International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

On November 25, Georgia was among other foreign states that marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The Government of Georgia, the civil sector, the Public Defender and others revealed their positions as to how unacceptable violating women’s rights are.

“Violence against women is an issue of grave concern that affects all levels of society. It makes little distinction based on age, religion, or country - the UN estimates that one in three women worldwide is affected. This cannot be addressed by legal measures alone,” the Government of Georgia stated.

They stressed that the Georgian Government was “greatly committed” to advancing equal rights for women and ensuring their protection from any form of violence or discrimination.

“The Georgian Government has taken important steps to entrench this within the very fabric of Georgian society with two National Plans for 2016-2017 approved this summer, to implement UN Council Resolutions in this field and to combat violence against women and domestic violence and protect victims as well,” the Government of Georgia said.

They stressed that since 2014, Georgia is also a signatory of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

Radically improving the situation against this type of violence requires a complex approach, a large-scaled information campaign as well as adequate and genuine mechanisms to address the issue.

Many of those men who have killed their wives or girlfriends in Georgia had only been warned by police, and jail terms that were given did not compare to those in the West. There is little deterrent against domestic violence.

Women often have nowhere to go to be safe, and the Government also lacks levers to offer accommodation and relevant protection to victims of domestic violence.

The Government urgently needs to take steps in this regard.

There must also be a very active information campaign against early marriages, as those girls who get married early very often become victims of domestic violence and are unable to take care of themselves as have no few qualifications and usually no job.