GYLA: On March 8, Georgia Faces a Sharply Deteriorated Environment for Women's Rights

According to the assessment of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), on March 8, Georgia faces a significantly worsened environment for women's rights.

The organization reports that “since November 2024, alongside other severe trends of repression and human rights violations, there has been a particularly alarming pattern of aggressive treatment, sexual harassment, gender-based insults, and physical violence by law enforcement against women participating in legitimate, peaceful protests.”

March 8 marks International Women’s Day every year. Ensuring substantive equality between men and women and combating gender discrimination are constitutional obligations of the state.

Unfortunately, instead of taking effective measures to address the numerous challenges in protecting women's rights, the state is deliberately worsening gender equality legislation and openly encouraging forms of gender-based violence, such as sexual harassment. This alarming trend is closely linked to the seizure of power by the ruling party "Georgian Dream," the strengthening of authoritarian rule, severe democratic backsliding, and systemic human rights violations in Georgia.

In 2024, GYLA published a study titled "State Response to Gender-Based Violence in Georgia: Analysis of Legislation and Practice." The research identified numerous challenges and systemic problems in the fight against gender-based violence, including legislative gaps, deficiencies in policy development and implementation, issues in statistical data collection, limited access to justice for women experiencing violence, protection from secondary victimization, and restricted access to support services, including shelters.

Regrettably, instead of addressing these issues, "Georgian Dream" is further distancing the legal framework from the standards of the Istanbul Convention, attempting to erase the terms "gender" and "gender equality" from legislation.

According to the Istanbul Convention and its explanatory report, the term "gender" refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and characteristics that a given society considers appropriate for women and men. Certain roles and stereotypes contribute to harmful practices and the normalization of violence against women. The explanatory report of the Convention emphasizes that violence against women and domestic violence must be understood through a gendered perspective, forming the foundation for protection and support measures for victims.

Denying the gender perspective means ignoring the social and cultural factors that must be considered for a systemic fight against violence against women, as well as for the identification and proper recognition of various forms of violence and inequality.

Moreover, given that "Georgian Dream" continuously reinforces stereotypical gender roles through both rhetoric and discriminatory legislative initiatives, the state is actively promoting perceptions of male and female roles that contribute to a violent and unequal environment.

Beyond legislative changes and anti-gender propaganda, it is particularly alarming that the Georgian Dream government is increasingly using various forms of gender-based violence against politically active women. Since November 2024, along with other severe trends of repression and human rights violations, law enforcement officers have exhibited particularly aggressive behavior towards women participating in legitimate, peaceful protests, including sexual harassment, gender-based insults, and physical violence.

The police, which should be a key pillar in the fight against gender-based violence, has instead become a perpetrator.

This erosion of the law enforcement system and the instrumentalization of the police against peaceful protesters, including women, affects not only the direct victims of police violence but also leaves all members of society vulnerable, further encouraging gender-based violence and inequality across all spheres of life," the organization's statement concludes.