Armenia approves stricter domestic violence laws and Public Reporting rights
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The Standing Committee on the Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the Armenian National Assembly approved the first reading of a new legislative package to overhaul domestic violence protections.
The bill, authored by deputies Zaruhi Batoyan, Sona Ghazaryan, and Tsovinar Vardanyan of the Civil Contract faction, replaces current police warnings with a preventive registration system. It mandates rehabilitation for abusers and creates a single state hotline.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpineh Sargsyan confirmed the government supports the initiative, which aligns with an anti-violence campaign led by Anna Hakobyan. The new law allows any individual to report domestic abuse to the police, removing the previous restriction that limited reporting to victims. It also requires perpetrators to undergo mandatory rehabilitation under protection orders and subjects them to law enforcement tracking. Additionally, the law restricts state-funded shelters to cases where there are verified threats to life or health.
The committee rejected an opposition request to delay the bill and scheduled it for a full parliamentary discussion.
