Council of Europe reveals hate crime, discrimination findings in Georgia

The Council of Europe in Georgia has presented the findings of its study regarding hate crime, hate speech and discrimination in Georgia on the International Day for Tolerance marked worldwide today.

The results of the study show that 56 per cent of people think diversity is positive for the country. However, 36 per cent of the people think diversity is negative, saying that it “threatens our culture and traditions”.

In general, attitudes are more positive towards people with disabilities than any other minority group.

Attitudes towards religious minorities, migrants from countries outside Europe and LGBT people are generally more negative,” the study says.

The CoE in Georgia states that one in three people in Georgia think that hate crime is a problem, while one in two thinks hate speech is.

People think LGBT people are the most common victims of hate crime and hate speech. The next most common group was Jehovah’s Witnesses and migrants from outside Europe,” the survey revealed.

The CoE in Georgia claims that in general, people are only moderately informed about the Georgian legislation against discrimination, hate crime, and hate speech.

23 per cent of the population reported they were aware of the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. 23 per cent  of people think there are additional criminal penalties in Georgia for committing a crime that was motivated by the fact that the victim was a minority, while 41 per cent think that there is no additional criminal penalty,” the study reports.

The study reflects data collected through a nationally representative survey, in-depth interviews and focus groups from June 2018 to September 2018.

The study was conducted by CRRC Georgia for the project “Fight against Discrimination, Hate Crimes and Hate Speech in Georgia”