YEREVAN (Jam-News) — The wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Anna Hakobyan, has announced the launch of a campaign against domestic violence. She received death threats shortly after calling for a public discussion of the issue. However, she continues to actively promote her initiative.
“The first stage will involve drafting comprehensive and effective legislation and discussing it in the National Assembly,” she said.
According to Anna Hakobyan, the Criminal Code should define domestic violence separately as “a distinct and independent crime.” She plans to invite female MPs from the parliament’s two opposition factions to join her initiative. If they do, she believes there is a chance that “parliament will unanimously approve the bill.”
Hakobyan posted a video message on social media in which she said she intended to continue fighting domestic violence. According to Hakobyan, Armenia’s traditional family model, which hides various forms of violence, should give way to a model of a “family with no place for violence, based on mutual love and respect.” She proposes amending the Criminal Code to achieve this goal:
“An individual article should be added to the Code to establish criminal liability for all forms of domestic violence. Alternatively, different chapters of the Code could include provisions covering specific forms of domestic violence, including beatings, psychological abuse, economic abuse, bodily harm, sexual violence and others.”
According to Anna Hakobyan, eradicating violence requires clear, realistic and effective legal mechanisms.
