Every year, the Public Defender of Georgia joins the 16 Daysof Activismagainst Gender-Based Violence, which has been marked since 1991 and aims to raise public awareness of the elimination of violence against women and domestic violence.

For two years now, the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic has been a priority issue on the world agenda, but it is especially important in these circumstances not to forget to protect the rights of women and girls and to ensure unimpeded access to all assistance services for victims. Unfortunately, the Covid 19 pandemic has further exacerbated the problematic and covert nature of domestic violence and femicide.

While state services for the protection of and assistance to victims of domestic violence have been working smoothly during the pandemic, restrictions, including barriers to access to transport, prevented women and girls from accessing these services. The restrictions were particularly severe for victims of violence who have to stay with offenders in the same space, which increased the risks of domestic violence and reduced the possibility of detecting such cases.

Femicide - gender-motivated killings of women – remains a particularly serious problem. The rate of this crime has sharply increased compared to previous years. According to 2020 data, 24 women were murdered and 15 of these cases contained elements of domestic crimes. In addition, there were 27 cases of attempted murder of women, of which 17 cases contained elements of domestic crimes.

Therefore, it is important for government agencies not to weaken efforts aimed at improving the rights situation of women and girls, especially by preventing violence against women in the context of the pandemic and strengthening appropriate protection and assistance measures.