in Armenian families, a theme that has an outstanding significance in the social context, has been revealed in The Hidden Pages of Family Life, a book (in Armenian) written by PhD of Psychology Karine NALCHAJYAN. A unique study follows up catastrophic cataclysms, grasping Armenian families, as a mirror of society, on the whole. What distinguishes modern Armenian families from traditional ones? How have the basic roles of man and woman been changed? How differently are the ideas about violence considered among males and females? What does the paradox and peculiarity of each form of violence consist of (the author singled 16 types)? The answers to these and many other questions were given based on a sociological survey which the author carried out among 1626 individuals in 58 inhabited areas of Armenia.
By the way, violence in the family according to consideration of women, affected 6.3 per cent of families, and by consideration of men, only 1.5 per cent of families.

The heavy frustration suffered by husbands due to the loss of the traditional image of a father, as an embodiment of strength, stability (including material) and defender of the family from social instability, has resulted in the growth of aggressiveness (implicit and explicit) of both - the wife and the husband, according to the author. The author sees a great threat of the collapse of family in father’s departure abroad in search for a job. In such situation the social role of the woman, who is far from arousing any envy of others, sharply increases. She is either “forgotten” or explicitly “aggressive,” or acquires a manlike image, being deprived of the opportunity to lean on the strong shoulder of man, according to the author of the book.

The composition of the Armenian family has changed as well. The intention of the young to live separately in their own house has become more and more approved both by the parents and the newly-wed. In the meantime, there are many cases when such reparation, as in the patriarchal model, continues to be perceived by parents as a personal injury and expression of ingratitude. In some situations children are doomed to remain in the status of children forever and are treated by parents as their property.

The author comes to a conclusion that in the Armenian society family violence is perceived as something extremely negative and is not regarded as an ordinary phenomenon. For women the most severe form of aggression is violence, adultery is in the second place, and sexual assault is in the third. For men the most severe forms of violence against a woman are adultery and physical violence, as well as pasing the physical responsibility for the family on the woman’s shoulders.
In a special section Karine Nalchajyan presents real cases of difficult family situations (following ethic norms and changing names and certain circumstances), told by the personages. Armenians are not used to applying to a psychologist; they think that they can tackle everything themselves. But when a person is in a state of hard frustration, as in the cases, presented below, and does not see any way out, Nalchajyan’s qualified assistance was very important for them. Below, extracts of the appendix of the book are presented for the attention of the reader.

***
Karine is 47 and has two daughters: the elder is a student, the younger is finishing school. Arshak, her husband, is extremely aggressive towards her and the daughters. He is educated and is a leading specialist in his sphere. Karine distinguishes his intellectual and human virtues. They used to be a loving couple, he used to be a wonderful father. But husband started showing uncontrollable jealousy from the very first day of their family life. Years later jealousy became stronger and took unhealthy forms. It has reached the peak now and the husband claims to do the analysis of the DNA to make sure he is the father of the daughters. The wife is ready for that, but she considers the procedure humiliating for herself and daughters. Besides, the analysis is expensive enough, and the family, which is not very rich, is now looking for money.

The husband’s jealousy takes unpredictable forms. He looses control, batters his wife, and even tried to strangle her at night. Karine says that it is already for a long time she cannot sleep, all night through she is waiting for the mortal hit. It had happened once, and she hardly saved herself scratching his face to blood. When the girls try to interfere, that makes him furious. Everybody is in fear. His relatives show no interest to the family.

***
28-year-old Gohar is married. She thinks that her mother-in-law is to blame for the failed happiness. Her husband is the only son. The father-in-law is a weak, weak-willed person, and the mother-in-law is the “boss” of the house. She is stubborn and consistent in her wish to be aware of all details of the young couple’s life; she follows every step of her daughter-in-law. She can appear on the threshold of their bedroom every moment. She claims not to lock the bathroom door when her son or daughter-in-law are taking shower. She opens the door and stares straight even at her son without a sign of embarrassment.
At the end of the second year of their marriage the wife’s life became unbearable – she could not get pregnant. Doctors found out that the woman is healthy and it is husband who can be the cause of barrenness. But the mother-in-law categorically rejected such a possibility, thinking that the daughter-in-law, whose presence in the house was unnecessary, and blamed her for that. The mother-in-law was choking with anger when the spouses showed tenderness and care towards each other. There were even cases when she would forbid them to eat, and the husband used to secretly bring food into the bedroom.

For some time the couple moved to the wife’s house and they could live peacefully. But the mother-in-law managed to win and make the couple divorce. However, their marriage has not been officially divorced yet; the wife still loves her husband, who already shows no interest towards her.

***
Anahit is 35 and she used to live in the capital before getting married. She got her higher education there. When she was 16 she lost her parents in two months and had suffered the whole bitterness of the orphan life. After the death of parents her brothers sold the house, offering her to stay in turn at her brother’s. They thought “she is a girl and will get married some day.” One day her relatives find her a fiancé – a country boy. But when the girl shyly tried to contradict, her family made a decision: “he is a good guy, don’t loose your chance”.

All hardships of family life were imposed on the girl who did not know the village life. She was responsible for the most difficult work – carrying heavy water buckets, watering the garden, looking after the stock. Black nails and cracked hands that are shrunken tell a lot about that woman who seems to be much older. The mother-in-law is particularly cruel to her daughter-in-law, and the husband, who comes home from work very late, does not care about anything – he does not dare to object the parents. That’s why she stopped telling her husband about anything, stopped complaining. She has already four times lost her baby in late terms of pregnancy – and it is another reason for his parents to mock her. Now she is waiting for a baby again, humiliated, burdened with family problems.

***
A story by 39-year-old Aida. After finishing the school, she applied to a University. “I met my future husband right during the entrance exams. He was conducting an examination and noticed  me from far away. He was a pleasant, educated young man. I was truly surprised when some time later he proposed to marry him, as I was a common village girl. He was much older than me and I liked it, although I was a little embarrassed. We got married. Everything had happened so quickly that my parents were shocked. I became the third member of the family, as the husband lived with his mother. Everything seemed to be fine at first. We had a house; soon I noticed that the neighbors started strangely whispering to one another, when they saw me. I was embarrassed and told my husband about that, but he told me not to pay attention at them. I thought it was all about my country origin. My husband and mother-in-law advised me not to deal with the neighbors. Then they insisted on quitting the study; I tried to persuade them, but in vain. They made a decision for me that I did not need higher education, I hardly managed to the housework, and the mother-in-law was working.

At first the mother-in-law, a well-groomed, nice woman, was very kind to me. Although, I could not understand why she singled out for  me and my husband a half-ruined balcony as a bedroom, while she herself slept in a cozy bedroom. But I did not pay attention to that, as my husband loved me and I felt myself a happy woman. My husband was very cold with me in the presence of his mother and did not like that, but then I thought it was normal. If we sat together with my husband, she would come, sit between as, hug his son and change the conversation to attract attention. It became common enough.

She would not do any work at home. I did everything, and she would only put forward requirements and reproach me. When we used to go to bed my mother-in-law would constantly enter our room, as if she controlled us. Several times I woke up in the night and saw that my husband was not there. I could not explain that, but I felt that something was wrong. I started having insomnia. And once, on that faithful day I followed his night adventures. He carefully got off the bed (I pretended to be sleeping) and went to his mother’s room. At first I seemed to turn into stone, then when I came to my senses, I was shaking. I was afraid, but I second later I stood up, and I can’t remember how I appeared there and saw them together in the bed. I returned to the balcony and fell down to the bed, shivering with cry; that is all I remember.

When I woke up, my husband was at my side. It was almost morning. He tried to justify himself, but I was quickly getting dressed not seeing anything around myself. There was only one thought in my head – I had to get out of there as soon as possible.”

