On March 28, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee with a proposal with regard to the fulfillment of obligations under the Istanbul Convention concerning sexual harassment and demanded settlement of the issue by the legislation.

It is indicated in the proposal that sexual harassment is one of the common and covered forms of sex discrimination, which prevents women from equally participating in the public life, developing professional skills and enjoying the opportunity of working in an environment free from discrimination.

The motive for the preparation of the proposal was the fact that sexual harassment, both in the workplace and public space, is beyond the legislative regulation despite the fact that Georgia, by signing the Council of Europe Convention on preventingand combatingviolence against women and domestic violence, undertook an obligation to impose criminal or other sanction against sexual harassment and to make the offence punishable.

Accordingly, the Public Defender considers it appropriate to effectively amend the legislative acts such as the Code of Administrative Offences and the Law on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination.