Issue of the single parent definition in the Georgian Civil Code

In the Georgian law, a single mother is defined as “a person, who has a child under the age of 18 outside marriage and if no record of the father of the child has been entered into the birth record of the child.” Unsurprisingly, this leaves out many women who raise children on their own but don’t fit this limited criteria. Even if they are given a single parent status, there aren’t many benefits they could make use of to guarantee their welfare.

The only social protection in place for single moms is penned out in the Tax Code of Georgia, according to which, single moms are free of income tax on “taxable income up to GEL 3 000 earned during a calendar year”. But, because of such a narrow definition of a single mom, most of them are unable to benefit even from this little privilege that the government offers them.

Single mothers — being women and being sole earners — face a double challenge. Due to possible difficulties reconciling work and family life, they have additional restraints to find good jobs. Women are more prone to entering more flexible, yet lower paid and less secure forms of work. The Georgian job market, which is mostly consisted with such jobs, creates a dangerous environment for single mothers who, even if able to work, rarely earn enough to support themselves and their child (children). This all leads to an increased risk of poverty and social exclusion of single mothers and their children. Parental poverty can have a strong impact on the personal development and education of children in the household, which can continue to affect them throughout their lifetime.

According to a recent study conducted by the Human Rights Development Fund (HRDF), by June 2017, only 1719 people held single parent status in Georgia but, in reality, their number is undoubtedly much higher.

After the definition of a single parent was added to the Civil Code in 2015, up until June 2017, there were 2794 children born with no record of a father on the birth certificate. But, as mentioned above, there were only 1719 people who had a single mother status.

Many single parents, like widows, divorced and those, whose children’s birth certificates provide information about the second parent, are left behind without the status, even if they raise a child alone. The fathers cannot get the status either, because the data about the mother is automatically written in the birth certificate of the child. The current laws don’t provide enough flexibility that guarantees that all single parents get equal legal and social guarantees.

In contrast to the Georgian legislation, EU law defines a lone parent “as a parent raising one or more dependent children, living without a partner in the same household”. In a recent study conducted by Population Europe, there are clear policy recommendations given to the EU states. For example: “Lone parenthood should always be defined in a way that all types of lone parents are included, regardless of their partnership status and the support provided by the other parent.” This recommendation clearly highlights where the Georgian law and the government fails lone parents and single mothers in particular. Already at a disadvantage, they are left on their own to provide financial stability for themselves and their children, which is hard enough for the general population, let alone for a woman facing a challenge of raising a child on her own. While the government turns a blind eye to the problems that single mothers face, there are people and groups working to make their problems visible. Women’s Voices is an initiative group that was founded by gender researchers, Ani Gogberashvili and Giga Karapetiani. They are researching the problems and needs that the single mothers of children with disabilities have in day-to-day life. They are aiming to cover all regions of Georgia. They have already conducted research in Tbilisi, Gori, Telavi, and Akhaltsikhe. They also shoot videos, where women talk about the important and problematic topics to them, which are many.

“Our hashtag is #ListenToMe, which is symbolic because we wanted to highlight that people have to listen not to us, but to those, who are directly affected by these problems. This is also why we decided to post videos of these women since research rarely surpasses the academia” – says Giga Karapetiani, a co-founder of the Women’s Voices.

The work of the Women’s Voices and other groups dedicated to the problems of single mothers is undeniably important, but they can only do so much. The Georgian government, with its relevant institutions, should take the issue more seriously and work on broadening the single parent concept within the law and provide more benefits that would guarantee their welfare. Especially, considering its aspiration to one day join the EU. If Georgia wants to be serious about its goals, having a good infrastructure on the surface is fruitless, it needs to tackle issues that real people face in real life every day.