On March 8, 2024, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia Irine Chikhladze participated in a seminar held by the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality - "Strengthening the Participation of Women in the Process of Civil Integration", which was attended by social workers and female doctors from the regions densely populated by ethnic minorities - Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti.

While delivering a speech, Irine Chikhladze introduced the mandate of the Public Defender and the activities of the Office in response to the challenges existing in terms of gender inequality in the country.

Speaking about the barriers faced by women representing ethnic minorities, the Deputy Public Defender referred to the insufficient efforts made to eliminate gender violence and child marriage, shortcomings of ongoing investigations in the mentioned areas, low accessibility of health care and other services, which to some extent is aggravated by the lack of knowledge of the official language.

She emphasized the need to eliminate stereotypical views and the importance of involving women in the process of civil integration for achieving this goal.

She also spoke about the information meetings held in all regions of Georgia by the representatives of the Public Defender in order to raise awareness, which, on the one hand, allow the Office to learn about the rights situation and needs of women and girls living in the municipalities, and on the other hand, provide the latter with information on the services available in the country, such as the protection and assistance mechanisms relating to women's economic empowerment, violence against women and domestic violence.

"Information meetings are an example of good practice, since the Public Defender's Office is more and more frequently applied relating to various rights violations by people living in the regions, which indicates trust towards the Office," said the Deputy Public Defender, adding that the Public Defender is always ready to cooperate with all branches of government, non-governmental sector, relevant experts and stakeholders in order to achieve gender equality, empower women and protect their rights.

The seminar was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).