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'16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence' In Armenia

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  • '16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence' In Armenia

    '16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE' IN ARMENIA

    Tert.am
    15:53 â~@¢ 25.11.09

    Today marks the start of an annual campaign "16 Days of Activism
    against Gender-Based Violence" in Armenia, which is part of a global
    movement to combat gender-based violence.

    UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI) Representative in Armenia
    Maria Dotsenko welcomed attendees at today's press conference with
    opening remarks on the situation of gender-based violence in the
    world today.

    The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
    defines the term "violence against women" as "any act of gender-based
    violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual
    or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
    such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
    occurring in public or in private life."

    Statistical datа concerning the state of women in the world is
    alarming, said Dotsenko: "At least 1 out of every 3 women is likely
    to be abused in her lifetime. It is estimated that, worldwide, 1 in 5
    women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime."

    The UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) confirms these statistics.

    Its official website states that "Around the world, as many as one
    in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in
    some other way -- most often by someone she knows, including by her
    husband or another male family member; one woman in four has been
    abused during pregnancy."

    Dotsenko noted that the UN has been at the forefront of advocating for
    women's rights and has made an important contribution by creating a
    number of international human rights documents that address violence
    against women and require states to take action.

    The UNDPI representative noted that Armenia ratified the UN Convention
    on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (which
    differs from the UN Declaration mentioned above), thus "reaffirming
    its commitment to combat gender-based violence and to take active
    measures to eradicate this phenomenon." (Editor's note: Armenia
    submitted its initial report to the UN committee on November 30, 1994.)

    According to Article 4 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of
    Violence against Women: "States should condemn violence against women
    and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration
    to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination. States
    should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of
    eliminating violence against women."

    Also participating in today's press conference were Lala Ghazaryan,
    Head of Family, Women and Children Department of the RA Ministry of
    Labor and Social Issues and Jina Sargizova, UNFPA national coordinator
    of "Combating Gender-Based Violence in the South Caucasus" project
    and the "16 Days" campaign in Armenia.

    Other activities planned for the "16 Days of Activism against
    Gender-Based Violence" campaign include a peaceful protest march from
    the Women's Resource Center to Charles Aznavour Square, set to begin
    at 4:30 pm today, a candle-lighting ceremony and open stage at Moscow
    Cinema (Kino Moskva) at 6 pm today, and a collective art exhibit and
    film screening from December 5-7 (also at Moscow Cinema).
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