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PRESS RELEASE
June 15, 2004
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]
AUA COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES DISCUSSES VIOLENCE IN ARMENIAN FAMILIES
Yerevan- On Monday, June 7, 2004, AUA’s College of Health Sciences (CHS)
held a public health panel discussion on “Violence in Armenian Families:
Myths or Reality?” Approximately 50 people, including AUA students and
faculty, community members of the general public, as well as the media
listened attentively as this sensitive and at times controversial issue was
discussed.
Moderated by the Director of the School of Health Care Management and
Administration and former Minister of Health, Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan noted,
“Violent behavior and the incidence of domestic violence in Armenia are not
clearly understood both by the general public and the state. The
epidemiology of domestic violence in the country is quite uncertain, thus
the problem has not been recognized as a public health issue. Just recently,
due to pressure from international organizations, newly created NGOs, as
well as the public, the problem has been disclosed and is currently
considered as an agenda item for state decision-makers and lawmakers.”
Other invited panelists, including Sara Anjargolian, Assistant Dean of AUA’s
Dept. of Law, Susanna Aslanyan, President of Armenia’s Maternity Fund NGO,
Iren Sargsyan, Gender Based Violence Program Coordinator, Prime II, and
Susanna Vardanyan, President of the Women Rights Center NGO in Yerevan, were
given time for short presentations expressing their thoughts and comments on
the social, cultural and gender determinants of domestic violence, education
and cooperation with the families, governmental bodies, and national
legislators.
Several suggestions were offered to help identify the problems more clearly
and provide better solutions. Priority should be given to more information,
education and public discussions, greater mass-media coverage, to involve
the entire family in an educational process, further legislative initiatives
and to engage support and cooperation with national lawmakers in order to
improve the laws regarding domestic violence and the rights of women.
The School of Health Care Management and Administration is the newest
program of the AUA College of Health Sciences and is a joint undertaking
with the Ministry of Health of Armenia. Its focus is on continuing medical
education throughout the regions of Armenia and to improve the health of the
population. The school trains a number of health care specialists in order
to create a critical mass of professionals with necessary level of skills
and abilities to implement plans and strategies of the Ministry of Health.
----------------
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit www.aua.am.
June 15, 2004
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]
AUA COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES DISCUSSES VIOLENCE IN ARMENIAN FAMILIES
Yerevan- On Monday, June 7, 2004, AUA’s College of Health Sciences (CHS)
held a public health panel discussion on “Violence in Armenian Families:
Myths or Reality?” Approximately 50 people, including AUA students and
faculty, community members of the general public, as well as the media
listened attentively as this sensitive and at times controversial issue was
discussed.
Moderated by the Director of the School of Health Care Management and
Administration and former Minister of Health, Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan noted,
“Violent behavior and the incidence of domestic violence in Armenia are not
clearly understood both by the general public and the state. The
epidemiology of domestic violence in the country is quite uncertain, thus
the problem has not been recognized as a public health issue. Just recently,
due to pressure from international organizations, newly created NGOs, as
well as the public, the problem has been disclosed and is currently
considered as an agenda item for state decision-makers and lawmakers.”
Other invited panelists, including Sara Anjargolian, Assistant Dean of AUA’s
Dept. of Law, Susanna Aslanyan, President of Armenia’s Maternity Fund NGO,
Iren Sargsyan, Gender Based Violence Program Coordinator, Prime II, and
Susanna Vardanyan, President of the Women Rights Center NGO in Yerevan, were
given time for short presentations expressing their thoughts and comments on
the social, cultural and gender determinants of domestic violence, education
and cooperation with the families, governmental bodies, and national
legislators.
Several suggestions were offered to help identify the problems more clearly
and provide better solutions. Priority should be given to more information,
education and public discussions, greater mass-media coverage, to involve
the entire family in an educational process, further legislative initiatives
and to engage support and cooperation with national lawmakers in order to
improve the laws regarding domestic violence and the rights of women.
The School of Health Care Management and Administration is the newest
program of the AUA College of Health Sciences and is a joint undertaking
with the Ministry of Health of Armenia. Its focus is on continuing medical
education throughout the regions of Armenia and to improve the health of the
population. The school trains a number of health care specialists in order
to create a critical mass of professionals with necessary level of skills
and abilities to implement plans and strategies of the Ministry of Health.
----------------
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit www.aua.am.