ArmInfo. The Armenian parliament has started discussions on a package of laws aimed at preventing domestic violence.
Introducing the draft law "On preventing family violence and protecting persons subjected to family violence and reconciliation in the family" in the first reading, RA Deputy Minister of Justice Vigen Kocharyan noted that the law has three goals: to prevent violence, to protect persons who have been subjected to violence and to restore consent in family. In general, as the deputy minister explained, the package provides for the application of three basic mechanisms for the protection of persons affected by family violence - prevention, urgent intervention and decision on protection. The decision on the application of the second mechanism is made by the relevant specialist of the Police, and the decision on protection by the court. "In the case of" urgent intervention, "the will of the victim is not required, since very often the persons who have been subjected to violence may become a victim of repeated violence if this is stated, which limits the will of that person." It will be sufficient to make a decision by the relevant police officer, "explained Kocharyan, adding that only in case of making a decision on protection will be requested the will of the victim. A corresponding unit will be set up in the RA Police, whose employees will be trained and retrained. Even the form of the employees of this unit will differ from the traditional form of policemen. According to the Deputy Minister of Justice, with respect to the person who committed the violence, it is planned to apply restrictive measures - to keep distance from the person who has been subjected to violence, not to come into contact with him, not to store or carry arms, to undergo treatment, for example, from alcohol or drug dependence. As part of the protection measures are proposed restrictions. Depending on the severity of the violation of the last two mechanisms of protection, there are measures of administrative or criminal liability. In order to solve the task, it is envisaged to use the phone of the "hot line". According to Vigen Kocharyan, the bill regulates the work of two other institutions: social protection centers, which will be transformed, the second - shelters, where the person who has been subjected to violence will undergo rehabilitation and will be able to find shelter for up to 12 months.
The Deputy Minister once again stressed that the law does not have new grounds for depriving parental rights. "There are no provisions that destroy the foundations of the family," he stressed, adding that the document was repeatedly discussed at various venues. As a result, from the original version to the present one, it underwent significant changes, the points of concern were clarified, for example, whether it is possible to remove an underage child from the family and transfer it to a shelter. "We have strictly fixed that - no, it is impossible, to stop the unfounded criticism, which often sounds to the indicated initiative," Vigen Kocharyan concluded.
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. 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 position of "for" were the victims of domestic violence - mostly women, who periodically acted with the shares, demanding the adoption of the bill.