Violation against women in Armenia on rise

/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Violation against women is on the rise in Armenia, where two women were abducted last week.

Two men kidnapped and held a woman hostage in the rural village of Harberd. They demanded a ransom in exchange for the release of the woman. The ransom was denied and the two abductors made off with about $1,220. They later released the woman.

The abduction in Harberd was the second incident after the kidnapping of a 15-year old girl. The victim girl claimed that she was taken away by her brother's friend who threatened to kill her, and even threatened her father. The girl was later released.

Police has arrested the culprits of the first incident, while the offenders of the second event are still at large.

Women in the former Soviet country have long suffered from domestic violence. Beatings and even killings of women have become more common according to local media reports.

The New York-based EurasiaNet.Org reports that about five Armenian women between the ages of 28 and 38 were murdered by their husbands in the first two months of 2014.

Domestic violence against women is even more prominent in rural areas of the country.

Advocates for Human Rights reported that a great number of women confessed that they were victims of regular domestic violence. The report also indicated that the government does not support the NGO efforts to help the victims of domestic abuse.

The statistical data revealed about 258 divorces per 1,000 marriages in Armenia in 2014. Domestic violence and sexual harassment have reportedly viewed among the reasons behind the increasing divorce trend.

According to the Social Institutions and Gender Index, which measures not only gender gaps but includes captures discriminatory social institutions, such as early marriage, discriminatory inheritance practices, violence against women, son preference, restricted access to public space and restricted access to land and credit, Armenia was ranked 54th among 86 countries in 2012.

The 2011 UNDP Human Development Index score for Armenia was 0.716, placing it in 86th place out of 187 countries. Moreover, the SIGI index score for the former Soviet nation was 0.343.

Armenia's World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index rating for 2011 was 0.665 to rank it 84th among 135 countries.

Statistical data show that the current situation of women in the country reflects one of the worst experiences in terms of the domestic violence among the CIS states and in the region.