***

Alina is 40, she is mother of two children. Her husband used to be tender and careful with her until the birth of the second child. After the second child he suddenly changed. He did not want to have a daughter at all, he was dreaming of a son, and they had already the second daughter. He took it as a hard blow of the fate, started hating both his wife and children. Alina is a nice, pretty educated woman. She says she still loves her spouse very much, but she is afraid she won’t be able to stand that for a long time, as now he started to beat her. Her husband has a very high position at work, he is educated, and the family has no financial difficulties, but there is no happiness.

Recently he has strongly demanded that his wife and children not be seen by him too often. They were also ordered not to ask him for anything and keep silence. Every day mother goes with her children to another room and plays there carefully, so that their voices do not bother the father, watching TV. The children absolutely do not communicate with their father, not seeing any care from him. They started being afraid of the father, growing up unconfident and vulnerable.

***

Lousine is 33 years old, has five children. She lives at her husband’s parents’ – 9 people in a two-room flat. It has already been for five years that her father-in-law pays special attention to her, wishing to have intimate relations. For some time Lousine tried to hide that being in constant fear and nervousness. Then, when she could not stand that any more, she told her husband about everything. The husband told his brothers about that and when they asked their father whether it was true, he said yes. And that was all:  her husband does nothing to protect his wife from sexual harassment of his father. When Lousine cries and protests, he keeps silence. Lousine says that her husband is a respected man, has a responsible job, his word is like a law for his subordinates, but at home he is voiceless.

Lousine is completely alone in her grief. Her mother-in-law knows about everything and mocks her daughter-in-law, giving her bad names, although the whole family knows what kind of a man the father is. Now Lousine is bothered by another thing – her elder daughter is already a teenager and her femininity attracts obscene glances of the father-in-law.

***

Anoush is about 40, she has three children. The elder daughter is married, the younger daughter goes to school, the son is a student. The family had been living peacefully and prosperously for long years. The husband is from a very famous family, and the wife, being from a lower social layer, has always been proud of being a daughter-in-law of such a well-known family.

When the economic situation worsened in Armenia, Arthur, her husband, sold the flat and used the money to establish his own business. But his business went wrong and he went bankrupt. Now they are renting a flat. The husband does not have a job, and the wife works all day and night through to earn money for the family and study of her son. So, they managed to get used to such conditions, but the situation changed when Anoush heard rumors that her husband had an affair abroad, and her husband’s girl-friend was guilty in  his bankruptcy. As soon as all the money had been spent, she left Arthur, so he returned home with nothing.
Moreover, Arthur confessed that he has become impotent recently, making her understand that there can be no intimate relationship between them. Anoush took that also, until one day in the pocket of her husband she found a receipt on electricity payment of an unknown address. She checked and found out that a single woman lived by that address. It meant that Arthur had some money that did not reach the family and he cheated his wife about being an impotent. Despite all this Anoush cannot divorce, because “children are already grown-up, and their family is known to be a successful one”.

***

Ripsime is 68 years old, her husband is 76. They have two children who have their own families and live separately from the parents. Ripsime says that her family life can be hardly called happy, but she stood everything for the sake of the children. Her husband is well-educated and is known as a good man. He has always been rude to his wife at home, groundless quarrels, bad words and threatening have always been usual for him. The wife, who got used to everything, says that now she loses control because of another thing. It has already been for 8 months that her husband is in love with a 55-year-old woman. Although he does not meet her, he talks to her by the phone for hours and from morning till night cries at his wife’s shoulder, complaining about his unrequited love. He says that she has  to comfort him and  give him hope. All day long he keeps repeating “I have only just understood what love means.” When Ripsime tries to protest, he starts quarreling and beating her. Ripsime’s leg is bandaged - her husband hit her with his stick, when she told him bitterly: “You are not a boy any longer, go to  the village, work for some time in our garden, maybe you would feel better.”
The wife wishes to divorce, her sons do not object, but she is afraid of rumors – what would people say? She is not ready yet for such a turn in her life.

Prepared by Lilit Yepremyan

Published in: “Novoye Vremya”, 1393, 23 September 2006 (Unofficial translation)

Comment from the Women's Rights Center

Contributed by Eduard Grigoryan, Women's Rights Center

“A Hand Grenade in the Bed of Artsroun from Lejan Village?”

Artsroun’s wife brought her husband to the door of the court, presenting an “F-1” hand grenade, which was kept at home, as evidence.

Artsroun Varosyan, a 39-year-old resident of Lori region Lejan village, married Olga Grigoryan from Jrashen two years ago. Their marital life was for some reason unsuccessful. In the First Instance Court of Lori region, Olga stated that her husband used to beat and humiliate her every day; and all this was accompanied with curses and threats to blow up her relatives.

In November 2006 in Jrashen, Artsroun pushed his wife down and beat her. That day became decisive for Olga – first she ran away to one of her co-villager’s, and then she returned to Lejan, took her things from the husband’s house and returned to her parents’. When collecting her things, she also took a hand grenade with her to show to the Spitak town police. A wife of Artsroun’s brother, who lived in the neighborhood, was the first to find out about the grenade 13 years ago. When she asked Artsroun about it, he answered that it was just a “piece of iron;” and that “piece of iron” was kept with tools for many years.
At the court Olga said that one day she found the hand grenade under the pillow on her bed and knew from her sister-in-law that it was Olga’s husband who had placed it there. Then she put the grenade onto the armchair. The story surprised both the wife of Artsroun’s brother and Andranik Moukoyan, the Prosecutor. Both of them heard that for the first time: nothing was said about it during the inquest testimony. The husband characterized his wife’s act as blackmail, but did not deny that he had kept a hand grenade at home.   He had received it from his friend Manvel Meliksetyan, who died about fifteen years ago.

The First Instance Court of Lori region sentenced Artsroun Varosyan to a conditional sentence for illegal keeping of weapons. When finding the verdict, the court took into consideration the fact that the defendant had positive references, had never been convicted before and had parents at his guardianship.

Artsroun Varosyan is not going to leave his 24-year-old wife and newly born child. His wife agreed to that only if their marriage was registered, and they lived separately from parents. Otherwise she will bring up her baby alone.

“Frustrated Dreams”

A 26-year-old resident of Yerevan, Narek, (all real names have been changed in this publication) has been sentenced twice on a series of articles of the Criminal Code. The last time the court sentenced him to imprisonment, but he was put on probation.
In December of 2002 he met a girl, a neighbor of his, in the street. Days later, he used an opportunity and got acquainted with her. Their acquaintance grew into a mutual affection and intimacy. Narek’s relatives were very glad about that, hoping that the boy would get married, create a family and start caring for the newly-created family. But everything had an absolutely different finish.
A year later Sona left for Germany (her parents stayed there), but promised to come back after a time. They decided they would get married after her return. The couple communicated with each other by letters and phone calls. It all continued until the beginning of 2004, when their communication ended by Sona’s initiative. Sona got married in Germany; she informed Narek about it and asked him not to bother her any more.
But Narek did not accept the prospect of losing the girl. In the middle of the spring of 2005, Sona returned to Yerevan. Narek knew about it the same day, and he called her and asked to meet, but the girl refused him. Narek, however, was not one who would give up soon: from the next day on he started “watching” by Sona’s home's entrance.
Sona, who was going shopping, noticed Narek approaching her. To avoid meeting him, she entered the nearest drugstore. After some time, noticing that the ex-boy-friend had left, she hurried home, but in the entrance she met Narek face-to-face, and he offered to talk. The girl was forced to agree. They walked in the direction of some garages near the building. Sona naturally did not want to have any connection to Narek, but the latter did not care about that – he had decided to marry Sona. So, he was rejected for the second time. Infuriated, he hit the girl on the face with his fist. Sona fell down. The boy hit once on her legs and escaped…
On the grounds of Sona’s claim, who applied to the Malatia police department, a criminal case was instituted, and days later Narek was found and brought to the police department.
 Investigation of the criminal case is now over.

