First psycho-social service centre for child violence victims opens in Georgia

The first centre offering psychological and social services to child victims of violence has been launched in Georgia, with professionals working on investigation of cases and rehabilitation of minors, the Georgian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday. 

Established with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund and the Estonian Government in close partnership with the Ministry, the new centre has been based on the Scandinavian model of the services, and aims to avoid “repeated interviews” at various agencies for children and adolescents on cases of violence against them.

The state body also noted the frequency of interviews with the victims in the facility would be “minimised”, with Minister Zurab Azarashvili saying the main goal of the initiative was to protect children who were victims of sexual violence from re-traumatisation and to bring investigative activities and rehabilitation programmes into a single space. 

The Prosecution Service of Georgia, which also participated in the process of developing the concept of the centre and ensuring compliance with legal norms, said protection of children from sexual violence and exploitation was one of its priorities.

The state body also pointed out it would use the resources of the newly opened psycho-social service centre “very actively” to prevent secondary victimisation of minors.