WRC services are designed to reveal cases of domestic violence as well as its causes and peculiarities in Armenia in order to work out measures to combat domestic violence and to provide adequate assistance to victims subjected to Domestic Violence.

WRC National Hot Line service provides free psychological assistance and legal counseling for women subjected to domestic violence more than 14 years. The service is available 24 hours a day and covers the whole territory of Armenia.

From January-December, 2011 the National Hot Line Service has registered 2032 calls.1678 calls of the total number were calls on domestic violence (537 primary and 1141 repeated); 1042 calls out of 1678 concerned psychological domestic violence, 612– physical, 24 – sexual. In most cases, telephone conversation is not sufficient for providing full range of assistance to victims of domestic violence. 

For this reason, woman-victims are invited to the Women’s Support and Drop-in Center linked to Hot Line Service, where they are provided with free face to face individual and group psychological as well as legal assistance which includes counseling, composition of corresponding documents, applications, composition of written requests to receive information from governmental and non-governmental bodies regarding cases, as well as inquiries of information by phone, establishment of interrelations. For the year of 2011 Women's Support and Drop-in Center has registered 1325 visits (459 primary and 866 repeated). 288 visits from 459 were cases on psychological violence, 360 visits were related to physical violence and 11 to sexual violence.

Hot Line Services in 4 Regions: Since December, 2009 Local Hotline Services and Crisis Centers are functioning in 4 regions of Armenia – Gegharkounik, Tavoush, Lori and Syunik, providing legal and psychological counseling to the victims of domestic violence.

During 2011 the Hot Line Services in Regions have registered 1247 calls, 806 of which were primary and 441 repeated. 561 calls out of 806 concerned psychological domestic violence, 232-physical, 13 – sexual. Through active awareness raising campaign throughout the 4 regions: Gegharkounik, Tavoush, Lori and Syunik which includes small towns and villages the data on calls and visits received from women subjected to domestic violence has been increased.

Women apply to Crisis Centers for assistance and receive full range of psychological and legal support. In case if the women is in danger, she is immediately directed to Emergency Shelter with Transitional Housing.

The Hotline services and Crisis Centers’ work are necessary to identify the cases of domestic violence but not sufficient to cure the negative consequences resulted by it.

Therefore, operation of the Emergency Shelter is an essential part of the WRC activities. The aim of the Shelter is:

b/ to provide them with full range of free psychological, legal, social and medical assistance,

c/ to help them to throw off stress, overcome the complex of victim, and increase their self-esteem and self-confidence.

Starting with 3 families in 2008, this number has been increased to 30 in 2010. It is obvious indicator of the effective work of Crisis Centers' staff and PR activities. Due to increase in number of women, who needs to move the  Emergency Shelter with Transitional Housing, WRC rented a new larger premises to be able to locate more beneficiaries.

For the period of January-December, 2011 the number of families living in the Shelter was 39 (39 women and 47children). It should be mentioned that usually, the majority of the families that have been living in the Shelter was from Yerevan and it is normal as Yerevan contains 1/3 of population of the country.

Though victims of domestic violence belong to different strata of the society, women without relevant profession and with low economic independence are more vulnerable. Economical empowerment of its beneficiaries is one of the WRC priorities and, therefore, WRC tried to provide them with necessary profession and job. With this aim the WRC social worker finds appropriate training courses and negotiate with the providers to include our beneficiaries in the group. 

It is worth to mention that in general, women, who already found jobs, continue to live in the shelter for a while, which enables them to gather money for living expenses after they leave the shelter, thus assist them to get out of poverty and become more confident for their future. The successful cases are result of well-coordinated teamwork of WRC specialists (psychologists and lawyers) and the entire staff of WSDC.

All services, being operated by Women’s Rights Center serve as data basis for case studies to find out the scales, forms, geography, causes and consequences of domestic violence for further use in the advocacy and lobbying process.