Shahoum Shahnazaryan

Noisy Man

Early in the morning of October 30, Albert T., a resident of Karashamb village of Kotayk marz (region), made some inhabitants of Khanjyan Street witnesses of his family matters. Being drunk, Albert, who chose the street as a place for solving his domestic problems, beat his mother-in-law, made noise, cursed, violated public order, and bothered other families that had nothing to do with his domestic quarrel.
The police, who appeared at the place of the incident due to the report of witnesses, took the noisy and aggressive son-in-law to the police department, where as a result of a search they found a knife with a secret closure. The young man, who was under the influence of alcohol, thought he was almighty, and tried to continue what he had started, but…
The investigation found out that the “noisy” son-in-law was wanted by police department of Shengavit, charged with part 1 of Article 113 of the Criminal Code (he had deliberately inflicted medium-gravity damage to health of his mother-in-law).
Albert T. is under arrest now.

H.I.

“I Became I, and You Became You”

According to the decision of the court, a 27-year-old young man from Vanadzor town was allowed to see his child twice a week after the divorce…
After one of meetings he said goodbye to his child and went home. Some time later he noticed his ex-wife with her relatives. The child was not with her. He approached her to find out where their child was and his ex-wife answered indifferently, “Isn’t it all the same for you?” The answer made the young man mad and he started to curse and beat her with hands and legs.
“Finishing” with the ex-wife, he turned to her brother, called him “girl” and ordered him to come nearer. Then he hit the boy too. However, the “show” did not last long: seeing the policemen, he escaped. His “Marathon race” was interrupted by policemen, who brought the young man to the police department of Vanadzor.
Investigation of the criminal case is now over.

Love and Hate

On 28 October, when it was close to noon, Moushegh E., a 48-year-old resident of one of the villages in the Gegharkounik marz (region), applied to the police department of Shengavit and informed them that he had murdered his wife the day before.
Why, what was the reason?… In the morning of December 27 it was their turn to care for the village herd. At first they turned the herd out to pasture nearby and then they moved to the pasturelands of the neighboring village.
In the meantime their conversation turned into a quarrel, which was caused by Moushegh’s groundless jealousy. The husband started cruelly beating the wife and, thinking that hands and legs were not enough, used his wooden stick…
In the evening Moushegh turned the herd to the village, hoping that his wife would follow him, but she was unable to go, lying helplessly on the ground.
After coming home he saw that the woman was late, and together with his two sons and his wife’s brother, he set out to the pasture to take her back home by car. However… before reaching the place, the husband probably felt that something bad had happened to his wife, so he got out of the car and ran away. The relatives transported the woman’s corpse to the village.
Moushegh spent the night in a chapel in the neighboring mountains, and in the morning took a bus to the capital to inform the police department of Shengavit about the incident. The police of Gegharkunik marz (region) were immediately informed about the murder.
A criminal case was instituted in the regional Prosecutor’s Office. An operative group composed of police and Prosecutor’s Office representatives visited the place of the incident.
Moushegh E. is now under arrest; investigation of the case is in process.

Two days after this incident, Armen Gh, born in 1972, applied to the police department of Ararat and informed them that he killed his wife with a hunting rifle.
They formed a family long ago, but their family life was not all peace and harmony. Not long after their marriage some rumors started to circulate in the village about the behavior of the woman…
A new quarrel in the midday of October 31 had another reason:  the mother did not care about the children in a proper manner, leaving them on their own.
So Armen finally lost his patience, took his hunting rifle and shot his wife three times, and she died. A criminal case was instituted, and the operative group confiscated a double-barreled hunting rifle (16 mm), one cartridge and three packs of the same cartridges.
The investigation is still in process.

Shahoum Shahnazaryan

An Extract From “Criminal Mosaic” Article

March 13

A murder has been registered by the police department of Hrazdan town. In the morning, Hovhannes Hayrapetyan, a Hrazdan town resident, surrendered to the police and informed them that he had hit his wife's neck with something sharp, then her head with an obtuse tool and strangled her with a curtain as a result of a domestic quarrel.

Hovhannes Hayrapetyan is under arrest, and an investigation is being made by the Prosecutor’s Office of Kotayk.

Extracts From “Criminal Mosaic” Article

February 24

A murder attempt has been registered at the police department of Masis. An operative group, which rushed to Getapnya village due to an anonymous call, found out the following: Yerevan resident son-in-law, “visiting” 74-year-old Roza Mkrtchyan, who lived in the village, threw a grenade at his wife in the garage with the aim of killing her. As a result of the blow, he himself and his wife received injuries in different parts of the body.

The spouses have been taken to the hospital, and the police are investigating the details.

February 25

A family from Vanadzor town tried to solve their disagreements, which became a problem for the police. In a domestic quarrel at home the husband, trying to kill his wife, hit her with an axe and inflicted injuries. The woman was taken to the hospital and her husband is now under arrest.

February 27

Cases with bodily injuries have been registered by Police Departments of Kanaker-Zeitoun and Mashtots. In the first case the ex-husband beat his ex-wife and her grandfather in the street, and in the second one - the beating took place at home. The woman was taken to the hospital with a brain concussion.

Investigation of both cases is in progress.

An Extract From “Domestic Tragedies” Article

In the period of 22 January – 5 February, 6 cases of murder were registered in the Republic; 4 of them have been disclosed. In the same period 71 cases of willful infliction of heavy damage to health were registered; 59 cases have been disclosed. These cases of murder were committed on domestic ground. The actors were relatives who fell under the control of evil, immorality, and intolerance. In the recent past those people were connected by warm relationships. Those people chose the worst, the most inhuman way to solve domestic problems.

On 31 January the Malatia district police department was informed that Napoleon Ayvazyan, a resident of Gagarin Street, had committed suicide in a stable, situated near the house. The operative group, which got to the place of the incident, saw and heard an illogical tragedy. They say that family is a dark forest, and no one can know when and where the story, often created and extremely complicated by both spouses, would find its way out. No one can also know just when patience will be lost and a tragedy will happen. The Ayvazyans had passed a long way, and the joys and sorrows they lived during that time should have made their family firm and stable regarding any uncontrollable incidents. Unfortunately, in the absence of will-power the mind is under stress, and relations of families that have been firm and stable for years end in indescribable, unpredictable ways. This means that one should always keep his mind sober to suppress the beast that suddenly wakes up in unknown depths of man’s soul.

That morning the domestic quarrel between the spouses was getting hotter – neither of the spouses gave up, put an end to the useless quarrel and started everyday work. This would have been the only way to put down the conflict. But it became hotter and hotter, so the husband took an axe and hit his wife on the head. The injured woman managed to escape from the house, and the husband, probably thinking that he had killed his wife, and terrified of what he had done, hanged himself.

On 28 January, the Vagharshapat police department was informed by the hospital that 48-year-old Alvard Shirvanyan was brought there with gunshot injuries to the belly; she died without recovering consciousness.

It took only one hour for the criminal investigators from the Vagharshapat police department to discover the murderer. The operative-investigative measures let the police go in the correct direction from the very beginning, looking for the cause-and-effect of the murder in the unsuccessful relations of the family. Long-lasting quarrels between his sister and brother-in-law were solved by Vahagn Kirakosyan, and solved in a bloody way. The woman again escaped from her husband’s indecent behavior to her parents' house, who lived in the neighborhood. In the meantime her infuriated brother left to “teach” the incorrigible brother-in-law how to behave. They quarreled, calling each other bad names, after which Vahagn put an end to it with a hunting riffle, which he had taken with him.

Vahagn Kirakisyan is under arrest. The inquest of the criminal case is still in progress. We would only like to add that during the search some marijhuana and psychoactive drugs were found at Alvard Shirvanyan’s flat.

Hasmik Ispiryan

When Uncontrollable Feelings Rule

On 1 January the Nor Nork police department was informed that 18-year-old Lousine M. was taken to the hospital with a gunshot injury to the leg. The details of this grave crime on the first day of the year became known to the policemen soon after they reached the hospital. The incident, the cause-and-effect of which stemmed from feelings of love, rejection, hurt dignity and unjustified revenge, might have resulted in a tragedy, becoming an unbearable pain for some families due to the thoughtless act of a young man. Fortunately, the woman’s life was saved, although she is still under medical observation.

