Public Defender Nino Lomjaria expresses her condolences and concern about the alleged beating and murder of a 4-year-old child in the city of Batumi.

The Public Defender urges all state agencies to timely examine the case and take appropriate measures for identifying the offenders. In addition, effective measures should be taken for changing the violent atmosphere against children in the country.

Timely identification of child abuse, protection of children from violence and ill-treatment and effective realisation of assistacne measures have been serious problems in Georgia for years.

Unfortunately, the violent attitude towards children is observed in the community, family and educational institutions. However, along with the stereotypes, the systemic deficiencies in responding to child abuse by the state has an alarming impact on the indicator of protection of children from any form of violence.

It should be noted that the member states of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (including Georgia) are obliged to protect children from any kind of violence.

The Public Defender of Georgia pays special attention to the evaluation of the violent atmosphere against children and its causes. She also demands the state to take measures for prohibiting child's corporal punishment, but this issue remains an unresolved and serious problem.

From 2018, the Public Defender of Georgia plans to launch a campaign to enable children to appeal to relevant bodies without obstacles and confidentially and request protection of their rights and safety.

Children can even today anonymously call the Public Defender’s Office via hotline – 1481 any time.