YEREVAN. – Perhaps after the application of the law, understanding the consequences and degree of gravity of the act, there has been a trend of drop in domestic violence cases in Armenia. Artur Vardanyan, Deputy Head of the Police Department of Criminal Investigation, said this today during a discussion on "Domestic Violence and the Effectiveness of Legislative Mechanisms."

And Olga Azatyan, an adviser to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, noted that the ministry is working in two directions to reduce domestic violence in the country.

"First, the ministry provides assistance to victims of violence, which is the responsibility of the state," she said. “The second is that we want to create two state-run shelters for people subjected to domestic violence. (...). Also, by 2020, we will have financial support for persons who are subject to domestic violence (...). There is also a council for the prevention of domestic violence."

According to the ministry representative, the second direction is the development of policies aimed at preventing domestic violence.

"Our goal is to really help and support the victims of domestic violence through various mechanisms," she added.

According to Azatyan, centralized registration of domestic violence cases will also be carried out as of 2020.