On March 24, 2023, the USAID Rule of Law Program’s Rule of Law Hub in Kutaisi hosted a panel discussion on the Protecting Women's Rights: Administrative Measures and Social Security, as part of the Women’s History Month campaign.

Over eighty representatives of the civil society and various institutions, including the judiciary, the Georgian Bar Association, the State funded Legal Aid Service, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, the Council for the Protection of Gender Equality of City Assembly, and the Agency for State Care and Assistance for (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking, jointly analyzed the challenges facing women in cases of gender violence in the Imereti region.

The event in Kutaisi started with a welcoming speech from USAID Rule of Law Program Regional Advisor Irina Lortkipanidze, Georgian Bar Association Chairman David Asatiani, State funded Legal Aid Service Director David Simonia, and Kutaisi Sakrebulo Chairman Irakli Shengelia.

The first panel explored the use of protective orders and reviewed the relevant case law. The judge of the Kutaisi Court of Appeals Khatuna Khomeriki emphasized the legal framework of domestic violence against women and analyzed the structural nature of violence against women. She also provided an overview of the Istanbul Convention and its implementation into national legislation and practice, highlighting recent court interpretations of protection orders in cases of violence against women.

Samtredia District Court Judge Murtaz Kapanadze discussed the Georgian law on the Prevention of Violence Against Women and/or Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance to Victims of Violence. He outlined the scope of the law, judicial measures to detect and prevent violence, and procedures for obtaining protective orders in administrative proceedings.

Ia Shvangiradze, a member of the Georgian Bar Association, emphasized the role of state and local self-government bodies in the prevention of violence against women and stressed the importance of conducting more awareness-raising campaigns among young people. Gela Siordia, the Head of Imereti Legal Aid Bureau, spoke about the free legal aid service for victims of violence.

The second part of the panel discussion focused on raising awareness about the available services for women who are the victims of violence. The representative of the Agency for State care, Sophio Chantladze, talked about state-established shelters for female victims; the representative of the Gender Equality Council of the Kutaisi Sakrebulo, Nino Goletiani, spoke about local self-government services; and the Public Defender’s Office representative in the Imereti region, Tamta Chechelashvili, reviewed the shortcomings of the existing services in terms of monitoring and outlined the institute's recommendations to the public.

Representatives of the local NGO community - Darina Saldadze, the Head of Kutaisi Office of GYLA and Guranda Gvantseladze, Monitoring and Advocacy Specialist from Foundation "Sokhumi", also discussed the issues such as the role of civil society in addressing violence against women, and the opportunities of free legal representation and other free services.

During the discussion, the participants highlighted the lack of rehabilitation measures for perpetrators. It was pointed out that if state authorities created the appropriate rehabilitation and crisis intervention services for the perpetrators of domestic violence, it would prevent or minimize the recurrence of violent acts, especially during the operation of protective orders. The participants considered that the provision of psycho-social services to the perpetrators instead of their imprisonment might significantly reduce the frequency of future acts of violence against women.

In conclusion, the participants agreed that it was important to continue the discussion on these issues in Kutaisi and strengthen the protection of women's rights, and promote the elimination of acts of violence against women together with the participation of the relevant agencies.