The engagement of two young people in Jrvezh district was either a result of love or a result of finding a convenient candidate. Nevertheless, there was a matter of mutual agreement and feelings, otherwise the 18-year-old student would have disagreed, proving that there was no future for her and Apres Gabrielyan. The engagement ceremony took place in December, but several days later the woman’s boyfriend came back from Russia; her feelings for that boy were real, not artificial or calculated. They met and their love, which had been forgotten because of misunderstanding, was reborn. Being engaged to another boy did not prevent her from escaping with her boyfriend. She did not care about other’s feelings; her boyfriend, who was absent for some time, had suddenly appeared again, so without thinking for long, the girl followed her love.

Days later the ex-fiancé and his relatives seemed to calm down – life is life, everything could happen and in this case maybe it was high time it did happen. They comforted they boy saying that every cloud has a silver lining. Apres, who seemed to calm down at first glance, was, however, guided by hurt feelings overriding his mind.

On 1 January, Lousine and her actual husband were on their way to relatives to congratulate them on the occasion of the New Year. They met Apres who, after a short conversation asked the girl an ambiguous question: “Are you happy now?” and then “You will see your happiness now”. Then Apres took out a rifle and without waiting any longer shot his ex-fiancée.

Fortunately, Khachik, the woman’s actual husband, kept his head, and took the rifle from Apres, who ran away. The injured woman was transported to the hospital.

Would it be logical to refer to this absurd inhuman act as one of  jealousy or revenge? Even if we try to understand the young man’s feelings, he did commit a crime. It is impossible to consider common human feelings – jealousy, insult in the context of a human approach, when such feelings are so maliciously altered and brought to criminality.

As a result of the young man’s act, he has chosen the dullness of imprisonment, and he will probably understand the advantage of relying on common sense. Any unpleasant situation in which a person can find himself or herself has a sensible solution. The ability to forgive, or to bear the insult noble-mindedly, is much more serious and manly than giving oneself over to one's feelings without knowing where they would take you.

Apres Gabrielyan is under arrest.

The investigation of the instituted criminal case is held by the Nor Nork district Prosecutor’s Office.

H.I.

The “Insulted”

23-year-old Robert Babakhanov has been convicted eight times. He had not yet served his last sentence when he committed another crime.

The divorced man has not cared about anything in this life. The only thing he “cared for” was quarreling with his brother’s wife on domestic matters.
He has been addicted to drinking. Alcohol and loud music – this is what “comforted” him. As usual that day he was absorbed with alcohol and music. His brother’s wife, according to him, reproached him for the loud music, which deeply insulted him. This “insult” was the reason that he “advised” his brother’s family to leave the house. Otherwise, he promised to burn the flat, but nobody paid any attention to this threat. Their carelessness was used by Robert, who poured petrol on the floor, lit it up, took his things and tried to get out.
At that moment his brother’s wife stopped him and demanded an explanation. But the man, instead of answering, hit her with his fists and caused bodily injuries.
Neighbors succeeded in putting out the fire, and the incendiary was charged with the appropriate article of the RA Criminal Code.

Robert Babakhanov is under arrest. The inquest of the criminal case in the Nor Nork investigation department is now over.

The Murder Has Been Found Out

On the midday of 1 December, the Erebouni Police Department informed that a corpse had been found in a flat on Rostovyan Street. At the mentioned flat, the operative group found that the corpse belonged to A.Sargsyan (the flat owner, born in 1941). There were cut wounds on different parts of the body.

A criminal case has been instituted in the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebouni and Noubarashen communities.

As a result of a serious of operative-investigative measures, police officers of the Erebouni Police Criminal Investigation Department found out the suspect. Simultaneously with searching for the latter, police also checked other versions as well, which allowed them to clarify the cause-and-effect of the case and the identity of the suspect. On 9 December, thanks to joint operative-investigational actions of the Erebouni and Arabkir police departments, the suspect Aram Khachikyan, born in 1980, was arrested in the town of Tsaghkadzor. The young man, previously convicted for banditry, not only confessed, but also described the crime in detail.

There are crimes when a series of circumstances do not allow making the details public; those details remain in the pages of criminal cases. The approach and moral considerations, required here, are based on avoiding making internal family relations public, violating a person’s rights, as well as out of moral considerations; allowing details of the case is impossible.

Without going into the details of that family history, we can say that Aram was the husband of 65-year-old murdered woman’s granddaughter. To avoid the endless daily domestic quarrels of the young family, the woman took her baby and escaped to her grandmother’s one-room flat.

Aram followed them, allegedly for reconciliation. However, reconciliation mixed with quarrels was doomed from the very beginning. Drunk, Aram was uncontrolled; in addition, there was another fact –grandmother sold the flat, which meant that she had money.

Peaceful demands to give money did not work; the grandmother was uncompromising. The perspective of having such a big sum of money made Aram lose self-control and made him a cruel beast – he took out a knife and attacked 65-year-old woman. With each hit on the body the line between the human and the beast faded away.

After hitting the woman with the knife for more that twenty times and seeing that she was breathless, he took $3300 and ran away, forcing his wife and child to come with him.

Aram Khachikyan is under arrest now.

H.I.

Ex-Husband

After living together for twenty years, the spouses understood quite late that their joint life is impossible, and as they have had enough of permanent quarrels and jealousy scenes, they decided to live separately.

The husband started drinking more especially after leaving the family. As always, the day when everything happened, he was occupied with his “business.”
While he was drinking, he heard some sounds from outside – someone’s car stuck in a hole and the driver was trying to get it out. By they way, the man’s wife was also there, trying to help the unknown young man. But a little later the helping woman needed help herself:  her husband approached her and hit her, causing her bodily damages…

The inquest of the criminal case by the Investigation Department of the Shengavit Police, instituted on the above-mentioned facts, has already finished.

K.M.

“Protection of Victims is Still Low,” - RA Minister of Justice David Haroutyunyan Claims

The 27th summit of the Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe member-states, dedicated to the issues of “Victims, their status, rights and assistance to them,” adopted the final document, according to which the officials of 43 countries called upon the Ministerial Committee of the CoE to develop better mechanisms for assistance and reimbursement to the victims of crime, and in particular, domestic violence.

The Armenian party is planning to be a party to the international convention “On reimbursement for the victims of violence”, which will be a serious impetus to the above-mentioned field.

Referring to the issue of domestic violence, D.Haroutyunyan claimed that the Armenian mentality contributes nothing special in the attitude to the issue. The point is that along with development of society, the above-mentioned phenomenon is becoming visible.

“We cannot ignore the phenomenon. Children, everybody suffers from it.” - summarized Mr. Haroutyunyan, stating that steps should be taken to tackle the problem at its roots.

D.Haroutyunyan mentioned that opinions of the summit and experience of other countries will be analyzed, and legislative changes based upon them should be made in our countries.

The issues of assistance and reimbursement to victims were a priority in the agenda of the summit; participants analyzed what financial means and mechanisms should be applied to addressing the problem.

The next summit of the Ministers of Justice of the CoE member-states will take place on the Canaries in the end of 2007 or at the beginning of 2008.

ARMENIAN WOMEN ARE SILENT VICTIMS
Thousands endure beatings but lack means to protect themselves.

By Gayane Abrahamian in Yerevan and Gavar

Almost half of Armenia's women have suffered domestic abuse, say researchers, yet this disturbing problem is being hushed up because of traditional attitudes.
"Armenian women suffer violence, but they are afraid and keep silent, as they don't believe that anything can be done about it," said Consuelo Vidal, United Nations resident coordinator in Armenia at the launch of a 16-day programme Campaign Against Gender Violence that continues until December 16.

