Domestic Violence in Moldova - The Advocates for Human Rights
Domestic Violence in Moldova - The Advocates for Human Rights
Domestic Violence in Moldova - The Advocates for Human Rights
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demand<strong>in</strong>g” and should “remember that [she was] a woman and her husband needed loveand warmth.” <strong>The</strong> same doctor stated that he advises other female patients to “acceptmen as they are and “change [their own] attitude.” 153Women face many pressures not to leave family relationships, even when they areabusive. Men and women identified a woman’s concern <strong>for</strong> the well-be<strong>in</strong>g of herchildren and a desire to keep the family <strong>in</strong>tact as an explanation <strong>for</strong> women stay<strong>in</strong>g withabusive husbands. 154 Women may also cont<strong>in</strong>ue to endure abuse <strong>for</strong> fear of harm<strong>in</strong>g theirchildren by depriv<strong>in</strong>g them of fathers. 155 In fact, research suggests that “children whowitness violence between parents often develop many of the same behavioral andpsychological problems as children who are themselves abused.” 156Most of the people M<strong>in</strong>nesota <strong>Advocates</strong> <strong>in</strong>terviewed also attributed high levelsof domestic violence to the devastat<strong>in</strong>g economic conditions <strong>in</strong> Armenia. Internationalresearch <strong>in</strong>dicates that women who live <strong>in</strong> poverty are more likely to experience violencethan women of higher socio-economic status. 157 Armenia’s poor economy and theresult<strong>in</strong>g emigration have had significant social consequences <strong>for</strong> families and women. 158Although the men who have left frequently send money back to their families, manycouples have divorced as a result of the separation. Even when couples do not divorce,women often take a more central role <strong>in</strong> the family, and may become its sole economicsupport. In families where husbands are present, women may be the sole wage earnersbecause of their will<strong>in</strong>gness to take on jobs, such as sell<strong>in</strong>g goods, that men would notconsider. Although Armenian women worked outside the home dur<strong>in</strong>g the Soviet era,they were not commonly the family’s ma<strong>in</strong> breadw<strong>in</strong>ners. 159 In a patriarchal society <strong>in</strong>which men are accustomed to support<strong>in</strong>g families, ced<strong>in</strong>g this role to women has provendifficult and conflict-ridden. Some people cited this shift as a factor contribut<strong>in</strong>g to<strong>in</strong>creased rates of domestic violence <strong>in</strong> Armenia.At the same time, women’s <strong>for</strong>mal unemployment exceeds the rate ofunemployment <strong>for</strong> men. 160 Accord<strong>in</strong>g to an Armenian ethnographer, “women without153 Interview, May 6, 2000 (doctor, outside Yerevan).154 Interviews, May 9, 2000 (victim, Gyumri); May 3, 2000 (judicial clerk, Yerevan).155 Interview, February 19, 2000 (sociologists, Yerevan).156 L. Heise, M. Ellsberg and M. Gottemoeller, End<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Violence</strong> Aga<strong>in</strong>st Women. Population Reports,Series L, No. 11. Baltimore, Johns Hopk<strong>in</strong>s University School of Public Health, Population andIn<strong>for</strong>mation Program (December 1999) at 20.157 Id. at 8.158 Status of Women <strong>in</strong> Armenia United Nations Development Program Draft Report (2000)(unpublished).159 Interview, February 19, 2000 (sociologist, Yerevan).160 Women are 70% of the officially registered unemployed, Status of Women <strong>in</strong> Armenia at 59.M<strong>in</strong>nesota <strong>Advocates</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong>, <strong>Domestic</strong> <strong>Violence</strong> <strong>in</strong> Armenia, December 2000 27