Under the international obligations of the protection of this right, the state must prevent the violation of the physical security of others by other persons23, must not allow physical abuse, such as a battery, damage to health, beatings, stabbings, or other pain infliction on a person’s body. At the same time, the state must create mechanisms to eliminate the violation of the right to physical integrity. Such mechanisms may include criminalization of such actions, compensation for damage caused to the victim24. The physical and psychological integrity of a person is also protected under the right to privacy, family life, honor, and reputation25. The European Court of Human Rights has stated in a number of its rulings that the authorities have a positive obligation to protect the right to physical and psychological integrity of individuals from violations by individuals while stating that states should create and provide a proper framework of legal norms that will allow protecting individuals from violence guaranteed in some cases under Articles 2 or 3 of the ECHR, in other cases under Article 8 either separately or in combination with Article 326. In Armenia in case of intentional infliction of physical harm on a person, the mechanisms of responsibility are provided by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia27. It prescribes punishment for crimes of varying degrees of endangerment, physical acts causing different types of injuries.
Cases of physical violence In 2020, the organization registered 18 cases of physical violence28. In the reported cases, LGBT or LGBT associated individuals were beaten, slapped, kicked, dragged, pulled from their hair, causing various injuries to their health. Below are brief descriptions of the cases of physical violence. A young man approached the trans woman and presented her with a flower. The woman took the flower, thinking of it as a positive gesture. However, the man hit her afterward. The victim tried to escape and got into a taxi that was parked on the street and she knew she used it previously. When she got into the taxi, she asked the driver to leave, but the driver said he didn’t know her and demanded her to get out of the car. During that time, the perpetrator and 3-4 other men continued to hit the victim, while she was in the car since the taxi was parked and the window was not closed. The victim got out of the car sometime later and ran away from that place. During the battery and while she was escaping, she was verbally insulted. The victim lost her bag, shoes, and her wig. 23 CAT, General Comment No. 3. A V United Kingdom, No. 25599/94, Rep. 1996-Vi, Judgement of 23 September 1998. 24 Blanco Abad v. Spain, CAT communication No. 59/1996, 14 May 1998, Members of the Gldani Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Georgia, Op. Cit., §97. CAT, General Comment No. 2.; Torture in International Law, A Guide to Jurisprudence, Association for the Prevention of Torture, Page 72. 25 The RA Constitution. Article 31. 2015 and European Conventionon Human Rights, Article 8. 26 Osman v. The United Kingdom, §§ 128-130; Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria, § 65; Sandra Janković v. Croatia, § 45; A v. Croatia, § 60; Đorđević v. Croatia, §§ 141-143; Söderman v. Sweden [Gc], § 80. 27 RA Criminal Code, chapter 16. https://www.arlis.am/documentview.aspx?docid=149259. 28 The figure includes 1 case of sexual violence, as well as 11 cases of domestic violence in which victims were physically abused, except in cases of deprivation of liberty imposed by the family.
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