For 13 years, Hasmik Hakobian has been married to a man from a traditional Armenian family in the town of Gavar around 100 kilometres from Yerevan.
She was just nineteen when her father married her off to a young man, whom she'd only ever seen from the window of her house.

"I have a black eye permanently so the neighbours have long stopped asking me what the matter is," said Hasmik. "Happiness for me means not being beaten and blood not gushing from my nose."

Hasmik said she was beaten for the first time three days after her wedding, and since then she has lost count of the number of times she has suffered abuse.
"I was pregnant then,' she recalled. "I was baking bread. I don't know what my mother-in-law had told my husband, but he was mad with rage when he rushed into the bakery. He snatched the rolling pin from my hands and hit me on the back and head with it. I came round in hospital, having already delivered the baby."

Hasmik decided to leave her husband, but her father refused to take her back home, saying that wives were always beaten by their husbands and advising her to put up with it and raise her child.

Ethnographer and sociologist Mihran Galstian said that traditional denigrating attitudes towards women in Armenia has made such violence possible. Armenian folk proverbs actively encourage beating by promoting the idea that "a woman is like wool - the more you beat it, the softer it becomes" or "a woman is made to cry".

Officials and parliamentarians also refuse to acknowledge there is a problem.
For example, Armen Ashotian, a member of parliament from the governing Republican Party, said, "Domestic violence is not a feature of our families. I think that people who want to raise this problem are really not bothered by the issue but just want to get new grants. They are lowering the image of Armenia for the sake of their own pockets.  There are occasionally cases of it, but domestic violence is not on a big scale in our society. They shouldn't present Armenia as some kind of African tribe, where people eat one another."

Data collected suggests otherwise. In 2004-2005, the Sociometer Centre for Independent Sociological Studies conducted a poll of 1200 women in Yerevan and eight towns and eight villages. Forty six per cent said they were exposed to violence in their family, a quarter in the presence of their children.

"Our officials refuse to admit that violence does exist in Armenian families and that serious measures need to be taken to fight it," said Susanna Vardanian, director of the Women's Rights Centre in Yerevan. "Moreover, they accuse others of destroying our traditionally strong families in order to get grants."

"Unfortunately, many see the abuse of women as normal. The belief that violence is an integral part of married life originates in early childhood: first a girl is beaten by her brother, then by her husband, and she comes to think that that's the way it should be," said Adibek Aharonian, director of the Sociometer centre.
According to Sociometer, 45 per cent of the women suffering abuse in their families keep quiet about their problem. Only 0.3 per cent resort to divorce, and no more than 0.4 per cent contact the police.

Vardanian said women had no faith in the police to protect them and they were afraid of the consequences, "After the police leave, [a victim] may be subjected to still greater violence, as it's shameful to wash your family's dirty linen in public."
Gulnara Martirosian (not her real name) now lives in an old people's home in Yerevan, although she is only 45. Her 25 years of married life were an endless series of fights not only with her husband, but also with his mother and brother.
"Anyone who felt like it could beat me," she told IWPR. "If something was wrong in the house, I was the one who got the blame. They pounced on me and beat me - all together. Once I tried to defend myself, I grabbed a chair and hit my husband over the head with it."

This incident, which happened in 2002, cost Gulnara her sight. "I hit him and darted out of the house, but there was nowhere to run - my parents are dead, I have no relatives, and I sought refuge in my neighbour's house," she went on. "My husband came for me there, and when he saw me, he splashed acid in my eyes. I remember my face burning, the pain was so bad I lost consciousness. I was taken to Yerevan and operated on there, but my sight never returned."

No one from the family comes to see Gulnara and she says her children have been told that she is dead. "I couldn't stand up for my rights, as I had no money, no relatives to run around the courts for me. That's how my life has passed," she said.

Since the Centre for Women Rights opened seven years ago, more than 10,000 women, including over four thousand victims of domestic violence, have called its hotline, asking for help. Another organisation, the Motherhood Foundation, has been open for four years and has dealt with 3,000 women, who said they were exposed to abuse.

"These are rather high figures for Armenia, considering that women suffering violence tend to seek help from their relatives and friends, and only those in a hopeless situation turn to organisations like ours," said Anna Badalian, a psychologist at the foundation.

IWPR randomly polled ten women in Yerevan on the street. Four of them said they had been beaten by their husbands more than once. And there was a clear difference in outlook between the generations.

"If couples divorced because of beatings and abuse, there would be no families left in Armenia," said accountant Satik Kintoian, 78.
"I remember my grandfather saying that a man, when choosing a wife for himself, should beat her first, and if she cowered in the corner, that meant she would make a good wife, and if she ran away, then she wouldn't. I was beaten and loved too. They say the more he beats you, the more he'll love you. I have no regrets about my life. I'm not saying that a wife should be beaten every day, but when she crosses the line, she should have a beating."

Zaruhi Minasian, a 26-year-old translator, takes a different view. She said she has never been subjected to physical abuse but she has experienced psychological pressure. "I have no respect for men who want to prove themselves by taking it out against women," she said. "That only proves that these men are weak."

Fatal Jealousy

On 28 October,2006, Moushegh Yegoryan, a resident of the village of Tazagyugh (Gegharkounik marz -province) and born in 1955, surrendered himself to the Shengavit police department and confessed that on 27 October around 16:00 in the field of the village Lichk (Gegharkounk marz) he had beaten his wife Sofik Yegoryan (born in 1958) with a stick and kicked her, and left her in the field, and all that was out of jealousy. When the same day around 19:00 he came back and found his wife dead, he took her body home. Moushegh Yegoryan surrendered to the Police of Martouni. A criminal case has been instituted. M.Yegaryan is under arrest.

Arminfo

Murder of 65-Year-Old Woman Has Been Disclosed

The Murder of 65-year-old Avrora Sargsyan, committed in her flat on the night of November 29, 2006, has been disclosed, thanks to the joint operative and investigative measures of the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebouni and Noubarashen communities and the police department of Erebouni.

It has been discoverd that the murder, one committed  with particular cruelty and combined with bandit actions, was committed by A.Khachikyan, the victim’s granddaughter’s husband, who was previously convicted for bandit activity.

On December 12, 2006, A.Khachikyan was charged according to points 5 and 8 of the second part of Article 104 (murder – translator’s note), points 2, 4 and 5 of the second part of Article 175 (bandit activity – translator’s note) of the RA Criminal Code.

Father-In-Law Beat His Daughter-In-Law

Yesterday the Vanadzor town police department was informed by a hospital that Lousine Kh. had applied to them with fractures of neck and scratches on the face. The operative group found out that the same day Koryun Kh, Lousine’s father-in-law, born in 1935, had beaten his daughter-in-law in a domestic quarrel. Lousine has been sent to the forensic doctor.

A Story of a Family

The dreams of happiness have not come true in the life of the 18-year-old Sona.
For Sona, who had been leading the country life, the world was not very large; just as big as the their provincial center, where she had been studying in a private college for already a year. And the girl’s leaving the village for studying at the college had caused quarrels in the family. Her mother was against it, like in the famous story (a well-known story by an Armenian writer – Translator’s note): “I don’t want it, don’t let my innocent child go to that shameless world.” Her father said, “Let her go to study and become an educated person. A woman needs to have some profession.” And this firm statement put an end to the quarrel.
It was the first serious conflict over Sona, where common sense prevailed and led the girl to the center of the province.

The center of the province, far enough from the capital, did not differ any particular way from the home-village, i.e. even the remote town did not significantly influence the girl’s perception of the world, her manners and behavior and even her girlish desires. And she would have returned to the village, so naïve and unaware of everything, if Arsen, a young man from the neighboring village, had not intruded into her life.

He was seven years older than Sona. He liked the girl when she was still at school, in the 7th grade. He never said anything for so many years; nor even approached her. He just followed the girl silently, watching how she grew up.
His frequent appearance in the college and courting the girl once or twice turned Sona’s inner world upside down.  

