Victims/survivors of violence against women and domestic violence in Georgia to receive compensation
Date:
The Government of Georgia adopted a regulation on issuing compensation to the victims/survivors of violence against women and domestic violence. The process of the development and adoption of the respective legislative amendments was carried out with the participation and technical assistance of UN Women.
As a result, a victim/survivor of violence is authorized to receive compensation from the state in the event that the compensation for the damages to the victim’s health is not paid by the abuser. The amount of the compensation is determined in accordance with the decision issued by the court. The responsibility for issuing the compensation lies with the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking.
It is noteworthy that the provision of the necessary legislative amendments enabling victims to request the compensation also constitutes an obligation imposed by the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). UN Women actively collaborated with the respective state authorities to ensure the fulfilment of this obligation.
To begin the process, international best practice on issuing compensation to the victims/survivors of violence against women and domestic violence was analysed with the direct participation of UN Women. Later, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, with the participation of other state authorities and non-governmental organizations working on women’s rights, prepared a draft instruction on determining the amount of the compensation to be paid to the victims/survivors of violence against women and domestic violence. The Government of Georgia ratified the regulation in accordance with the Ordinance from 9 November.
Tamar Barkalaia, Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, stated: “The adoption of the Instruction on Issuing Compensation to the Victims/Survivors of Violence against Women and/or Domestic Violence and designation of the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking as the authority responsible for issuing compensations is an important novelty and yet another supporting mechanism that the State provides to the victims/survivors of violence. We will continue working with our partner organizations in order to provide women who have suffered violence with all the opportunities and support to exit violent environments.”
The effort made towards enabling victims/survivors to request compensation is part of the project “Ending Violence against Women and Girls in Georgia”, which is carried out by UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with the support of the European Union.