YEREVAN — Armenia's National Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs today approved the first reading of a comprehensive legislative package to overhaul the country's domestic violence protections, sending it to the parliament floor despite opposition attempts to delay it.

Authored by Civil Contract faction deputies Zaruhi Batoyan, Sona Ghazaryan, and Tsovinar Vardanyan, the bill replaces ineffective police "warnings" with a "preventive registration" monitoring system and mandates abuser rehabilitation. Batoyan, who has worked on the issue since 2017, noted the package also tightens criminal penalties and establishes a single state hotline.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpineh Sargsyan confirmed the government's strong backing, noting the initiative aligns with a large-scale anti-violence campaign led by Anna Hakobyan, spouse of the prime minister. In a major procedural shift, Sargsyan announced that the revised law will allow any individual, not just the victims, to report domestic violence to the police.

Key provisions of the overhauled legislative package include:

• Public Reporting: Anyone can report domestic abuse, eliminating the current restriction limiting reports strictly to victims.
• Expanded Monitoring & Rehab: Perpetrators will face mandatory rehabilitation under both urgent intervention and protection orders, alongside active law enforcement tracking.
• Stricter Shelter Rules: State-funded, NGO-run shelters will be reserved strictly for cases with verified threats to life or health.

Committee member Taguhi Ghazaryan endorsed the package, urging colleagues to vote in favor. While the opposition Armenia faction proposed postponing the bill, the committee rejected the delay, issued a positive conclusion, and scheduled the package for discussion during the upcoming regular sessions of the National Assembly.