The International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Office of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan launched a new project to provide managerial and specialized technical support to the Abovyan prison for women and juveniles. The six-month project titled “The Abovyan prison: Establishing the Culture of Transparency, Efficiency and Rehabilitation” will be implemented by Civil Society Institute NGO (CSI). The activities of the project will be aimed toward the improvement of the conditions for the incarcerated vulnerable population of Abovyan prison, their mental and physical well-being, and ability to establish themselves safely in society after their release. The project will develop a sustainable vocational and educational training for incarcerated women and juveniles by providing them classes in English language, computer literacy, cooking, crochet and felting, hairdressing, therapeutic exercise and/or yoga, and providing skills in career planning and entrepreneurship. The other objective of the project is to provide social work services for female and juvenile inmates through mentoring and providing standard operating procedures to the social workers, lawyers and psychologists from Abovyan prison and other stakeholder agencies, who work with incarcerated or recently released women and juveniles. Successful rehabilitation and transition back into society of inmates will improve the human rights record of the Armenian correctional system and enable more women to lead peaceful, self-reliant, productive lives post-incarceration.
This project is part of a larger INL-funded assistance program, which supports Armenia’s efforts to modernize its law enforcement and counter transnational crime, penitentiary system and drug trafficking, with the intent to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime and corruption abroad. Learn more here about how INL works to keep people safe by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad.
