U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA SAYS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACUTE PROBLEM ACROSS THE WORLD

ArmInfo
2009-03-16 10:43:00

ArmInfo. Domestic violence is an acute problem across the world,
said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yopvanovitch at the United
States Department of Justice held a conference on "Support for Victims
and Successful Prosecution of Domestic Violence" in Yerevan, Armenia,
on March 16, 2009.

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch opened the conference. In her
remarks, the Ambassador noted that although the statistics on domestic
violence in the U.S. are sobering, much progress has been made in
the past twenty years.

The Ambassador urged the Armenian authorities in attendance to do all
that can be done to reduce domestic violence and care for its victims.

The Ambassador called domestic violence a serious problem that should
not be ignored. She denied the opinion that complaining for violence
a woman breaks up her family. In reality, she said, it is violence
that breaks up families affecting first of all children.

The domestic violence conference is just one of several sessions
held by the U.S. Department of Justice in Yerevan to support Armenian
law enforcement.

In 2008, the USDOJ held conferences for Armenian judges, prosecutors,
police and defense attorneys on the European Convention on Human
Rights, corruption prosecution, financial crime investigations, the
rules of evidence in adversarial proceedings, and the development of
Armenian jurisprudence and case law.

Three American prosecutors and one social worker participated –
Prosecutor Steven Kessler (U.S. Embassy, Yerevan), Prosecutor
Arlene Markarian (Brooklyn, New York), Prosecutor Wanda Lucibello
(Brooklyn, New York), and Social Worker Cristin Mathiez (Brooklyn,
New York). Joining the Americans at the conference were Armenian
judges, prosecutors, police, and representatives from the Ministry
of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social and
Labor Issues, the Civil Rights Division of the National Assembly,
and international organizations such as UNICEF, OSCE and Open Society
Institute Foundation in Armenia.

The American and Armenian officials discussed their countries’
respective approaches to fighting all manifestations of domestic
violence, as well as support for the victim, investigation of a
domestic violence case, and prosecution of such a case where the
victim refuses to cooperate.