2018-04-25
Through partnership between the Interagency Commission on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the 21th Century Union, and UNFPA, the Interfaith Dialogue on the Prevention of Violence against Women was held to feature the results of studies of violence against women and malpractice.
The participants of the conference included the Georgian Prime Minister's Human Rights and Gender Assistant Sopo Japaridze, members of the Interfaith Council, and representatives of the country's legislative and executive bodies, international and local organizations, and the diplomatic corps.
According to the Prime Minister's Assistant, such events to enhance cooperation and the engagement of religious unions in the elimination of violence against women and malpractice.
According to Sopo Japaridze, eliminating violence against women and domestic violence is the state's priority.
"To this end, various important steps have been taken lately at the level of both legislative and executive. In 2017, Georgia ratified the Council of Europe's Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Consequently, to align with international standards, numerous important amendments were made, notably the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Eliminating Domestic Violence and Protecting and Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence, which enhanced the scope of the law's application. Today, the law applies to violence outside family. The new regulations allow for using restraining and protective orders in every case identified as violence against women, and these orders no longer have to be court-ordered to come into force. New crimes were added to the Criminal Code, such as female genital mutilation, stalking, and coerced sterilization," Sopo Japaridze stated.