Hotline

Hotline

The Republic of Armenia does not have a national domestic violence hotline. Victims tend to call the general police number 1-02 to report an incident and ask for protection. They may call the Ombudsman’s office for legal issues or the hotline of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Mainly victims call hotlines run by NGOs that address gender-based violence (GBV). It should be noted that most state and some NGOs hotlines work only during working hours.

Generally state hotlines are run by individuals who are not sufficiently trained to be able to assess the level of risk, the urgency of the situation, or to discuss safety plans. Moreover, those who answer the hotlines understand domestic violence as a “family conflict”, thus they do not provide a professional service. There is also no detailed methodology or set mechanisms for persons providing hotline service on how to communicate with victims of violence and how to refer them to relevant institutions in accordance with the situation.

It should be noted, that the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic