 | | Map source: Human Rights Watch |
Population of women: 2,650,000/5,074,000
Life expectancy of women (at birth): 77.6 yrs.
School life expectancy for women: 11 yrs
Adult illiteracy for women: N/A
Unemployment of women: 10.7%
Adult economic activity rate: 57.5%
Source: U.N. Statistics Division, Social Indicators, updated 12 July 2004 (Some statistics provided may be from previous years and other sources as cited by the U.N. Statistics Division)
last updated 2006
Contributed in part by: Nino Bakakuri, Georgia National VAW Monitor
Article 14 of the Constitution of Georgia states that "Everyone is born free and is equal before the law, regardless of race, skin colour, language, sex, religion, political and other beliefs, national, ethnic and social origin, property and title status or place of residence." Additionally, Article 142 of the Penal Code punishes the violation of human rights based on a protected class, including sex. Punishment for breach of this offense ranges from twelve months of correctional labor up to twenty-four months' imprisonment.
The 2004 United States Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices found that 795 crimes against women were registered in 2003. These crimes included eighteen murders, twenty-four attempted murders, fifty-two rapes and forty-one attempted rapes. According to Women 2000 - An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States (“Women 2000”), rape is punishable by imprisonment of three to seven years under Article 137 of the Penal Code. Rape is defined as sexual intercourse obtained through force, threat of force, or through exploitation of the victim's helplessness. If rape is committed repeatedly or by a repeat offender of rape involving anal sex, oral sex, or particularly cruel treatment, the perpetrator may be punished by five to ten years of imprisonment. The penalty increases to five to fifteen years if committed by a group of individuals, if committed knowingly against a pregnant woman or a minor, or if committed using violence or abuse of authority. Raping a juvenile (less than fourteen years of age) is punishable by ten to twenty years of imprisonment. Article 138 of the Penal Code punishes "violent acts of a sexual nature," and Article 139 punishes any person who engages in sexual intercourse or contact by issuing threats to honor, damage to property, or exploiting authority or the victim's dependence.
Although domestic violence remains prevalent in society, it is rarely reported or punished. According to Women 2000, domestic violence is not considered a problem in Georgia and the Georgian Penal Code does not specifically criminalize domestic violence. The U.S. Department of State reports that due to social stigma and the absence of legal prohibition, domestic violence is underreported and rarely punished in Georgia. Nevertheless, it is one of the main reasons behind divorce. Articles 117 and 118 of the Penal Code penalize perpetrators of premeditated violence that results in severe and moderate injuries. Unfortunately, these laws are so general that they do not effectively aid victims of domestic violence. The 2006 Law of Georgia on Elimination of Domestic Violence, Protection of and Support to Its Victims is designed to help alleviate these issues. The law provides for social services and shelter for victims, Orders for Protection, child safety, prevention programs, and outlines police duties, among other provisions.
Pre-arranged kidnapping of women for marriage continued to occur in rural areas although the practice was in decline, the 2004 Country Report explained. Most often, police failed to take action in such cases despite the fact that kidnapping is a criminal offense according to the country’s criminal code.
Discrimination, sexual harassment and violence against women in the workplace remained common problems. According to the Country Report, such action is prohibited by Georgian law, yet the state rarely investigates such abuse. In order to escape the low-paying and low-skilled positions that women, regardless of qualifications, often found themselves in, many sought jobs in other countries. Local NGOs, such as the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, the Women's Center, and Women for Democracy, have shouldered the brunt of the work to better women's situations. Women's NGOs were actively involved in election processes and in the engagement of candidates in discussions about gender issues.
On 9 June 2003, the Georgian parliament amended the Criminal Code to criminalize trafficking in persons. Articles 1431 and 1432 criminalize trafficking in persons and trafficking in children.
