On
November 24, the Human Rights Defender, Ms. Anahit Manasyan was present at
Yerevan State University "I am a woman" held within the framework of
"Youth against violence: 16-days of activism" program and made
an opening speech.
Welcoming
the attendees, the Defender emphasized the importance of having a tolerant and
united environment from the viewpoint of having an effective human rights
protection system and violence prevention.
"It
is impossible to have a proper human rights protection system without a
tolerant and united environment. Tolerant and united environment is not just a
declarative idea, its presence or absence is felt by each of us every day. I
feel sorry to state that today there is no environment that would contribute to
the existence of proper public relations and a proper system for the protection
of human rights.
The
reasons are different: we are not tolerant of each other, we are not very
sensitive to the features of other people. All this leads to the formation of a
discriminatory environment, which is quite dangerous. Inevitably, intolerance
breeds violence, whether manifesting as physical aggression or psychological
coercion,"-Ms. Anahit Manasyan highlighted.
In
this context, Ms. Anahit Manasyan especially emphasized that a tolerant
environment should be created with joint efforts: only then is it possible to
have a society free of violence.
The
Defender also referred to the current issues in the field of fight against
domestic violence in Armenia and emphasized that she addresses the issues
through various structures, including by discussing complaints and presenting
recommendations aimed at improving the legislative framework, and conducting a
dialogue with the actors of the education system.
The
play "I am a woman" is based on real cases: it presents several
stories of domestic violence, when women stood before the court as the accused,
while they should have been in the role of the victim.
The
performance was followed by a discussion, within the framework of which Ms.
Anahit Manasyan, Ms. Maria Papamikhail, Head of Political and Human Rights
Issues of the European Union Delegation in Armenia, Ms. Sofi Bostanchyan, Head
of Department of Human Trafficking and Women's Issues of the Ministry of Labor
and Social Affairs, human rights activist Ms. Zaruhi Hovhannisyan, and
psychologist Mr. Khachatur Gasparyan shared their viewpoint on the play and
answer questions of the audience. Ms. Gayane Abrahamyan, the president of the
"Educational Center for Equal Rights" NGO acted as moderator.
"Youth
against violence: 16-days of activism" program funded by the
European Union is implemented by the "For Equal Rights" educational
center NGO.
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