Gender based violence and other such

I was translating a study on gender-based violence, inititiated in Armenia by the UN. A translator should be more or less impartial, but I couldn't help getting angry at some of the quotes by the interviwed "experts". So much so, that I decided to share them here - so contrary they are to everything I believe. The good news is - if there is such an initiative, maybe some changes in this area are pending, too - even if it takes 100 years to change people's minds.

“We have no such cases in the regions. If a woman is not willing, no one will rape her. What's higher in the regions is the number of women being married without their consent”.


“What we call sexual harassment is a very delicate and complex topic. In our country, there is little statistics on this topic. The term “sexual harassment” itself was introduced to us only recently. There is little research in this filed, and to say how frequent those cases are is quite difficult. However, I think, in some areas, especially in the workplace, there are cases of harassment. We need to consider the stereotypes and standards that exist in our society. The same action, which in one country is not considered sexual harassment, in another country might fall under that category. There are certain cultural norms and sexual situations, when a woman feels harassed. If it influences her career or psychological comfort, it may be definde it as “sexual harassment”, and something needs to be done about it. As a person living in this city, I believe that it most often happens in the service sector.”


“Women in the countryside are still modest and submissive, and therefore cases of violence are few. I think if women do not allow it, nothing will happen”.


“I am of the same opinion – it is usually women's behavior that provokes men to harass them. I think there are many such cases.”

What's going on?

Just a quick update on what's going on with us.

We sold the house and moved out of there. We had a nice "yard" sale off the third floor and sold most of the furniture and other stuff. The idea of open doors day was quite novel to Armenia, but it all worked out.


We bought a smaller apartment, which is now being renovated.

Meanwhile, we are renting a place nearby. One small room to fit all three of us and several suitcases of stuff.

It's a mess. Hopefully the renovation won't take long. They just started by stripping everything off the bathroom walls and floor. People here don't like to hurry. There is something about Eastern mentality that can drive a Westerner mad. I am not a Westerner, but I occasionally lose it too, when they tell you "today", call tomorrow and start 3 days later...

More later, as soon as I catch up on sleep.