Armenia has experienced significant violence over the past five years. The country of about 3 million was defeated in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, though many ethnic Armenians stayed in the region. After a series of bloody border clashes, Azerbaijan seized full control of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, prompting a mass exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians who had endured a nine-month blockade and war.
Many men who fought in these conflicts returned with unhealed trauma and little or no psychological support. That difficult state, compounded by economic uncertainty and the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan, is widely linked by rights defenders to a surge in domestic violence.
Increase in violence due to trauma and lack of mental health support
Domestic violence is often underreported, but data from Armenia’s national prosecutor’s office show an unprecedented rise in 2024 — the highest since the country’s domestic violence law came into force in 2018. The prosecutor’s office reported murders related to domestic violence rose from three in 2023 to 13 in 2024. The office said it has no analysis explaining the rise; human rights defenders attribute it to the psychological toll of the 2020 war and its aftermath.
This pattern aligns with global observations that domestic violence can increase up to five years after a conflict. “The increase in cases of violence that manifest three to five years after” a war reflects a mix of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), socio-economic consequences of war, and a lack of consistent support systems, Zara Hovhannisyan of Yerevan’s Women’s Support Center told DW. She also pointed to rising alcohol use among veterans as a contributing factor.
Rights advocates also note that awareness campaigns and growing trust in support centers encourage more reporting. Karine Davtyan, founder and head of the Women’s Rights House NGO, said that such outreach partly explains higher recorded numbers. According to data Davtyan obtained from authorities, Armenia had recorded 1,588 domestic violence cases as of September 30, 2025 — already surpassing 2024’s total of 1,360.
The fate of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees has been especially harsh. Displaced people left behind homes, jobs and social networks and had to start over. Rights groups warned immediately after the 2023 exodus that lost livelihoods, cramped living conditions and psychological distress could fuel gender-based violence among refugees. More than two years after displacement, advocates describe the situation as still complicated: many men had served in the military and witnessed armed conflict without support, while women, having endured years of fear and loss, now face material and economic hardship. The lack of a coordinated response to serious traumas among refugees exacerbates the problem.
Domestic violence in other war-torn countries
Similar trends have been observed elsewhere. An OSCE survey across several eastern European countries found that intimate partner violence more than doubled within five years after conflict, compared with levels before, during and more than five years after conflict. The survey, conducted in April and September 2018, covered Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine and Kosovo.
Women Against Violence Europe noted in a 2022 report that participation in armed conflict and exposure to war trauma can be a trigger for violent episodes. The OSCE’s 2020 report also found that women affected by conflict — especially refugees, displaced women and returnees — face higher severity of violence than those not directly exposed. The same research links men’s lasting physical and psychological effects from conflict, compounded by financial hardship, to increased alcohol and substance abuse — factors that can contribute to domestic violence.
“Ending this cycle of violence requires placing women’s protection, leadership and participation at the center of humanitarian, peace and recovery efforts,” Kalliopi Mingeirou, head of the Ending Violence against Women section at UN Women, told DW. “There can be no lasting peace or recovery without the safety, rights and dignity of women and girls.”
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
