Prosecutors Receive Training on Gender and Sex Discrimination

A training on gender and sex discrimination was held for special prosecutors in an effort to improve prosecutions of hate crimes and crimes against women, the Prosecutor’s Office announced in a press release.

The workshop was led by representatives of the Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG), a nonprofit advocacy organization whose work targets lesbian and bisexual women and transgender individuals. The two-day interactive training touched on issues of gender and sex discrimination and violence, transphobia and the ethics of working with victims of violence.

Cases of hate crimes documented by nonprofits exceed government statistics, WISG wrote in its August 2018 submission to the United Nations independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, ahead of his visit to Georgia.

In 2018, official government reports say 53 persons were accused of hate-motivated crimes; in 10 of those cases, sexual orientation and/or gender identity were found to be the motivation for the crime. However, research conducted by WISG in 2018 found that 88.3% of respondents had been victims of hate crimes since 2015. Psychological/emotional violence was experienced by 85.5% of respondents, 61.7% experienced sexual violence and harassment, and 29.7% experienced physical violence. WISG estimated that only 16.8% of hate crime victims reported it to the police.

Part of the project, “Promotion of Independence of the Prosecutor’s Office through Monitoring and Engagement,” the recent training was supported by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the European Union, and co-financed by Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).

By Lucy Papachristou

Photo Source: Prosecutor's Office of Georgia