Why we work mainly with women?
Gender equality and domestic violence in Georgia
83% of victims of domestic violence is women
Georgia develops day after day, the legislation does more and more for gender equality and to develop the rights of women, however there is still a lot to do. The latest reports say that violence against women and domestic violence is a prevalent problem in our country.
Legislation
“Article 11 of the Constitution of Georgia (including amendments approved by the Parliament in 2017) and the Law of Georgia on Gender Equality (approved by the Parliament in 2010) provide women and men with equal rights and opportunities and recognize the need for specific actions in order to achieve equality between women and men and eliminate inequality in Georgia. According to the 2006 State Concept on Gender Equality, equality between women and men is seen as a human rights issue and refers to the equal representation of women and men, equal rights and participation in every aspect of public and private life. In addition, gender equality is a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centred development).
Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is a principal component of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” (Women and Men in Georgia, page 4)
Gender equality
We all know that the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has made daily life even more difficult, and have deepened differences. It is especially the case regarding gender equality and domestic violence.
“Gender inequality has intensified as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. This has amplified specific factors that, in turn, have increased the risks of violence against women and domestic violence. Drivers of violence happened to be presented more intensively in the everyday lives of women, including the following:
- Worsened economic situation in families
- Increased domestic work and multiplied responsibilities for women
- Limited personal space
- Limited opportunity to escape from an abuser
- Worsened mental health” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 64)
The girl child
“In a patriarchal society like Georgia, son preference is still quite strong. This translates into a sex imbalance, with the sex ratio at birth (109.3 male births per 100 female births) higher than the biological norm (104–106). Even though Georgia took significant steps towards the elimination of child marriage, the phenomenon continues to disproportionally affect the lives of girls in the country. Women residing in rural areas, Azerbaijani women and women with a lower level of education are more likely to get married at an early age. Furthermore, violence against children (VAC) is accepted by a large part of Georgian society.” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 16)
Education and training of women
“Gender stereotypes prevail in most vocational education and training programmes, with women predominantly enrolling in traditionally female-dominated courses. Women are overrepresented in such fields of study as education, art, health and business administration, ….” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 42)
Gender equality and poverty
Some groups of women turned out to be in riskier situations than others due to COVID-19. Women working at retail outlets and open markets are at the biggest risk. “During the lockdown, most of them were left without income, which led to increased aggression from abusive family members.” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 65)
Speaking about income and economics, poverty is an indicator behind violence. 20.9% of women live under the absolute poverty line, while the newly established enterprises with a female owner is 30%, out of which 21% is a trade business, the most popular business type of women.
“Poverty is especially higher among the rural population and persons with disabilities. The existing social protection system and strategies have proven to be ineffective against social and economic vulnerability. A significant part of employed women is left out from these social protection benefits since the biggest share of employed women is engaged in the informal sector. Most of the women employed in the informal sector (e.g. domestic workers) found it challenging to benefit from the state assistance that was part of the COVID-19 pandemic anti-crisis plan. Maternity protection is assessed to be fully inadequate for women employed in the private and public sectors (excluding civil servants) and does not align with the requirements of the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183). In addition, the existing accumulating pension scheme is believed to bear risks of reproducing and amplifying the gender gap due to its savings-based design, considering women’s lower participation rate in the formal economy and broader paid labour alongside the existing gender pay gap.” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 14)
Violence against women
“… violence against women (VAW) and domestic violence (DV) remain a prevalent problem in Georgia. Women experience different forms of violence, and as the data show, the prevalence of VAW is especially higher among women with disabilities. Although public attitudes are changing, and the legal framework along with respective social support services are becoming progressively more functional, many things still need to be improved. The gaps in legislation and service provision became especially visible during the pandemic, which made gender inequality even deeper and extremely increased the risks of VAW and DV.” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 15)
