On March 30, 2021, Ekaterine Skhiladze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, attended a meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), where a thematic information document entitled „Gender-based Hate Crimes” was presented.

The document provides the definition of gender-based hate crime and reviews the ways of identifying and solving the problem.

During her speech, the Deputy Public Defender of Georgia spoke about the practices of violence against women, domestic violence and hate crimes against LGBT+ persons, the role of the Public Defender and the challenges identified in this direction. "The Public Defender of Georgia, as an equality body, pays special attention to achieving gender equality in the country. We examine the practices of discriminatory offences and in many cases, our recommendations bring systemic changes. Unfortunately, the rates of femicide and violence against LGBT+ people are still high in the country, whole distrust towards the law enforcement agencies often makes such cases unseen, which requires special attention from the State."

The meeting was attended by participants from 57 OSCE States, including representatives of international organizations, OSCE field operations, civil society, scientific community and human rights institutions.