2017 PFP Reciprocal Travel Program for U.S. Participants
Project Summary
IMPROVING ACCESS TO JUSTICE, PROTECTION AND SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS
Implementing country: Republic of Armenia
Visiting Expert: Mrs.Marion Allison Rocker-Tuohy, Senior Deputy District Attorney, Denver, Colorado
Hosting Expert: Ms Gohar Hakobyan, Head of Unit for Relations with “Legislative Development and Legal Research” fund, PFP alumna
Dates of visit: 02-08 September 2017
Project Goals:
1. The first goal of the project is to contribute in prevention and combating gender-based violence and violence against women in Armenia by capacity building and awareness raising activities.
2. The second goal of the project is to improve the response to domestic violence in Armenia by developing the mechanisms for access to justice, protection and support for domestic violence victims.
3. The third goal of the project is to strengthen the cooperation between state agencies and civil society sector in the field of prevention and combating domestic violence.
Project Objectives:
1. To prepare a political and practical basis for establishment of a "one-stop" support centre for domestic violence victims based on the experience of Rose Andom Center in Denver by meetings and discussions with Ministry of Justice, MPs, NGOs and other interested stakeholders.
2. To contribute to the draft Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Domestic Violence Victims of RA by introducing Colorado good practices and relevant legislation to the Ministry of Justice of RA.
3. To increase the gender competence and professional capacity of law-enforcement and prosecutors in dealing with domestic violence cases by delivering a training/workshop for them on special methods of outreach, investigating and building DV cases, as well as questioning DV victims and overcoming gender stereotypes. To that end, a meeting with Academy of Justice of RA will be held on special training techniques and methods for DV cases.
4. To raise awareness concerning the nature of domestic violence, its prevention and combating tools, victim blaming and other vital issues among law students.
5. To improve the cooperation between law-enforcement and NGOs in the field of protection and support for DV victims by conducting a round table discussion with NGO representatives.
Introduction
(Timing is everything!)
The project was particularly timely in the light of the legislative processes that were going on in Armenia in the material time. In particular, when Mrs. Rocker visited Armenia, Ministry of Justice was finalizing the draft law on “Prevention of Domestic Violence, Protection of victims of Domestic Violence and Restoring Solidarity in Families”. Hence, Mrs. Rockers experience and suggestions were highly appreciated by the working group of the draft law. Mrs. Rocker also assisted in advocating for the necessity of adoption of the law among parliamentarians and the law-enforcement. The draft law under consideration was widely discussed and was a topic of a large and intense public dispute. The interest towards it was unprecedented. Eventually, it was adopted in December 2017.
For a country with almost no legal traditions or practical experience in the given field, Mrs. Rocker’s contribution was extremely important for several reasons:
- the newly adopted law provides for regular trainings for the law-enforcement.In this respect, the training that Mrs. Rocker conducted can be regarded as an exemplary. Her materials and methods will be highly useful for the next trainers,
- her analysis on how would certain provisions work in practice based on the rich experience of her institution helped us to have a more clear image of certain challenges and in some cases amend the draft law,
- her suggestions on organization of cooperation between the law-enforcement and NGO sector were very useful for the said parties since there is a lack of an effective cooperation between them as of now.
Day 1. 02 September 2017
Mrs. Rocker arrived in Yerevan early in the morning on 02 September. Since the firsttwo days of her visit were weekend, we spent
wonderful time while exploring the cultural heritage of Armenia. First we visited National History Museum where our guest familiarized herself with the reach history of Armenia through the impressive exhibition. Afterwards, we stopped at a famous flea market of Vernisaj where Mrs. Rocker purchased souvenirs for her family and friends.
Then we visited the pagan temple of Garni and medieval monastery of Geghard-both recognized as cultural heritage by UNESCO. We had a pleasant lunch in the village of Goght with delicious traditional dishes.
Day 2. 03 September 2017
On the next day we took a tour in the museum of ancient manuscripts-Matenadaran. Mrs. Rocker was deeply impressed by the advanced lifestyle, culture and science of ancient and medieval Armenian societies. Afterwards, we visited the lake Sevan, also known as “the pearl of Armenia.
The next stop was the skiing resort of Tsaghkhadzor and its ropeway.
Day 3. 04 September 2017
The first working day started with the visit to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia where Mrs Rocker had a discussion with the Ministry’s staff. In particular, the members of the working group of the draft law on prevention of domestic violence discussed the relevant legal regulations with the visiting expert.Some of her ideas were reflected in the draft law.
The next stop was the National Assembly of Armenia (Parliament). Mrs. Rocker had the opportunity to discuss the domestic violence issues and their legal regulations in Colorado and worldwide with MP Mane Tandilyan. The visiting expert brought some well-grounded arguments to prove the necessity of a specific legislation on domestic violence. The parliamentarian elaborated on the possibility of legislative initiative regarding the issues concerned and raised some important question to clarify her position.
In the end we enjoyed our evening in the Jazz club Mezzo
Day 4. 05 September 2017
The working day started with abusiness lunch with the representative of Human Rights Defender’s office (Ombudsman) Ms. Lusine Sargsyan. The experts discussed the models of organizing support for domestic violence victims and protecting their rights. Mrs.
