With the view of improvement of gender equality legislation, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Parliament of Georgia with legislative proposals to establish definition in the legislation regarding sexist advertisements that are so widespread in TV broadcasting.

The Public Defender’s proposal about widespread sexist advertisements in TV broadcasting refers to establishing of the definition of a sexist advertisement in the Georgian legislation and introduction of relevant sanction system in the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting. The proposal is supported by practices in various countries.

The Council of Europe has been interested in this issue in recent years. For elimination of negative stereotypes and strengthening of gender equality, the Resolution 1751 (2010) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls on states to include provisions in the legislation aimed at combating gender stereotypes. According to the same resolution, the impact of sexist stereotypes in the media on the formation of public opinion, especially among young people, is disastrous: these stereotypes perpetuate a simplistic, immutable and caricatured image of women and men, legitimising everyday sexism and discriminatory practices, and they may facilitate or legitimise the use of gender-based violence.

In case of taking the Public Defender’s proposal into account, prohibition of sexist advertisements in TV broadcasting will become possible and that will be another step towards improvement of the gender equality legislation and its realization in practice.