Going out of the “covered” situation, Arsen and Sona became close to each other. The boy even escorted her to the village, however, his appearance there was too much for the young lady. There was no alternative: she had either to marry or, having earned the name of a disreputable girl, live the rest of her life, doomed to loneliness. Therefore, when Arsen asked Sona to marry him, she agreed, though leaving the right to the “last word” to her parents and relatives, as it is typical exclusively of traditional families. The latter, having known Arsen’s family for generations, did not even want to hear about their marriage. “Bad rumors circulate around their family,” said even a man, who knew Arsen very closely. But Sona who had already been infatuated with Arsen, took all the rumors as slander and asked her parents not to interfere with their union. Otherwise she threatened to escape with Arsen…

The wedding came in due time. During the first month of the marriage the bride seemed to be on cloud nine. She had all that could be in her modest perceptions of the female and family happiness: a house, a small farm, and a loving husband.  Blinded by the seeming happiness she didn’t even make any objection to her husband’s demand to quit her studies and totally devote herself to the family.
But the days were passing, and with them, Arsen’s love for Sona was dying out. His mood changed day by day; he started saying rude things to Sona; he disregarded and insulted her. He even started to use his fists. Although Arsen was unemployed, he would come home late, and whenever he was at home, he would devote all his time to his mother.  During the second month of the marriage Sona’s mother-in-law was trying to make her understand that they needed a child. And during the third month there were rumors in the village that Sona was infertile.

Being beaten was already an everyday “agenda” for Sona. No reason was needed for beating her. Arsen always found something: the house was unclean, he didn’t like her haircut, or she was disobedient to his mother…

Because of bruises, frequently appearing on her face and body, Sona reduced her communication with relatives. In anticipation of hearing good advice from her parents, she wanted to let them know about her newly shaped but collapsing family and inform them about her husband’s strange behavior towards her. But her husband took it into consideration as well; during the rare visits he would never leave his wife alone with her parents.

A regular domestic quarrel between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law, which in ordinary families usually end without even starting, would have turned into tragedy in this particular family, had not the daughter-law, having already passed through the family chaos and being hardened enough, displayed her cool-headedness. 

… Coming home and learning from his mother what happened, Arsen lost control; he hurried into the kitchen, took the knife and entered the bedroom. Fearing that her son might become a murderer, the mother followed ran after him and … stopped surprised, seeing the knife in her daughter-in-law’s hand. Arsen forced her to commit suicide. Using her cool-headedness again, Sona played a scene of suicide. Realizing that he could be the reason for tragedy, Arsen seized the knife from his wife with a strike.

Although Sona’s life was out of danger, her mental world was now ruined. Her mother-in-law blamed her for not having a child… Though only four month had passed since their marriage.

In May a party organized in the house of one of Sona’s relatives caused the next cruelty. Arsen allegedly was jealous of his wife that day. He brought her home and beat her, using not only his hands, but also feet. He hit his wife until she fell down into a corner, motionless and bleeding. But he did not calm down; Arsen hurried to tonratun (in Armenian villages a special area with a deep underground hole for baking bread - Translator’s note), gathered and packed wood around the tonir (the deep hole in tontartun, where bread is baked - Translator’s note) and returned home. He dragged his motionless wife to tonratun and, like in the previous case, forced her to go down the tonir “voluntarily.” The husband’s mother, who had not been noticing her presence up to that moment, finally intervened, and the quarrel ended in Sona's favor. With her last effort, Sona slipped out, and meeting one of the neighbors in the street, asked him to help her to get home.

The first feeling Sona’s parents had was pain, as they saw their daughter all in blood and bruises.  The second feeling was moral anxiety: the village would gossip over a girl “who married but then came back.” That is why Sona’s parents made all that had happened with their girl secret. “Let the villagers know nothing about this for the time being,” they thought, “in the meantime we will heal her by home treatment.” But the matter was more serious. Apart from her physical condition, Sona’s mental state was deteriorating day by day. So they had to go the hospital and tell everything. Someone advised them to apply to the law-enforcement bodies. Against Sona’s will (she still loved her husband), the provincial police department prepared criminal charges against Arsen.
Whether Arsen’s guilt will be proven or not and whether he will receive the punishment he deserves, time will show, however, the gravest tragedy has already occurred. As a result of the wounds, inflicted on Sona’s body by the kicks of her husband, doctors performed an operation, which seems cruelest for every woman. By the way, before the operation Sona was not infertile …

Haykush Aslanayan

A., 24 Years Old, Education - Secondary, Has a 1 Year-Old Baby

She met with her civil husband for 4 years. His family was against their marriage. She moved to her husband’s house only after the child’s birth. Her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were trying their best to interfere with relations of the young spouses. All time they threatened to deprive A. of motherhood, claiming that she was mentally disordered. Once she was even offered to leave the child and go to the village for rest. Then they presented the situation to the husband in a very strange manner, arguing that a good mother would not have gone to the village leaving her child at home. Before moving to the shelter A. was seriously beaten by her husband. Physical force had been used by A’s husband even before they started their joint life. Two days before the child’s birth, when they were discussing A’s moving to the husband’s house, the latter hit her on the back. A. had to go to the hospital to give birth to the child with a large bruise under her eye. Besides, during the 2.5 months of joint life A. was violently beaten by one of her sisters-in-law.

J., 46 Years Old, With Secondary Vocational Education, Housewife, Has 2 Adult Children

Her husband participated in the Karabakh war. Returning home, he was unable to get adapted with those who surrounded him. He is alcoholic and becomes very aggressive when drunk. As a result his wife and blind father suffer; quite often he rudely beats them. He doesn’t work himself and, being extremely jealous, doesn’t even allow his wife to work either. He refuses treatment. The 23-year-old daughter takes her father’s behavior hard; she even has been unable to settle her own life because of that. She had to turn to a psychiatrist for help. Wife feels ashamed for her husband’s conduct; she doesn’t know how to help him.

A., 34 Years Old, Higher Education, Has a Daughter

As a result of cerebral stroke А. became handicapped. 3 years ago her husband quit the family and left for Poland. There he married a Polish woman and now has 2 children from her. He does not provide material assistance to his former wife, and her in-laws refuse to give her any living area. A. lived with her parents in Lori region. Because of material difficulties, she moved to the capital. After some trainings she found a good job and rented an apartment. She was completely satisfied with her life. But in her workplace there was a fellow, 8 years younger than A., who courted her, forcing her to be intimate with him and wishing to marry her. A., to the contrary of his efforts, refused. So, all those events and sufferings ended with a disease and a stroke. Now A. wishes to lead a peaceful life. Although she is unable to work, she doesn’t want to tie up herself with that persistent young man for the rest of her life. However, the latter in his turn is very aggressive and often makes jealousy scenes without any reason.

G., 32 Years Old, Mother of 2 Children

I met my husband by accident. I saw him at home of my brother’s friend where I was on some business. After waiting for an hour or two, seeing that we were alone, he raped me. Shame and insult strangled me. I had to leave for Russia where my cousin lived and there I gave birth to my first child. In that period my husband knew about all that. He came took me and my baby to Armenia. We lived in Ashtarak town, in a dug-out hut without even any elementary sanitary and communal conditions. But one may stand anything for the sake of a child, even extremely painful beating and insulting. However, it would be easier to resist all that if I hadn’t been abandoned by my relatives.

A., 29 Years Old, Mother of 2 Children

Under pressure of my parents I married a man who I didn’t love. My husband is a sectarian and during the first 12 years of our marriage he was always busy with his meetings and books and ignored me and my children. Almost every night he took me by force. If I refused to have an intercourse with him when I had my monthly pains, he would say that I did it deliberately and this could be a reason for him to beat me until I was exhausted and take me by force …

A True Story

On June 2, 2006, the Hot Line service received an emergency call, signaling that husband of a twenty-year-old woman A. wanted to deprive his wife of her parenthood. The phone caller was A.’s sister-in-law, who wanted to know whether A’s husband had the right to make such a step, taking into consideration that their marriage was not officially registered; even more, A.’s husband had not recognized paternity and did not even have a passport.

