| Lucy Kocharyan | |
| Native Name: | Լյուսի Քոչարյան |
| Native Name Lang: | hy |
| Other Names: | Lusine Kocharyan |
| Known For: | Voice of Violence campaign against domestic and sexual violence[1] |
| Employer: | Armenian Public Radio |
| Occupation: | journalist, radio host |
| Nationality: | Armenia |
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, the first Armenian to win this award.[2]
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.[3] [4]
In August 2018 she began to speak out about children with mental health issues[5] 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.[6] Kocharyan created a hashtag and was surprised to find that many others shared similar experiences to Eva.[7] Gender-based violence is a traditional part of Armenia and she has faced a lot of criticism for her position.[8]
She was chosen as an International Women of Courage in March 2020 by the US Secretary of State.[9] 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]