Public Defender Addresses Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning Ineffective Response to Cases of Domestic Violence
On August 16, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia with a recommendation with regard to ineffective response to two cases of domestic violence.
One of the cases concerns violence committed by family members against S.S. The applicant complained about physical, psychological and economic violence and claimed that she was threatened to be killed, of which police had been informed. The study of the case revealed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia only superficially studied the case; it also utterly ignored the restrainingand protective orders issued by the court and did not carry out further monitoring, due to which the orders lost sense and the violence could not be eliminated.
The second case concerns systematic domestic violence committed by G.I. In this case, police officers found it difficult to identify economic violence and threats. As a result of the examination of the case, it was established that police used only mechanisms of protection, which could not ensure the safety of the family members due to the inconsistent nature of the mechanisms.
The Public Defender of Georgia requested a thorough study of the cases and implementation of effective measures to protect the family members. At the same time, the Ministry was requested to timely and fully provide information to the Public Defender about the cases of domestic violence and violence against women, as delayed and incomplete information often hampers effective response to the cases of violence.
The Public Defender of Georgia hopes that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia will react to the mentioned cases in a timely manner.