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REPORTED NUMBER OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE CASES IN ARMENIA MORE THAN DOUBLED AFTER PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
epress.am
06.08.2011 17:27
If there's one thing that participants, NGO representatives and
representatives of the police and the general prosecutor's office
present at today's roundtable on sexual violence against women
in Armenia could agree on is that there is a need for more public
awareness and education on this topic.
Co-founder and Executive Director of the Women's Resource Center of
Armenia (WRCA) Lara Aharonian (pictured, left) in her opening address
noted that the number of calls their Sexual Assault Crisis Center
received more than doubled in 2010 (as compared to 2009) after they
ran a couple of ads on television and posted flyers advertising their
toll-free hotline around the Armenian capital.
Though Aharonian cautioned that there are no official figures on
the number of cases of sexual violence in the country (as many go
unreported), she stated that the center received 320 calls in 2010, as
compared to 140 in 2009. From the calls in 2010, 40% were purely cases
of sexual violence, 30% of which the survivor knew her perpetrator.
Aharonian went on to cite calls they've received of cases involving
minors, those involving doctors, police officials and even instances
of women who were drugged than raped - often by men they knew well.
Interesting to note that Artur Davtyan, the deputy head of the
Department for Crimes Against the Individual of the RA General
Prosecutor's Office, also present at today's roundtable, said their
office cited 82 cases of sexual violence in 2010 - a markedly lower
figure than that cited by the WRCA.
However, he mentioned that his office is aware of the fact the many
cases go unreported.
"During our work, it's no secret and we also unequivocally arrived
at the conviction that the effectiveness of the fight against crimes
of this nature is greatly conditioned by raising public awareness.
"In 2009, upon assignment by the Armenian General Prosecutor, we
conducted a very thorough investigation and conclusion, summed up the
prosecutor's control of the situation in cases of immunity against
sexual crimes, it turned out that those figures which are officially
recorded were, put mildly, far from the truth," said Davtyan.
From: A. Papazian
epress.am
06.08.2011 17:27
If there's one thing that participants, NGO representatives and
representatives of the police and the general prosecutor's office
present at today's roundtable on sexual violence against women
in Armenia could agree on is that there is a need for more public
awareness and education on this topic.
Co-founder and Executive Director of the Women's Resource Center of
Armenia (WRCA) Lara Aharonian (pictured, left) in her opening address
noted that the number of calls their Sexual Assault Crisis Center
received more than doubled in 2010 (as compared to 2009) after they
ran a couple of ads on television and posted flyers advertising their
toll-free hotline around the Armenian capital.
Though Aharonian cautioned that there are no official figures on
the number of cases of sexual violence in the country (as many go
unreported), she stated that the center received 320 calls in 2010, as
compared to 140 in 2009. From the calls in 2010, 40% were purely cases
of sexual violence, 30% of which the survivor knew her perpetrator.
Aharonian went on to cite calls they've received of cases involving
minors, those involving doctors, police officials and even instances
of women who were drugged than raped - often by men they knew well.
Interesting to note that Artur Davtyan, the deputy head of the
Department for Crimes Against the Individual of the RA General
Prosecutor's Office, also present at today's roundtable, said their
office cited 82 cases of sexual violence in 2010 - a markedly lower
figure than that cited by the WRCA.
However, he mentioned that his office is aware of the fact the many
cases go unreported.
"During our work, it's no secret and we also unequivocally arrived
at the conviction that the effectiveness of the fight against crimes
of this nature is greatly conditioned by raising public awareness.
"In 2009, upon assignment by the Armenian General Prosecutor, we
conducted a very thorough investigation and conclusion, summed up the
prosecutor's control of the situation in cases of immunity against
sexual crimes, it turned out that those figures which are officially
recorded were, put mildly, far from the truth," said Davtyan.
From: A. Papazian