Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch
On November 25, I will join Armenian officials and local civic groups in observing the International Day to End Violence Against Women. As that day approaches, I cannot help thinking about Zaruhi Petrosyan, the twenty-year-old mother from Ararat Marz whose life came to a violent end in her own home on October 1. According to conflicting accounts, Mrs. Petrosyan either died falling down the stairs or was beaten to death by her husband and mother-in-law. The case is under investigation, and the justice system will uncover what really happened. In the meantime, Mrs. Petrosyan’s tragic death has placed the painful subject of domestic violence into the forefront of public discussion.
Domestic violence is always a hard issue to face whether in in Armenia or in the United States. Yet, we know from social science research and the reality of our daily lives that domestic violence is too prevalent and too damaging to ignore.
I wish I could say we are free from the scourge of domestic violence in the United States. Sadly, that is far from the truth. An estimated two to four million women in the United States are assaulted by a domestic partner every year, and approximately one in four U.S. women will be abused in their lifetime.
Recent studies in Armenia paint a similarly disturbing picture. A 2008 survey of 1,000 Armenian women conducted by Amnesty International showed that women in roughly three out of ten families suffered from physical abuse. The United Nations Population Fund surveyed nearly 2,800 Armenian women in recent years and found that one in every ten respondents was subjected to occasional or regular beatings by her husband or partner. Violence against women touches Armenia, just as it does the United States and every other nation.
These sobering facts are all the more devastating when you consider the effect that domestic violence has on children. Growing up in a violent home is a traumatic experience that can affect every aspect of a child’s life, growth and development. In fact, boys and girls who have been exposed to family violence are almost twice as likely to suffer from bed-wetting and nightmares, and to exhibit aggressive behavior. Not surprisingly, children who grow up in safe environments are healthier and do better in school than children from violent homes.
Perhaps the most damaging effect of domestic violence on families is that the pattern of abuse and victimization often passes down from generation to generation. Girls who experience physical abuse are at a greater risk of victimization as adults, and boys who witness and experience physical abuse have double the likelihood of perpetrating abuse in the future.
The problem is grave and far too common, but it is not inevitable. Practical steps have proven effective in reducing the incidence and impact of domestic violence. Legislators can increase sanctions for domestic violence and provide support to its victims and survivors, as well as provide for court protection orders to be imposed on perpetrators in cases of imminent danger to a victim’s life and physical integrity police departments can ensure that victims of domestic and sexual violence have access to the criminal justice system without facing pressure to withdraw their complaints; and both governmental and non-governmental organizations can raise the awareness of family violence as a crime and a human rights violation.
These types of measures are producing positive results in the United States. A recent study shows that the rate of domestic violence in the United States declined significantly from 1993 to 2004, with nonfatal incidents dropping more than 50 percent. Here in Armenia, the U.S. Embassy has supported local NGOs that run shelters for battered women. Similarly, we sponsor conferences for law enforcement officials and judges to exchange views on difficult legal questions, such as how to react when victims refuse to press charges against their offenders. We note that there seems to be a growing willingness in Armenia to talk publicly about domestic violence.
There is no doubt that effective laws and law enforcement are critical to stemming the tide of this insidious crime. However, these measures alone will not end domestic violence. The most powerful way to prevent domestic violence is to raise public awareness of the problem and its debilitating effects on every member of the family. The rate of domestic violence goes down when average people decide that it is simply unacceptable, and they intervene.
I hope that Zaruhi Petrosyan’s tragic death may help to focus Armenian society on the difficult issue of domestic violence and that her enduring legacy will be a growing conviction among Armenians that the best way to foster the health and integrity of families is to put an end to domestic violence.