Women are more likely to be killed because of gender-based violence than because of cancer or war.
At least 10 women were killed this year due to domestic violence. This is according to data provided by the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women.
On October 1, 2010, 20-year-old Zaruhi Petrosyan was beaten to death by her husband. Since 2010, the coalition declared October 1st to be the National Day to Combat Domestic Violence, and this day is commemorated every year through public events aimed towards preventing domestic violence in Armenia.
On October 1, 2019, representatives of the organization gathered in Vanadzor and Spitak to carry out informative events, and then a candlelight ceremony was held in Yerevan in the evening. The representatives presented citizens with women’s stories, they shared informative articles about domestic violence, and they used games to educate people on the different forms of abuse. The coalition also had posters of the names of women who were killed that said, “They were killed because they were women.”
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According to the coalition, there is an increase in the number of domestic violence cases in Armenia every year. According to data provided by the police for the first seven months of 2017, there were 416 registered cases of domestic violence, of which 235 were carried out by a man against his wife. In 2018, the police registered approximately 1,600 cases. And in the first eight months of 2019, the police registered 1,270 cases. The number of phone calls that the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women received on their emergency hotline doubled to 4,500. According to the coalition, at least 60 women were killed between 2010 and 2018 due to domestic violence.
Nelly Babayan
