The National Assembly adopted in the second reading on Tuesday a draft law proposing measures to ban domestic violence in Armenia.

The bill received the parliament’s support with 75 votes “for” and 12 votes “against”.  Eight lawmakers attending the session refrained from voting.

Members of the different parliamentary factions voted freely at their own discretion. The opposition alliance Yelk and the coalition Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D) backed the measure.

The new legislation is aimed at preventing domestic violence, offering guarantees towards the protection of victims and re-establishing solidarity in families.