Equality Now, together with its partners based in Armenia, Sexual Assault Crisis Centre NGO, the Women’s Resource Center, and Safe YOU, submitted concerns about laws related to sexual violence and procedures and practices which effectively deny access to justice for the girl survivors of sexual violence. Specifically, Armenia’s legal system provides a number of opportunities for perpetrators to escape criminal liability or punishment, namely through the way sexual violence crimes are defined and through the way sexual violence crimes are investigated and prosecuted.

What’s included in the submission?

Pervasive gender stereotypes and victim-blaming further deter survivors from seeking help. Armenia’s lack of comprehensive sexuality education exacerbates the problem.
The definition and enforcement of crimes of sexual violence against girls remain problematic. Some criminal law provisions imply that a girl under 16 somehow consented to or initiated sexual intercourse by an adult, which disregards the power dynamics and vulnerabilities inherent in such situations and provides opportunities for perpetrators to escape accountability and appropriate punishment.
Harmful practices such as child and forced marriages (CEFM) remain a significant issue in Armenia.
Armenia lacks a comprehensive gender and child-sensitive methodology to investigate sexual violence crimes, resulting in re-victimisation during the investigative process.
Girls from vulnerable and marginalised groups experience intersecting forms of discrimination and serious barriers to accessing justice for sexual violence.

Who’s it for?

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Law and policymakers
Legal professionals
Government institutions

Key recommendations

Amend the Criminal Code of Armenia to ensure that the consent of a minor under 16 is not examined and that the offence is classified as rape, with appropriate penalties, ensuring a robust criminal justice response.
Amend the Family Code to set 18 as the minimum age of marriage without any exceptions.
Develop a comprehensive and child and gender-sensitive methodology, guidelines, and protocols to investigate sexual violence crimes.
Abolish the practice of intrusive interviews, forced confrontations, invasive forensic examinations, and virginity testing; avoid adverse and unscientific inferences from a hymen’s condition; ensure that investigative actions involving minors are properly recorded (including video recording if necessary) to avoid repeated interviews.

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2 December 2025

4 pages

Statement by Equality Now during the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Equality Now presented key findings and recommendations at the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) in Maseru, Lesotho.
The submission highlights key opportunities for strengthening legal protection, enhancing responses to digital and technology-facilitated sexual exploitation, advancing adolescents’ access to SRHR, reforming discriminatory nationality laws, and accelerating the elimination of harmful practices that continue to affect girls across Africa.

Shadow report on Egypt’s 18th–19th periodic reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

This civil society shadow report exposes the gap between Egypt’s gender equality commitments and reality, calling for legal reforms, ratification of the Maputo Protocol, and stronger protection for women.

Submission to the OAS Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities

Joint submission to the OAS Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (CEDDIS) by Equality Now, Disability Rights International, Caribe Afirmativo, and Colectivo de Vida Independiente, highlighting barriers to justice for survivors of sexual violence with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Armenia – Information for Consideration by the Committee on the Rights of the Child – 97th session, August 2024

What’s included in the submission?

Who’s it for?

Key recommendations

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Statement by Equality Now during the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Shadow report on Egypt’s 18th–19th periodic reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Submission to the OAS Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities

Armenia – Information for Consideration by the Committee on the Rights of the Child – 97th session, August 2024

What’s included in the submission?

Who’s it for?

Key recommendations

About

Languages

Classification

More information

Explore more resources

Statement by Equality Now during the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Shadow report on Egypt’s 18th–19th periodic reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Submission to the OAS Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities

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