The beneficiary got a clarification that husband had no any right for the child, therefore, he could not deprive her from the right to motherhood. A. was also informed that there was a shelter, so if she wished, she could temporarily settle there till the problems were solved.

She was in a very hard situation, frightened that she might be forcibly ousted from the house without the child and be deprived of motherhood. A’s voice was shaking; she was unable to express her thoughts correctly.

She told that they had loved each other for 4 years, but their love was not approved by her husband's family, because A. lived in a hostel with her mother. When A.'s mother-in-law knew that A. was going to have a baby, she wanted to force her to terminate her pregnancy. But A. struggled for her baby, who finally was born. A's husband, his mother and sisters loved the baby and offered A. to move to their place with the baby. From that moment A.'s hard days began; she was periodically beaten, subjected to psychological stress and all this reached such a degree that A. once even tried to commit suicide. Using the opportunity, the husband’s family forced A. to leave a written notice, saying that whatever happened to her in the future, A. herself would be responsible for that. Out of fear, A. obeyed their instructions.

It was obvious that the beneficiary needed psychological aid, so a psychologist was invited. Having talked to A., the psychologist came to the conclusion that it was necessary to bring the woman to a balanced mental state and offered her to settle down in the shelter. Without losing time, A. packed up all necessary things and moved to the shelter.

Now she is in the shelter with her baby, feeling fine. Psychologists work with A, and she is beginning to understand that no-one has the right to humiliate her, whereas before moving to the shelter A. was convinced that the life she had been leading was normal, that the husband as the head of the family, was allowed to beat his wife, that a daughter-in-law had no voice in the family and so on.

A Family Where Violence Exists Has Already Deteriorated

“He pointed the hunting rifle at me, wanted to kill me, but the child stood in front of him and begged him not to kill his mother,” Eva says. It is already two years since she has left him and home in Martouni. Now she lives and works in Yerevan.

Such a word as “violence” does not sound strange to our society. But many people don’t know that for some husbands one of the most widespread means for “bringing up” their wives is beating and physical violence. People often try to justify such behavior, blaming the wives instead: had she held her tongue, she wouldn’t have been beaten.

“The mentality of rural people is different,” Eva says, “Of course, people used to say “Is this life? Get divorced and live by yourself.” But I thought thousands want me and thousands who don’t, perhaps they just tried me; how could I know what they would say in future?” - recalls the woman.

Eva is only forty, but her prematurely worn-out face and eyes express pain that she has suffered for many years. She was underage when her former husband kidnapped her. A year later their first daughter was born. Then the other 3 children came. They lived in peace in the first decade of their marriage, but then the husband was captured by that damned vodka.

“The main cause of quarrels was that he gradually began drinking more and more. Then he stopped working. And I was not allowed to work, because he was so jealous of me. He used to say, “If I don’t want, you won’t go out,” - Eva tells us.

But it was impossible to live like that. Three of the children went to school, so they needed money for pens and copy-books.“I told him, ‘if you don’t work at least let me do something to make both ends meet.' And the answer was, ‘if there is no money, they shouldn’t go to school, if there is nothing to eat, they shouldn’t eat.’ I am awfully ashamed to tell you this, but we were starving for days,” - the woman recalls.

Every time husband came home drunk, he was insulting, and he beat his wife and children. Parents tried to help them live in mutual understanding, but the next day everything was repeated. Sometimes she left the house with her children for the neighbor’s  until her husband calmed down and fell asleep. Then they would enter home very carefully not to wake him up. “I always consoled and calmed him down, but I myself desperately needed someone to console me. I used to say, ‘Oh, God, I wish there was some place where I could set my mind at rest for a while.'"

It was impossible to endure it any more. One day Eva moved to Yerevan with her children, and she found a job in a carpet-making factory. But they didn’t have a flat and they couldn’t live long with their relatives. They were in a hopeless situation.

“Then my daughter learned on TV about the “Hot Line” of the Women’s Rights Center,” Eva went on retelling the story of her life.

At her daughter’s request Eva called Women’s Rights Center. After consultation with a psychologist, she and her daughters were moved to the shelter of the Center, where they have lived for 3 months.

As the president of Women’s Rights Center, Susanna Vardanyan says that domestic violence, and especially violence against women, exists all over the world. Armenia is not an exception. In 1997, when the Center just started dealing with this problem, most of people didn’t understand what it was all about. They even blamed the Center for destroying Armenian traditional families. You can sometimes come across of this kind of accusations even today.

“A family where there is violence has already deteriorated,” says Mrs. Vardanyan “Besides, it is women who apply to us, we don’t go and call them to us. We try to help them to restore their families.”

Psychologist of the Center Tsovik Karapetyan assured us that no psychologist or lawyer can advise a person or insist that they make a decision to divorce. “We only help them to bring the whole process to an end successfully.” 

It is more than a year that Eva has already been legally divorced. “In the village, I had already come to a decision to get divorced, but I should have hired a lawyer, to pay the state fee. But I didn’t have money and couldn’t afford it. The 3 months that I spent in the shelter greatly helped me psychologically, morally, and financially. It was а real salvation for me.”        

Now Eva lives in Yerevan in a very small one-room apartment. There are two carefully arranged beds at the wall, next to one of them is the TV-set, at the other wall there is a sofa, which is old-fashioned, but still clean and neat. The walls are pale. The kitchen is at the front door; it occupies a little corner of the room and is separated from it by a curtain. It’s true that the conditions leave much to be desired, but her soul is in peace.

After the divorce her husband has never been interested in the destiny of his family, though he knows where they live and work. “I have no idea why he doesn’t come. Maybe he doesn’t have any opportunity, or maybe he doesn’t work. And maybe he is ashamed of what he has done. He is a very good person, kind-hearted, but hard drinking has changed him a lot.”

Almost every month Eva goes to Martouni, and she also visits her former husband. “As I enter home, he asks me to stay, he even cries... Such pictures don’t leave my mind for a long time. It’s true that he was very cruel to me, but I feel sorry for him,” says the woman with tears in her eyes. “But I don’t think that it will be right to go back, because if I go back, I’ll find myself in the same situation. I don’t know how many times I have asked him to give up drinking, but it was useless. I can’t understand how he gives up the warmth of the child and family for drinking”.

Eva lives in peace without her husband, but she regrets that various stages of her life have meant that her achievements have been brought to zero, and everything is beginning once again.

At the woman’s request her name has been changed in the article.

Astghik Karapetyan

The faculty of journalism Y SU, a third-year student     

Family Ties: Three Generations, One Roof, a Potentially Perilous Formula For Armenian Women

Shushan is on her feet 14 hours a day; she works as a waitress. Of course, she gets tired a lot, but now she earns money and is an independent woman. Now she gets tired only physically, whereas a few years ago psychological burdens added to her hardship.

“Now I am a person, and before I didn’t know who I was, I felt only fear,” she says.

“Before” was a 12-year married life that instead of happiness had brought only beating and humiliation to her.

Shushan Yeghiazaryan, 29, divorced a year ago, but the nightmare of her married life is still haunting her and doesn’t let her have rest. She received the latest blow three months ago when the prefecture of the Mashtots district handed over custody of her elder daughter to her ex-husband’s father and mother.

Shushan’s story is like those of thousands of Armenian women who get married and get only bitterness, beating and contempt, from families where a woman is only a child-bearing machine and a servant of the house.

Shushan was a 13-year-old beauty when for the first time her fellow villager (3rd village, which is part of Yerevan) Andranik saw her. When Shushan was to become a ninth-former, Andranik proposed marriage to her: “He told my relatives that he loved me and wanted to marry me. My mother was for it, she was saying that I would get married within the village, will be near her.”

