Lucy Kocharyan

Lucy Kocharyan
Լյուսի Քոչարյան
Born	1984 (age 40–41)
Nationality	Armenia
Other names	Lusine Kocharyan
Occupation(s)	journalist, radio host
Employer	Armenian Public Radio
Known for	Voice of Violence campaign against domestic and sexual violence[1]

Lucy Kocharyan (Armenian: Լյուսի Քոչարյան; born 1984) is an Armenian journalist and blogger known for having taken a stand in her country against gender-based violence. She was chosen as an International Women of Courage in March 2020 by the US Secretary of State,[2] the first Armenian to win this award.[3]

Life

Kocharyan was born in 1984. She works as a journalist, radio host and a blogger. She presents two programmes on Armenian Public Radio where she raises issues of health, women and children.[4][5]

In August 2018 she began to speak out about children with mental health issues[6] and gender-based violence, launching the "Voice of Violence" (Brnutian Dzayne) campaign on Facebook in July 2019. The upsurge was prompted by a report about the case of a Czech girl named Eva who faced sexual violence in Armenia with little help or assistance afterwards.[7] Kocharyan created a hashtag and was surprised to find that many others shared similar experiences to Eva.[8] Gender-based violence is a traditional part of Armenia and she has faced a lot of criticism for her position.[9]

She was chosen as an International Women of Courage in March 2020 by the US Secretary of State.[2] The award was presented by First lady Melania Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on 4 March 2020 at Washington, D.C. The ceremony was attended by Anna Hakobyan, the spouse of the Prime Minister of Armenia.[10]

References

1. Ghazanchyan, Siranush (2020-03-04). "Armenian journalist Lucy Kocharyan honored with International Women of Courage Award". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
2. "2020 International Women of Courage Award". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
3. "Lucy Kocharyan becomes first ever Armenian recipient of International Women of Courage Award". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
4. "Armenian Journalist Lucy Kocharyan Honored with International Women of Courage Award". Toronto Hye. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
5. Ghazanchyan, Siranush (2020-03-04). "Armenian journalist Lucy Kocharyan honored with International Women of Courage Award". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
6. "Presiding Judge Renata D. Turner meets with International Women of Courage Awardee Lucy Kocharyan | Fulton County Juvenile Court". www.fultonjuvenilecourt.org. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
7. "Մազերն են մեղավոր". Hetq.am (in Armenian). 29 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
8. "The Voice of Violence: Hashtag Sheds Necessary Light on Domestic Violence in Armenia". Asbarez.com. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
9. "Biographies of the Finalists for the 2020 International Women of Courage Awards". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
10. "Lucy Kocharyan becomes first ever Armenian recipient of International Women of Courage Award". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2020-03-13.

External links

• Voice of Violence page on Facebook
• Department holds the 14th annual International Women of Courage Awards
• Official video of the 2020 Annual International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony on YouTube