On April 11 of this year, another painful incident that happened in Gegharkunik Marz of RA highlighted the important and urgent need for preventive measures to protect our children. This brutal story of sexual violence against a 13-year-old girl serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of what happens when the state, and in particular, law enforcement agencies, fail to implement effective preventive measures to avoid or minimize such incidents. Prevention of sexual violence against children is not only a moral imperative but also a requirement of international law. The UN Convention and the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, also known as “the Lanzarote Convention,” obliges member states, including the Republic of Armenia, to protect children from all forms of physical and/or mental violence and to ensure their safety from sexual violence and exploitation.
- Children should be informed about the risks of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, and be able to recognize them to be ready to adequately respond to them, including timely informing adults, calling the police, and other actions.
- Persons directly related to children, be it with a care function or in organizations that include children through the provision of services, regardless of the organizational legal form, must be regularly trained on the topic of prevention and response to sexual harassment.
- Programs or activities for sex offenders (both convicted and likely to be convicted) should be regularly monitored.
Based on the above and international best practices, we are confident that comprehensive sexuality education plays a crucial role in the prevention process and empowers children by giving them knowledge about their bodies, rights, and healthy relationships. Such education is critical to body integrity, teaching consent, and recognizing inappropriate behavior, thereby building an appropriate response to potential abuse. Well-designed educational programs can significantly reduce the incidence of sexual violence.
Furthermore, it is important that sexuality education programs become inclusive and accessible in formats that are accessible and useful to various vulnerable groups, including children with special psychosocial and intellectual needs. Best practices for sexual violence prevention involve collaborative efforts across multiple sectors, including education, health, law enforcement, and community structures. Effective strategies include mandatory training for professionals working with children, comprehensive community awareness-raising campaigns, and the creation of safe and victim-centered mechanisms for reporting sexual abuse. To effectively prevent child sexual abuse, it is also critical to implement targeted interventions that prevent criminal behavior before it occurs.
In light of this terrible event, we
- strongly condemn this case of sexual violence against a minor,
- call on all stakeholders to step up their efforts and take strict, proactive preventive measures under their commitments,
- demand the state to actively work with society so that double victimization is excluded, and instead the wave of public condemnation targets the abuser.
We can protect our children and work towards eliminating sexual violence from our society if we work together to promote a safe environment for children, including and especially sexually abused children, who should not be re-victimized in any way.