Rocker was surprised by the powers and role of the Ombudsman’s office in Armenia compared to those of the States. She mentioned that the Ombudsman’s office could be a form of mediator between all the stakeholders.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the US Embassy in Armenia. We discussed with the American counterparts the perspectives of capacity building activities in the field of fight against domestic violence for the law-enforcement.The Embassy staff introduced some concerns regarding the efficiency of the trainings. However, Mrs. Rocker did not share them as she is very experienced in delivering trainings for the law-enforcement officers.
In the evening, American Councils of International Education organized an alumni gathering in The Club restaurant whereMrs Rocker met members of the strong network of PFP alumni. The visiting and local experts discussed the particularities and challenges of investigating and examining domestic violence cases, particularly those concerning burden of proof, presumption of innocence and assessment of evidence. Besides, Mrs. Rocker could also enjoy traditional Armenian cuisine.
Day 5. 06 September 2017
The morning started with the training at the Academy of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. The training was organized for prosecutors, investigators and police officers on special methods and techniques when dealing with domestic violence cases. The tutor and the participants exchanged useful information and guidelines on how to adequately respond to domestic violence episodes, how to collaborate with the victims, to maintain questionings, to protect them and improve their access to justice while gathering sufficient evidence for bringing the perpetrator before the court and supporting all those affected by domestic violence, especially children. The participants raised problematic questions that they deal with in practice and the trainer responded by bringing examples from US prosecutor’s experience.
After the training Mrs. Rocker had a meeting with the Academy’s staff to discuss the special methods and techniques of trainings and content ofmodules concerning domestic violence cases for investigators, prosecutors and judges.
Afterwards, we had an enjoyable evening at Club 12 with a good live music.
Day 6. 07 September 2017
The first half of the day was devoted to a round table discussion with the relevant NGO and law-enforcement representatives on cooperation in the sphere of domestic violence cases. The parties raised very important problematic issues that they face on daily basis due to lack of cooperation between NGOs and the law-enforcement. Mrs. Rocker introduced the Colorado experience in the given field and gave the participants some hints on how the effective cooperation could be organized. The expert emphasized the idea that all of us are on the same team and serve the same goal. She elaborated on necessity of an effective collaboration for the entire chain of victims’ support and importance of everyone’s work for the final result.
After the round table Mrs Rocker visited the shelter for domestic violence victims of Women’s Support Centrewhere, as she underlined, she was surprised to see a very well administered shelter with transparent financial system comparable with the best shelters that she had seen in the States. This was a useful information because we will establish state-sponsored shelters shortly.
After a tough morning we took a tour in Ararat Cognac (Brandy) Museum where the expert learned about the rich traditions of Armenian wine-making as well as tested different sorts of cognac (brandy).
The tour was followed by a nice dinner at Dalan restaurant with some women’s rights advocates from Armenian civil society. The experts were discussing regulations on sex-selective abortions and forced abortions as a form of domestic violence.
Day 7. 08 September 2017
The last business day started at the Law Faculty of Yerevan State University where Mrs. Rocker conducted a lecture for the law students. The expert introduced some highly interesting cases from her own practice as a prosecutor and elaborated on the nature, prevention and combating domestic violence. She introduce problematic cases when the perpetrators violate the requirements of protective orders and how to deal with those challenges. In the end, she also answered the students’ questions regarding legal education in US.
After the lecture we visited Women’s Resource Centre where Mrs. Rocker introduced the experience of Rose Andom Centre to their staff and gave them suggestions as to how advocate for domestic violence victims’ interests within the law-enforcement.
The last must-see spot on our calendar was the Genocide memorial and museum.
We spent our last evening together at cascade Royal restaurant with a gorgeous view of Yerevan City.
The feedback of the US participant
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The work being done in Armenia to combat domestic violence, gender stereotypes and violence against women is impressive. I was able to meet incredible men and woman who are well versed on the issues and have already started to implement policy and ground level change. It was a privilege to work alongside these people – if even for just a week.
It is always interesting to find, no matter where I travel, that the issues surrounding domestic violence are the same. The way we combat those issues differ by country.
In Armenia, I felt I had the most impact when talking with NGO’s and Law Enforcement about working together. Most commonly, and something we’ve worked on in the US, law enforcement and NGO’s see each other as obstacles, at the very least. This was the case in Armenia as well. I was able to discuss with law enforcement the benefit of working together with NGO’s and the positive impact it will have on investigations as well as successful prosecutions. I was also able to speak at length with multiple NGO’s about how to approach law enforcement, how to help train law enforcement and how to best bring about change within the law enforcement community.
When speaking with a member of parliament I was able to discuss the immense benefit I’ve seen from this working relationship. I currently work at a Family Justice Center in Colorado called the Rose Andom Center. NGO’s and law enforcement work side by side to help victims and survivors of domestic violence. I feel that I, along with Gohar, was able to convey the importance of this relationship and the importance of laws that aid in building this relationship.
I also very much enjoyed teaching at the Law School. It is always encouraging to see the next generation of attorneys and law makers. They showed a clear understanding of the issues and were eager to learn about combating domestic violence.
I had an incredible experience in Armenia. For only being in the country for a week, I was able to see some amazing tourist sites as well as eat phenomenal food. I felt that not only was I able to effectively contribute but I left having learned and experienced far more than I had anticipated. Overall, I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to work with Gohar and American Councils.
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