Minister: "Georgia will step up fight against domestic violence"
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Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Tchikaidze is pledging the country will intensify its efforts to stop domestic violence in Georgia.
Tchikaidze addressed the Georgian public today and said solving the problem of domestic violence would remain his Ministry’s top priority in 2015 and 2016.
"We will do everything to prevent such incidences happening but if they do still happen, offenders will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” the Minister said.
Last year about 25 women were killed in domestic violence-related crimes, and the number of instances of violence that did not result in death was much higher, official statistics showed.
In his address, Tchikaidze thanked all law enforcers for what they had done during the past two years and encouraged them to further intensify their fight against domestic violence.
He also named several positive trends his Ministry had achieved in the past two years, including:
- Creating an online updating map where society can see each case of domestic violence and how police reacted to it;
- Initiating a package of legislative changes which will see offenders strictly punished;
- Training police officers to enable them to better handle cases of domestic violence;
- Increasing the numbers of criminal prosecutions and restraining orders issued to offenders;
- Holding informative meetings and organising public discussions to raise awareness of domestic violence;
- Establishing a hotline where victims or witnesses can report domestic violence cases; and
- Starting working on Georgia's National Strategy against domestic violence.
Despite all of the Ministry's recent efforts, about two dozen women were killed in domestic violence-related crimes in 2014. The number of violence cases that did not result in death was much higher.
Tchikaidze said despite the efforts made last year, he realised he would need to do more this year and step up the fight to further reduce the number of instances of domestic violence in Georgia.
Of the almost 4,000 people questioned, two thirds (68 percent) believed there was no gender equality in the country, women were poorly represented in Parliament and having more women in leading roles would have a positive impact on the country.
Georgia is uniting around a common goal – to stop gender-based violence.
Activists who believed gender equality and women’s rights were crucially important gathered in central Tbilisi today to tell victims of domestic violence they were not alone.
Georgia is joining a 16-day campaign to paint the world orange in a bid to end global violence against women and girls.
A new campaign is pushing for gender equality in property ownership and raising awareness of Georgian legislation, that states males and females are equal when it comes to property ownership.
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili believes a domestic violence problem in Georgia needs to be addressed urgently.
Dubravka Simonovic, who was on her first official visit to Georgia, said violence against women should be spoken about in society instead of it being regarded as "private, family business”.
New crisis centre opens in Tbilisi
The country’s first crisis centre for victims of domestic violence has opened in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
Georgia’s Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili is calling on all victims of domestic violence to speak out and seek help.
The Government of Georgia has today released a special statement marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Georgia’s Justice Ministry has announced a large-scale campaign against violence and presented a webpage that will facilitate people’s involvement in the campaign.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia says that people phone police for family violence cases more frequently than in previous years. The Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia Natia Mezvrishvili said that several police officers have been dismissed for committing domestic violence.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has stated that due to an information campaign and government anti-violence efforts, more and more people have been appealing to the police in cases of domestic violence and incidents.
A law drafted by the Georgian Interior Ministry has come into force today which makes the punishment for certain forms of domestic violence more severe. The law also reads that should a restraining order be violated, an individual will face criminal charges.
Abusing a family member will become punishable by two years in prison instead of the current one year.The punishment will be more severe if the act of violence is committed in the presence of a minor.