ARLINGTON, Mass. (A.W.)—On Fri., Nov. 21, the Women’s Support Center in Armenia (WSC) held an awareness and fundraising event at the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) in Arlington. The program included three speakers who discussed women’s rights and domestic violence. Maro Matosian, director of the WSC, teamed with Dr. Antranig Kasbarian, executive director of the Tufenkian Foundation, to discuss domestic violence in Armenia and the history and current work and challenges of the WSC, which is dedicated to assisting women who are the victims of domestic violence and their children. Attorney Wendy Murphy, an adjunct professor of sexual violence law at New England Law Boston who specializes in representing women and children crime victims, provided closing remarks.
Maro Matosian during her talk (photo by Chris Mensoian)
The event, which was attended by women and men, centered around the importance of bringing the issue of domestic violence into the public discourse in Armenia and supporting the work of the WSC. Kasbarian provided a brief look into the development of the Tufenkian Foundation in Armenia and the background of the WSC, which is one of many initiatives it supports in Armenia and Artsakh. The WSC is also dependent on individual donations to meet its annual budgetary needs. Kasbarian mentioned that there are what he termed “mom and pop” shelters for women in Armenia, but the WSC is the only facility that provides a comprehensive professional program to meet the immediate and rehabilitative needs of victims of domestic violence.
(L-R) Wendy Murphy, Maro Matosian, Antranig Kasbarian, and Martha Mensoian (photo by Chris Mensoian)
Of the many significant facts cited, the following set stood out: Since its establishment in 2010, the WSC has received 1,274 hotline calls and has provided assistance to 819 women. In 2013, the WSC had 35 women and 42 children at its shelter. To the WSC’s credit, 80 percent of the women who have made it to the shelter do not return to their abusers.
In addition to its rehabilitative program, the WSC and the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women in Armenia engage in outreach activities to educate the public, empower women, and engage stakeholders. Public service announcements, protest marches, candlelight vigils, sit-ins at court houses, petitions to legislators to include domestic violence as a specific crime in the penal code, and the annual Oct. 1 National Day to Stop Domestic Violence Against Women in Armenia were enumerated as some of the methods employed to inform and educate the public, as well as the courts and police. As a result of these activities, articles on domestic violence and coverage on Armenian television has increased. A primary objective is to raise awareness of the judiciary, law enforcement, and victims of domestic violence. While much headway has been made, the WSC has a lot of work to do, including overcoming detractors who allege that raising the issue of domestic violence is tearing Armenian families apart, when in reality the perpetrators and supporters of domestic violence are those responsible for such results.
Donations to the WSC can be made by check to the Tufenkian Foundation (with “Women’s Support Center” or “WSC” in the memo line) and mailed to: The Tufenkian Foundation, 20 Capitol Drive, Moonachie, NJ 07074.