On February 24, 2015, a statement appeared on the official facebook page of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia on facts of early marriage. The statement notes that statistical information presented in the Public Defender Parliamentary Reports for 2012 and 2013 on girls dropping out of the school before completion of the basic educational level is irrelevant and does not correspond to the existing situation.

It should be noted that reports and statements of the Public Defender are based only on information provided by official bodies. In this particular case also, information according to which “from October 2011 to January 2013, 7 367 girls dropped out of public and private schools in Georgia before completing the basic educational level, and the school dropout indicator was especially high in Kvemo Kartli region” – represents an excerpt from the letter of Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia dated January 14, 2013. Through the same letter the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia was provided with comprehensive statistical data in accordance with the territorial units.

It was clearly noted in the Public Defender Parliamentary report that the said figure did not represent only an indicator of early marriage though the analysis of the existing situation reveals that the large part of this statistical data is facts of early marriage.

Numerous statements and reports of the Public Defender of Georgia contained calls on relevant state bodies to pay special attention to prevention of early marriage and ensuring response envisaged by the law to cases of the occurred facts but no effective measures have been taken in this direction. The statements issued by the Ministry of Education and Science is a clear demonstration that not just the society but the government bodies working on this topic refrain from recognizing existence of the problem of early marriage in Georgia.

It is a surprising fact that statistical information presented in the Parliamentary Reports for 2012 and 2013 only now attracted attention; all the more that the Public Defender dedicated various work meetings, statements and recommendations to issues of combating the problem of early marriage.

It is to be mentioned that the statements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia indicate a figure of early marriages though it is vague based on which data the figure has been acquired. In 2012-2013 the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with a recommendation to introduce a special registry of school dropout that would enable to keep exact statistics.

It should be noted that professionals working with children ineffectively comply with requirements of the order of May 31, 2010 “On approval of child protection referral procedures”. Results of the study of the Public Defender revealed that in frequent cases, teachers fail to discuss an early marriage as one of the forms of violence and to further manage a case in the framework of the competences defined by the referral procedures.

Given all the above, we call on the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia to assume personal control over strict adherence to the referral procedures in cases of early marriage; in order to achieve this, to ensure raising awareness of professionals working with children, to develop instructions of response to cases of early marriage and to support comprehensive data-keeping.

On February 24, 2015, a statement appeared on the official facebook page of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia on facts of early marriage. The statement notes that statistical information presented in the Public Defender Parliamentary Reports for 2012 and 2013 on girls dropping out of the school before completion of the basic educational level is irrelevant and does not correspond to the existing situation.

It should be noted that reports and statements of the Public Defender are based only on information provided by official bodies. In this particular case also, information according to which “from October 2011 to January 2013, 7 367 girls dropped out of public and private schools in Georgia before completing the basic educational level, and the school dropout indicator was especially high in Kvemo Kartli region” – represents an excerpt from the letter of Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia dated January 14, 2013. Through the same letter the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia was provided with comprehensive statistical data in accordance with the territorial units.

It was clearly noted in the Public Defender Parliamentary report that the said figure did not represent only an indicator of early marriage though the analysis of the existing situation reveals that the large part of this statistical data is facts of early marriage.

Numerous statements and reports of the Public Defender of Georgia contained calls on relevant state bodies to pay special attention to prevention of early marriage and ensuring response envisaged by the law to cases of the occurred facts but no effective measures have been taken in this direction. The statements issued by the Ministry of Education and Science is a clear demonstration that not just the society but the government bodies working on this topic refrain from recognizing existence of the problem of early marriage in Georgia.

It is a surprising fact that statistical information presented in the Parliamentary Reports for 2012 and 2013 only now attracted attention; all the more that the Public Defender dedicated various work meetings, statements and recommendations to issues of combating the problem of early marriage.

It is to be mentioned that the statements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia indicate a figure of early marriages though it is vague based on which data the figure has been acquired. In 2012-2013 the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with a recommendation to introduce a special registry of school dropout that would enable to keep exact statistics.

It should be noted that professionals working with children ineffectively comply with requirements of the order of May 31, 2010 “On approval of child protection referral procedures”. Results of the study of the Public Defender revealed that in frequent cases, teachers fail to discuss an early marriage as one of the forms of violence and to further manage a case in the framework of the competences defined by the referral procedures.

Given all the above, we call on the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia to assume personal control over strict adherence to the referral procedures in cases of early marriage; in order to achieve this, to ensure raising awareness of professionals working with children, to develop instructions of response to cases of early marriage and to support comprehensive data-keeping.