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Public Defender’s Proposal on Guaranteeing Essential Equality for Victims of Sexual Violence

On October 2, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with a general proposal with regard to the encouragement of discrimination on grounds of sex.

The Public Defender launched case proceedings based on the application of the Women's Initiatives Supportive Group (WISG). According to the organization, there is no state program tailored to the needs of female victims of sexual violence, which leads to inequality of women, as female victims of violence are at risk of getting pregnant.

The Public Defender considers that the mentioned issue is complex and requires not only formal legal frameworks, but also consideration in the perspectives of human rights; in addition, in a society with patriarchal attitudes towards rape and abortion, it is necessary to establish practice tailored to women’s needs. It is therefore necessary to introduce a state program that would guarantee the essential equality of women.

In the general proposal, the Public Defender requested the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs to discuss the allocation of funding for victims of rape within the state healthcare program if they get pregnant as a result of rape; in case of introduction of such funding mechanism, the decision on the allocation of funding should be made by taking into consideration the social and economic condition of the victim. In addition, the launch of an investigation into the criminal case of rape should be enough ground for the allocation of funding and no court judgment should be required for it.

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