Furthermore, “The share of women victims of crime was steadily increasing in the past five years, and it exceeded 50 per cent for the first time in 2020. The fact that more women than men were registered as victims of crime in previous years is largely related to the issue of domestic violence, whose main victims are women. Over the past decade, a vast range of measures to combat domestic violence has been adopted in Georgia. These efforts resulted in a tremendous increase in social awareness on the issue: in 2013, the number of reported cases of domestic violence equaled less than 240, whereas the registered victims of domestic violence exceeded 9,000 persons in 2020. While surveys on violence against women show that registered cases represent only a small part of all cases of domestic violence, the significant rise in the registered number of complaints and issued protective orders can be regarded as a positive development in this area.” (Women and Men in Georgia, page 107)
“More than 70 per cent of men and women know that there is a law against VAW/DV, and almost the same share is aware about the hotline. Furthermore, more than 50 per cent of men and women are aware about the shelters, and more than 30 per cent of men and women are aware about the crisis centres.” (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 66)
Services provided by the state:
- ‘112’ unified emergency number, available 24/7
- ‘112’ mobile app, with integrated chat function and SOS button
- ‘116 006’ consultancy hotline, providing information in eight different languages
- Ten shelters in different regions of Georgia, providing free 24/7 accommodation as well as legal, psychological and medical assistance
- Five crisis centres in different regions of Georgia, providing legal, psychological and medical assistance
- State funding available for the services required for the victims of sexual violence (Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 63)
Let’s have a quick look into how the services are used:
Number of reports to 112 defined as domestic conflict/violence in 2020: 18 428
Number of criminal prosecutions on domestic violence cases in 2020: 4633
Number of restraining orders issued on domestic violence in 2020: 10 321
Number of calls to 116 006 on VAW/DV issues in 2020: 1761
Number of protective orders issued on domestic violence in 2020: 104
Number of beneficiaries of VAW/DV crisis centres in 2020: 778
Number of court decisions on domestic violence cases in 2020: 2299
Number of beneficiaries of VAW/DV shelters in 2020: 422
(Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, page 67)
What is the situation in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region?
The intolerance of violence against women and girls and domestic violence, attitudes in favor of gender equality and acknowledgement of violence against women and girls and domestic violence as a grave problem is the lowest in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region. (VAW and DV regional study, page 7)
The study showed that the need for promoting gender equality is higher in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region as compared to Kakheti and Tbilisi.
More focus needs to be placed on men, as they are more prone to accept and approve inequality than women. More efforts should be directed to persons with lower than higher education. Different tools should be used in working with them as well as with youth, persons in the middle and late adulthood. (VAW and DV regional study, page 9)
Response to domestic violence
If we speak about domestic violence, we must take into consideration the possible response to it.
One option is divorce; however, it can be a very difficult decision to make. There are emotional considerations, like does the wife still loves the husband/the abuser, and the children being separated from their father. We must point out the psychological consequences on children – which is better: being away from an abusive father or witnessing abuse, aggression, that might turn against them at some point.
Another aspect of divorce is the image it mediates. Being divorced for a woman is bad image. Furthermore, it supports the anticipation being available for other men. Also, there might be no place to go for a woman after divorce, no home any longer. Last, but definitely not least, a wife is often dependent on her husband economically, which puts women into the situation to think twice if do it.
An option is to call the police. Women, however, might feel embarrassed to do so. They are not just victims of violence, but they are willing to take the shame for it. Also, after calling the police they might think, and some know from experience that nothing changes after police leaves or the husband is released after being arrested. It might put even bigger burden on them by the family showing hatred towards the ladies.
Last, we must mention the interference of community. Women can tend to refuse asking for help and do a lot to hide their situation. The image by the community seems to be important to them. (VAW and DV regional study)
To sum up, we, Association Merkuri strongly believe that there is a lot to do. We fight for gender equality and against domestic violence for over 15 years, and we continue to do so. We have seen so many lives restarted, flourished, significantly improved, so we do not give up. We continue to change lives.
Data sources:
Country Gender Equality Profile of Georgia, UN Women, 2021
Study of the Perception of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Tbilisi, Kakheti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, UN Women, 2014 (referred to as: VAW and DV regional study)
Women and Men in Georgia, Statistical publication, Geostat, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2021
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