Then it turned out that Andranik’s parents were against the marriage, Shushan’s father had died, her mother was raising five children with great difficulty, and Andranik’s father Tornik, who was a shop manager, wanted his son to marry a girl from a wealthy family. Tornik, now too, says that he was against their marriage, curses Shushan’s family as a low class. He arranged a marriage of his younger son to the daughter of a former executive committee employee.

After the wedding party, the 16-year-old girl became a prisoner and in her jail everybody hated her. The pressure started on the very morning after the wedding party.

“At eight o’clock in the morning Tornik would get up and go to work, I had to be up so that he didn’t see me lying. If I wasn’t awake, it was a terrible quarrel. I was afraid. Everybody used to love me at my house, I was the youngest child and I had everyone’s attention. And there I would lock myself in a room because of fear. When I heard the sounds of his walk my heart began to beat fast: What did I do wrong? Can it be that I washed one dish less?"

“There was a day that I stayed hungry. Tornik came home, his wife put a meal on the table, and they didn’t call me to the table. They ate, and if there were leftovers in the kitchen I ate them.”

When they got married Andranik was serving in the army. He came home only twice a month as if to see his wife.

“He came home not having missed me, not the way I was expecting him. He came to quarrel with me. Once, after a quarrel, I was waiting for Andranik to come home to share my sorrow with him. He came, entered the house, and without explanations said: ‘Take of your jewelry and get out of here.’ I asked him what the reason was, so I could leave – and he gave a good thrashing, he would hit me with a chair. It happened many times that I lost consciousness while being beaten, I fell and had bruises.”

Shushan’s relatives were forbidden from coming to see her. Her brothers did not see their two nephews. She was not allowed to talk to them on the phone, to go out.

“I was against it and told my son not to get married. I didn’t allow Seda (Shushan’s mother) to enter our house for four years,” Tornik says. Only when the first daughter was born, the mother dared to come and it infuriated Tornik. “My daughter ran and hugged Tornik, begging him: ‘don’t hit my mother, she has a bad heart’, and she urinated out of fear,” Seda tells.

Later, Tornik would terrorize Shushan, threatening to shout until she wet herself.
In the last year of their marriage they rented a home. But the beatings and quarrels did not stop. The family life routine was that Andranik would come home drunk and beat his wife. And after a regular beating one day, at 2 a.m., Shushan took her children and went to her mother’s home:

“He wanted to quit drinking, but failed. He beat me almost every day. He broke everything at home, there was no plate left. He threw everything he got at the children and me. On that day he first was hitting me, then Lusine came and begged: ‘Daddy, don’t do that, please.’ He hit the child with a shoe. Lianna was terribly afraid. He was threatening with a knife, the child pressed herself to my breast and said: mummy, I am afraid, I told her – Lianna, don’t be afraid, he is your daddy, he won’t do that, but I was afraid, too.”

Nine-year-old Lianna also remembers how her father beat her mother: “It happened often that he beat my mother.”

For Tornik it is natural that the husband beats his wife and he blames Shushan for the divorce.

“Let’s say he beat her, we are two men, we are speaking to each other, didn’t it happen that you beat your wife? Let’s say that a person is a drug addict and he comes and beats his wife. But the woman does not leave in the name of her family and children.”

In Armenian society, where up to three generations live under one roof, Shushan’s situation is not unique. Social workers and women’s rights advocates say an untold number of women suffer domestic violence not only from their husbands, but from the in-laws as well.

“There are families where it is natural that women are beaten,” says Women’s Rights Center NGO chairwoman Susanna Vardanyan says. “A man must have a dominant role. First a brother rules over his sister, does not allow her to dress the way she wants, to go out frequently. Then the girl gets married and her husband rules and it seems to the woman that it is natural to be dominated. Or a child sees that beating his mother is a natural thing at home, and he beats his wife later.”

Vardanyan says that Shushan’s case, when the husband’s relatives participate in the humiliation of the wife, is usual for them, they know more cruel cases. For example, one woman told that her husband and his parents shaved her head and eyebrows in the presence of children, and then her husband began to beat her and burn her hands with a cigarette.

When Shushan began a new life, she received another blow from her husband. On March 30, the custody of her elder daughter was given to Tornik and his wife Lyusya by the Mashtots prefecture. Shushan’s mother went to school to fetch the children and saw that the elder one was not there. Andranik, who had gone to Russia, sent a document handing over the responsibility for his daughters to his father. However, there is no document confirming that Tornik and his wife are grandfather and grandmother of the children. Shushan’s marriage was not registered, the father of the children is not recognized by law, and the children even bear the surname of their mother.

The prefecture motivated its decision saying that Shushan is a Jehovah’s witness and takes her children to religious meetings by force. But this is a lie concocted by Andranik’s relatives. In reality, Shushan is not a Jehovah’s witness, she went to meetings only several times. Her daughters say that they went to the meetings too, but their mother never made them go there. “We don’t care if she is a Jehovah’s witness, or an Apostolic, it is important that the children came by her will,” Tornik says.

Lusine, 12, herself wants to live with her grandpa and grandma. “I came voluntarily, school is close to here; I feel better here. I want my mother to live here too,” Lusine says.

Women’s Rights Center NGO lawyer Asia Ovanyan says that the Mashtots prefecture made an unlawful decision.  Legally, the grandfather and grandmother of the children are not established, and only a court was entitled to make such a decision.

A hot line for those subjected to domestic or sexual violence is operating at the center. They receive three calls a day on the average.

By Vahan Ishkhanyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

“Love Affair” Ends with the Murder of Pregnant Woman

The court of first instance of Shirak marz (province) has started the trial of the criminal case against a former police officer, resident of Hatsik village Suren Zaqaryan. 

Let us remind you that S. Zaqaryan has been charged with several clauses of Articles 104 and 107 of the Criminal Code. On December 19, 2005 he “brutally” killed the 35 year-old Gyulnara Hovhannisyan, resident of Akhuryan, then dismembered her body and, putting it inside a sack, threw it into the river near Hatsik village.

During the trial the defendant confessed that their relations were personal. They had been acquainted in Gyulnara’s shop, which was supplied with food by the former policeman. According to the testimony of the defended, he had been driven out of his senses by Gyulnara’s persistent demands to divorce his wife and get married to her, because she was pregnant by him. Suren Zaqaryan said that, on the way to Hatsik in the car Gyulnara Hovhannisyan threatened to go to the village and make his wife aware of all this. Getting off the car, Gyulnara made her way to the village.  Suren Zaqaryan threw a stone at her back to stop her. But the stone hit the woman’s head, and she fell down immediately. The defendant took her body and put it inside the car, where the woman died. So, the defendant started to think how to hide the traces.

Two or three days after the incident, as soon as he moved the victim's body to a ditanace of 1 kilometer from the village, he took off all her decorations and brought them to the commodity exchange in the town of  Gyumri and sold them almost for nothing. After finishing his deal successfully, Suren Zaqaryan turned to hiding the corpse. Putting the body inside a sack and loading the sack with stones, he threw it into the lake near his own village. But the former policeman was unlucky;  he couldn't imagine that his crime would be detected by his own son. Children, playing near the lake, noticed the sack, half-immersed in water.

Yesterday was the day of the interrogation of witnesses. The defendant was so self-confident, as if nothing had happened. He even denied the results of forensic expertise, insisting that he had not distorted the corpse, claimng that it was '90 percent the animals’ intervention.’ Meanwhile the forensic experts discovered that he had cut the body into parts for the second time with a knife make the body unidentifiable. One of the witnesses, Gyulnara Hovhannisyan's sister-in-law, attested that she could hardly identify the distorted corpse in the morgue, and the only parts which had remained untouched were the feet. This made the witness believe that this part of the body was saved due to the leather boots. Relatives of the murdered woman insisted that they had had no idea about the love affair between Suren and Gyulnara.

Judge Martin Saroyan postponed the court proceeding till Monday. Despite the quiet atmosphere during the trial, an unprecedented beating between  the hostile families began in the court corridor.

Noune Arevshatyan