ArmInfo. Justice Minister David Harutyunyan does not agree that domestic violence against women and children is an element of Armenian identity. With this in mind, he said, protection from violence in the Armenian family is an urgent necessity. The Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan stated this in an interview with journalists on October 5 after the meeting of the Government, commenting on the bill on preventing domestic violence and protecting its victims.
Despite the negative public outcry caused by the bill, the head of the Armenian Ministry of Justice believes that the law is indeed very important and necessary, since it is aimed at preventing and protecting victims of domestic violence. "The path that we have chosen, we consider extremely important for ourselves - more than 120 countries of the world have already managed to pass this way," he stressed. According to David Harutyunyan, he is seriously concerned about the official statistics on domestic violence. De facto, according to the official, statistics do not reflect the real picture, since only a few victims openly declare violence. "These facts are confirmed by various studies, but even official statistics give cause for concern," the minister said. The head of the Ministry of Justice realizes that the implementation of the provisions of the legislative act is not an easy process and much remains to be done. "We are waiting for serious work to create the appropriate Centers, to ensure the proper literacy of the police, but the main thing is to pass the law, because - the goal is extremely important," the minister said. In this case, as David Harutyunyan stated, it is unnecessary to talk about the contradictions of the proposed law with traditions in Armenian families. "If you think that it's a national tradition to beat women, children and old people in the family, I do not think so." This is a deviation from our traditions, since violence can not be the basis of the Armenian family, "the official said. Nevertheless, taking into account the evaluation of the public reaction and the various comments on the law, which, according to Harutyunyan, have nothing to do with the document itself, the Ministry of Justice plans to hold public hearings around the bill, and is also ready to "listen" to the comments on the e-draft website .am, where the document is laid out. The fact that Armenia is aimed at adopting a bill on preventing and combating domestic violence became known a few years ago. Almost immediately, the public was divided into two opposing camps. Without going into various conspiracy theories, we note that those who opposed the bill, primarily in the "promotion" of the law, blamed the west, claiming the loosening of the foundations of the Armenian family. Advocating against the adoption of a law condemning domestic violence, it also saw a threat of widespread application of the practice of the withdrawal of children from families. The Armenian Apostolic Church did not stand aside - without speaking with an official position, church officials called the bill absurd. According to experts, the practice of applying a similar law in other countries was condemned in the Council of Europe resolution of April 24, 2015: the EU recognized the ineffectiveness of the methods that lead to the creation of corruption schemes. From the "FOR" position were victims of domestic violence - mostly women, who periodically acted with the shares, demanding the adoption of the bill. They in the negative around the bill saw some artificiality, as well as an attempt to give this topic a political connotation.
To note, the bill, in particular, offers to help the safety and protection of victims (who may be intimidated by husbands or parents) through the work of social shelters. Victims of violence are encouraged to provide medical and psychological assistance.
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