The present report is an assessment of the legal status of the LGBT+ group in Georgia. The following desk research also examines the LGBT+ community’s pre and post-pandemic situation. The study’s objective is to conduct an in-depth examination of the legal status and practices of LGBT+ people, to analyze, evaluate, and develop appropriate recommendations for the legislative environment, implementation effectiveness, and monitoring tools related to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) and homo/transphobic crime, with the goal of narrowing the gap between the legislative framework and the de facto situation.

The study and analysis of the international obligations assumed by the State of Georgia within the framework of the desk research include a reflection of the obligations directly assumed by Georgia as well as an overview of internationally established standards. To assess the status of compliance with national obligations, the report relies on public information from relevant agencies, as well as processing and analyzing the data received. On the other hand, the report conducts a thorough examination of national court decisions pertaining to a particular area of the state legislative framework (if any) and an analysis of commitments defined in state policy. Qualitative research is one of the study’s instruments; it entails focus groups and the processing/analysis of collected data. The focus group discussion was guided by a pre-designed questionnaire that incorporates several critical questions for each of the structure’s issues.

The report was prepared by the Public Defender's Office of Georgia, within the framework of UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality in Georgia, implemented by UN Women, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), funded by the Government of Sweden.