Article 1431 of the Criminal Code of Georgia states that the “[s]elling or buying a human being or making any other unlawful transaction in relation to him/her as well as recruitment, transfer, hiding or harboring a human being by means of coercion, blackmail or deception for the purpose of his/her exploitation” is punishable by five to twelve years’ imprisonment. When committed repeatedly, against two or more persons, knowingly in relation to a pregnant woman, by use of official powers, by taking the victim across borders, by use of violence dangerous for life and health or by threat of such violence, by use of vulnerable position of the human being or his/her material or other dependence on the offender, the sentence increases to eight to fifteen years. When committed by an organized group or if it results in the death of the victim or other grave result, the sentence increases to twelve to twenty years.
A note following Article 1431 defines the term “exploitation” as
“use of a human being for the purpose of forced labor, involvement into criminal or other anti-social activity or prostitution, sexual exploitation or other kind of service, placing into contemporary forms of slavery or for the purpose of transplantation or other use of human organ, part of organ or human tissue.”
The note also defines the term "contemporary forms of slavery" as
“deprivation of identification documents, restriction of the freedom of movement, prohibition of communication with the family, including correspondence and telephone conversation, cultural isolation, or forcing to work in conditions degrading human honor and dignity or without any reimbursement or with inadequate reimbursement.”
The Georgian Criminal Code prescribes trafficking in children in a separate article. According to Article 1432 the “[s]elling or buying a minor or making any other unlawful transaction in relation to him/her as well as well as his/her recruitment, transfer, hiding or harboring for the purpose of exploitation” is punishable by eight to fifteen years’ imprisonment. When committed repeatedly, by means of coercion, blackmail or deception, against two or more minors, by use of official powers, by taking the victim across borders, by use of violence dangerous for life and health or by threat of such violence, knowingly by use of vulnerable position of a minor or his/her material or other dependence on the offender, the sentence increases to twelve to seventeen years. When committed by an organized group or if it results in the death of the victim or other grave result, the crime is punishable with deprivation of liberty for 15 years or with life imprisonment.
In 2004, according to the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Georgia, fourteen crimes of trafficking were committed in six regions of Georgia (Kakheti (2), Kvemo Kartli (1), Ajara (2), Samtskhe-Javakheti (1), Samegrelo (1), Mtskheta-Mtianeti (1)) and Tbilisi (7). Five more crimes disclosed by the Ministry of Interior were committed at the same regions. Of these cases, Georgian citizens were primarily trafficked to Turkey and in one case to United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
According to data provided by the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Georgia, eighteen women and four men out of twenty-two persons were accused of trafficking. Their ages varied from thirty to fifty years. In most cases, crimes of trafficking were committed by organized criminal groups that exploited the difficult socio-economic conditions of victims. The Prosecutor-General’s Office of Georgia noted that, in all cases, traffickers used false documents (passports) that were issued by passport and visa services in towns.
At the end of 2002, the Ministry of Interior established a five-person Anti-trafficking Unit. The Unit’s personnel was increased to twenty-eight persons in 2004. In addition, fifty persons were appointed to various regional police departments throughout Georgia to deal with the crime of trafficking in persons.
In January 2003, the government announced the first Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons for 2003-2005. It was replaced by a new Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons 2005-2006, which was approved by the Presidential Decree #623 of December 29, 2004. At the same time, the Temporary Interagency Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons was established on 1 February 2005 at the State Security Council to monitor the implementation of the measures envisaged by the Action Plan.
Compiled from:
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Georgia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 February 2004.
Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 5 November 2000. (PDF, 26 pages).
Law of Georgia of 9 June, 2003 on the Amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia
Annual Report of State Security Council, January 2005
Decree of the President of Georgia #15 “On the Approval of the Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons 2003-2005”, 17 January, 2003
Decree of the President of Georgia #623 “ On the Approval of the Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons 2005-2006”, 29 December, 2004
Decree of the President of Georgia #50 “On Approval of the Composition and Rules of the State Security Council Temporary Interagency Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons”
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