15 April 2018, 08:33
Georgian rights defenders call on to toughen punishment for beating women in family
In Georgia, policemen often fail to react to domestic violence; women themselves tend to silence the problem; and the law is weakly defending them. This was stated by rights defenders, who have urged the parliament to adopt amendments to the law on protecting victims of domestic violence. The urgency of this problem for the Caucasus was confirmed by the recent brutal murder of a Chechen girl in Khasavyurt.
The proposed amendments will introduce a ban to approach the victim and restrict the rights of perpetrators to bear and keep weapons.
Elena Fileeva, an activist of the NGO "Article 42 of the Constitution", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that a man from Tbilisi had beaten up his wife and five children for years. The woman was forced to marry him after the rape. She appealed to rights defenders, who sent a complaint to the UN in 2009.
Sexual harassment is a widespread problem in Georgia, but its victims cannot go to court, Tamar Dekanosidze from the Association of Young Lawyers has stated.
One of the women told anonymously that her neighbours knew that she was beaten up by her husband, but did not interfere.
Another respondent told that she grew up in a family where the divorce was banned; and it was believed that the woman should withstand beatings for the sake of preserving the family.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Inna Kukudjanova; Source: CK correspondent
