Teacher in rural Armenia arrested over alleged beating of schoolgirl

Armenia’s law enforcement authorities issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a female teacher in the eastern town of Vardadzor over the alleged beating of a second-grade student. The incident was first reported by the local news website Shamshyan.com last Thursday.

According to Gegharkunik province law enforcement authorities, the teacher, whose name remains undisclosed, first struck a second-grade schoolgirl with a stick for chatting during class, causing the student to leave the classroom. The teacher then confronted the student in the hallway, hit the girl with her hand and forced her back into the classroom. CCTV footage of the incident outside the classroom was published by Shamshyan.

The publication spoke to the student’s family, who said they had to keep the girl out of school for several days because she was traumatized. According to the family, the girl’s mother confronted the teacher, but faced insults and accusations of bad parenting.

The family also told Shamshyan that they decided not to press charges against the teacher, but requested that local authorities disqualify her from teaching. They also alleged that the teacher asked other parents to instruct their children to deny that anything had happened in the classroom.

The authorities charged the teacher with assaulting a minor. If found guilty, she could face three to seven years in prison.

Corporal punishment is banned in Armenian schools. The incident caused debate over the protection of children in the country. Last October, the country adopted a new law on child protection, introducing stricter oversight and whistleblowing mechanisms.

For years, the country’s child protection legislation has been criticized by civil society groups for a lack of comprehensive data on child cruelty and abuse, as well as reactive rather than preventive measures in relation to incidents involving violence against children.