The Eurasian Coalition for Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM) has presented a report on the violation of LGBT rights in Armenia for 2022.
The Republic of Armenia, having acceded to international treaties, has committed itself to protecting the rights of all persons on its territory, regardless of their characteristics. However, international and local organizations and youth groups annually state that LGBT rights continue to be violated. In Armenia, LGBT persons can be subjected to violence, discrimination, disclosure of SOGI on the street by strangers, torture during military service, in educational institutions, at workplaces or in hospitals. Along with all this, there are also cases of domestic violence, when LGBT parents, having learned about their child’s orientation, isolate them, deprive them of means of communication, and sometimes beat them.
The report presents data on cases of offenses against LGBT people in the Republic of Armenia in 2022, which were related to differential treatment of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression of the victims.
The 2022 Report on Violations of the Rights of Gay Men, Other MSM and Transgender People in Armenia is based on documented cases of rights violations collected using tools provided by ECOM and partner organizations, as well as a brief analysis of the legal environment.
In 2022, 80 cases of violations of the rights of members of the LGBT community in Armenia were registered. In all cases, the offenses were caused by negative attitudes and hatred towards the protected characteristics of the victims – most often, it was sexual orientation, gender identity, involvement in sex work, or HIV-positive status.
Violations were committed by individuals with whom the victims had not previously met, as well as by acquaintances, colleagues, and relatives. Violations were often committed by state officials – employees of military commissariats, registry offices, police, and medical personnel.