Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee takes initiative to strengthen legislation protecting women’s rights
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Improvements to the legislation on domestic violence were discussed at a specially convened meeting on 17 and 18 August 2018, organized by the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia with the support of UN Women.
The meeting brought together members of the Committee with representatives of the Gender Equality Council, the Public Defender’s Office and civil society organizations.
The working group discussed the package of legislative amendments developed by the Committee. The aim of the package is to strengthen the legislation and improve public safety by providing better protection to victims of domestic violence. According to the proposed amendments, changes are to be introduced to a number of existing laws, including the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia and the Law of Georgia on Elimination of Domestic Violence, Protection and Support of Victims of Domestic Violence.
Committee chair Sophio Kiladze noted: “During the past few years, numerous legislative amendments have been introduced with the aim of improving Georgia’s legislative framework on domestic violence and violence against women, but we still encounter significant challenges. The presented amendments aim to strengthen existing legislation for the effective protection of the victims of domestic violence.”
The Committee is planning large-scale follow-up consultations with respective state agencies and other parties around the draft package.
At the meeting, UN Women also presented another package of amendments supporting the elimination of violence against women and domestic violence prepared in consultation with relevant partners from the government and civil society for the MPs’ scrutiny. The package contains amendments on the institutionalization of the GPS ankle bracelet monitoring system and behaviour correction programmes for perpetrators of violence against women and domestic violence. The legislative package is expected to be initiated and discussed during the fall session of the Parliament of Georgia; the approval and support of the MPs would be critical in this process.