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59 cases of violence against minors have been resisted in Armenia within four months in this year, Nelly Duryan, Police Colonel, Head of the 3rd Division of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Armenian Police, told a press conference on Monday, ahead of the International Children's Day.

“The cases mainly refer to beatings, as well as violations of sexual inviolability and freedom,” the police colonel said.

The cases of violence have reduced by 12 to compare with the same period of 2016. The sexual assault cases have also cut down.

Due to the police-school cooperation, no cases of violence have been recorded at schools or at their surrounding areas during four months of the current year, with three similar cases registered in the same period of 2016.

Ms. Duryan noted that children with divorced parents are at greater risk of having their rights violated. “The kids become apple of discord between their parents. We register 2-3 such cases in a week,” she said.

Nelly Duryan also noted that single-parent children are more likely to end up under the attention of police officers.

“There are many cases when mothers turn to us over the issues concerning their teenage boys, as well as girls; they do not manage to cope with their teenage children and solve their issues. These are mainly those children who are ignored by their parents and are forced into begging,” the officer said.

Margarita Ter-Hovhannisyan, Social Worker at FAR Children's Support Centre Foundation, who also attended the conference, noted that it is easier to prevent the cases of violence than to overcome their consequences.

“Our foundation has 17 children. Their cases are very problematic and finding solutions to them is very difficult,” she added.