Electronic Bracelets to Be Affixed to Victims and Abusers: Bill to Prevent Domestic Violence

The Government of Armenia is proposing the installation of electronic monitoring devices for both abusers and victims as part of its efforts to prevent domestic violence. The draft amendment to the law on "Prevention of Violence in the Family, Protection of Individuals Subjected to Violence in the Family, and Restoration of Family Harmony" was presented in the National Assembly by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan.

The existing law provides for two main mechanisms for the protection of individuals subjected to domestic violence: urgent intervention orders and decisions regarding protective measures. In the first case, a police officer makes the appropriate decisions, while in the second case, the court applies the protective measure.

"The draft proposes to also use electronic monitoring devices in the implementation of these two categories of decisions. This implies that an electronic monitoring device will be installed on both the abuser and the victim, which will alert the competent authorities if they come close to each other or commit other violations," Sargsyan noted.

She emphasized that similar practices have been effectively implemented in Canada, the USA, France, Georgia, and Spain. Electronic monitoring practices already exist in Armenia, operating based on the new criminal procedure code.

Sargsyan pointed out that acquiring such devices will require specific financial resources. Calculations have been made, and around 560 million AMD will be needed to purchase a set of about 200 electronic bracelets. There are no domestic suppliers of such bracelets in Armenia; they are imported from abroad.

Gegham Nazaryan, a member of the "Armenia" faction, inquired whether any calculations had been made regarding how many individuals are subjected to domestic violence to justify the spending of half a billion on implementing this system. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs responded that in 2022, there were 1,547 reports of domestic violence, of which warnings were applied in 556 cases, urgent intervention decisions were made in 619 cases, and 6 protective measures were applied judicially.