“Daily beatings and violence had become a part of our married life. He would beat me at the slightest pretext or for nothing at all. He beat me out from jealousy, whenever he was frustrated, or whenever he felt like doing it. When he beat me in front our daughter, it was the last straw for me. I just moved to my parents’ house together with my child,” says Mariam Melikyan.

Her eyes are filled with tears, her voice quivers and her hands search for a hand to hold, so that not to give in to despair. A few months ago, Taguhi realized that she had to survive and overcome alone the tragic events that had befallen her.