On December 8, 2017, Nino Lomjaria, the Public Defender of Georgia, spoke about the situation of violence against women in Georgia when delivering a speech at the official reception at the Presidential Administration. The President of Georgia held the event within the framework of the week dedicated to the elimination of violence against women.

The Public Defender praised the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violenceagainst women and domestic violence by the Parliament of Georgia in 2017, as well as the increased application of measures aimed at detecting and protecting the cases of domestic violence. In addition, she emphasized that even though the rate of reporting has increased, it is still problematic for the law enforcement agencies to assess the risk of violence and effectively monitor execution of protective mechanisms. The high rate of femicide is alarming. 22 cases of killing of women were reported in the 9 months of the current year, 13 out of which were committed in the situation of domestic violence. The number of attempted murder is high as well; 8 out of 11 cases occurring in the same period contained signs of domestic violence.

Taking into consideration the current situation, the Public Defender considers it important to facilitate elimination of gender inequality, including resolution of problems closely related to violence against women, such as women's low participation in the decision-making process and lack of their financial independence.

"We all know that many women suffer violence due to lack of financial independence. We cannot properly hear women's voice about their needs and problems. We cannot see women living in rural areas, women with disabilities, conflict-affected and internally displaced women. So, first of all, we should strengthen joint efforts in this direction," said the Public Defender and expressed hope that the state will take significant steps to eradicate violence against women and domestic violence.