ILGA-Europe: Georgia Ranks 30th in Terms of Protecting LGBT Persons

ILGA-Europe, an advocacy group promoting equality and non-discrimination of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex persons, has published its annual report whereby Georgia ranks 30th (with 30,2 %) among 49 countries in terms of protecting the LGBT population.  

The report enumerates a number of obstacles that LGBT persons often encounter in Georgia, including the repressed right of freedom of assembly, frequently delayed anti-discriminatory legislations on part of the government, lack of quality medical care and the overall repressed freedom of expression directed against LGBT groups.

The report also touches on the bias-motivated violence directed against LGBT persons, recalling an incident that occurred during the premiere of a movie ‘And Then We Danced’.

“On 8 November, hundreds of far-right protesters blocked the entrance of the cinema at the premiere of the film ‘And Then We Danced’, which features a relationship between two male Georgian dancers. A rainbow flag was burned. Far-right leaders had previously announced they would disrupt the screenings.”

The report concludes by saying that the discriminating attitude remains a pressing issue in Georgia. “Similar to other years, LGBT people remain the least supported minority group in the country”, it reads.

Regarding the rights of LGBT persons, Georgia maintains a better position that its neighboring countries, with its 30,2 % against Russia’s 10,2 %, Turkey’s  9,83%, Armenia’s 7,49% and Azerbaijan’s 2,33 %. Zero point indicates that the rights of the LGBT persons are least protected, while 100 points show the country is a leader in terms of protecting the same rights.

ILGA-Europe’s annual report aims to serve as a safe platform for exchanging the best practices and policies in support of LGBT civil society, and rests on a number of criteria: equality and non-discrimination; hate speech and hate-motivated crimes; legal gender recognition, among others.

By Elene Dzebisashvili