ARMENIA LAUNCHED 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.11.2009 16:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In every country, women and girls continue to be
plagued by violence, causing tremendous suffering. Such violence
undermines development, genereates instabiity , and makes peace that
much harder to achieve, We must demand accountability for violations
and take concrete steps to end impunity, UN Secreatry General Ban Ki
Moon said on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women.

A campaign "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence" aiming to
increase public awareness of gender-based violence was launched
Wednesday in Yerevan. On that occasion, UN House hosted a news
conference. Ms. Lala Ghazaryan, Head of Family, Women and Children
Issues Department at Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs presented
the current challenges and results achieved by the government in the
field of combating gender based violence.

Ms. Jina Sargzova, UNFPA coordinator of "Combating Gender Based
Violence in the South Caucasus" project and "16 Days" campaign in
Armenia talked about various activities, such as press conferences,
public hearings, public service announcements broadcasting, film
screenings, round table discussions with participation of refugees,
rural women and local government representatives,

The planned activities focused on cultural and national aspects of
violence against women, including domestic violence, trafficking and
HIV/AIDS, men’s participation in combating gender-based violence and
the importance of the youth involvement.

The program which will last till December 10 envisages psycological
consultations for violence victims, meetings with refugee women,
as well as radio broadcasts on other topics.

The 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including
December 1, World AIDS Day and December 2, the International Day for
the Abolition of Slavery.