Only Specialized Prosecutors Will Investigate Domestic Violence
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, March 9
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has announced that not all law enforcers and the Prosecutor’s Office staff will have a right to investigate the cases of domestic violence, as the issue has been declared as the state priority to fight against.
Starting from May 1, 2018, only trained investigators and prosecutors will be able to hold investigation, prosecution on domestic violence and the criminal offenses related to such violence.
"Only specialized investigators and prosecutors, who have undergone a special training course in terms of international legal acts, internal legislation and psychology, will be able to hold investigation, prosecution on domestic violence,” the Prosecutor’s Office reported.
The body stated that the effective use of legal mechanism against domestic crime, as well as planning and implementation of measures to prevent the crime is one of the priorities and the strategic directions of the Prosecutor's Office.
Only in 2017, 22 cases of femicide were reported.
The most recent survey by the United Nations reads that 31 percent of men and 22 percent of women in Georgia justify beating women.
The law enforcement agencies claim that addressing domestic violence victims has increased.
The Deputy Interior Minister Nino Javakhadze claimed that in 2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued 3,137 restrictive orders on domestic violence. In 2016, 2,910 orders were issued.
The data of restrictive orders since 2013 is as follows: 2013 – 227 orders, 2014 – 817, 2015 – 2.598, 2016 – 2.877 and 2017 [as of October] – 3.137.
The opposition and the civil sector believe that together with changes in the law the government of Georgia must take further steps to raise the people’s awareness about domestic violence.
