An Armenian NGO theatre group called Theatre 8 Troupe performed a play “I am a Woman” for a large group of students and legal and media professionals in Yerevan on 1 October 2018. The performance was organised under the Council of Europe project Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Armenia.

The play, directed by Suren Shahverdyan and performed by Zhanna Hovakimyan, Mariana Yeghiazaryan and Ani Gevoryan, tells a true story of three women from different backgrounds and social statuses experiencing domestic violence.

The Head of Council of Europe office in Yerevan, Natalia Voutova, welcomed the audience to the play, highlighting that “[this] is an event that utilises art to highlight a grim reality in almost every society. Indeed, art is the best medium to ensure that concerns about important social issues reach the public.”

“Domestic violence is destructive at an individual level for the victims and for the perpetrators as well as on social level as it disrupts social norms and the opportunity for healthy interpersonal relations. And it takes a lot of courage, a lot of public courage and support for a survivor to get out of the spiral of abuse,” Voutova emphasised.

The aim of the Council of Europe project in Armenia is to raise awareness on violence against women, including domestic violence, and how to end it. Natalia Voutova expressed her wish that the event could “be one of the many steps to address the issue of domestic violence and to help eradicate this ugly phenomenon not only from family and society but also from the heads and minds of people.”

After the play, a discussion with the audience on common causes and consequences of violence against women and domestic violence was facilitated by Dr. Khachatur Gasparyan, psychologist and Gohar Shahnazaryan, Co-director of Women's Resource Center NGO.