Georgian women demand protection from sexual harassment

In Batumi, a schoolgirl from one of the public schools has complained to a school marshal about being sexually harassed by her teacher. According to the schoolgirl from the eleventh form, the sexual harassment took place during additional lessons.

The report of the schoolgirl from Batumi has got resonance in Georgia against the background of a series of stories about sexual harassment, made public by Georgian women in social networks as part of the international campaign #metoo against sexual violence.

Georgian women actively supported the campaign. So, on October 26, Mari Kurtanidze, a member of the women's organization "Sapari" (Shelter), accused her former teacher of sexual harassment by appealing to him with an open letter. According to Mari Kurtanidze, when she was a senior schoolgirl, she was subjected to harassment by her teacher when he gave her additional lessons three times a week.

Under the Georgian laws, it is very difficult for a victim of sexual harassment to prove the case, noted the "Georgian Young Lawyers' Association" (GYLA). At present, the problem of sexual harassment is written in different laws, such as the Law on gender equality or the Anti-discrimination Law. However, the laws provide no specific punishment for sexual harassment, for example, imprisonment, fine or other form of punishment.

Baiya Pataraiya, a member of the "Women's Movement" and the leader of the "Sapari", has reported that on October 24, activists appealed to the chair of the Parliament with a petition demanding to introduce into the legislation an article providing prosecution for sexual harassment.

According to "Sapari", the petition was signed by 1000 women.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.