Gov’t answers growing number of child sexual abuse cases with tightening laws

In the nine months of 2019, 152 individuals were prosecuted for sexual offenses, 114 of which included sexual offenses against a minor, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

As stated at the briefing by Nino Tsatsiashvili, Director of the Department of Human Rights Protection and Quality Monitoring at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the fight against sex crimes and the conduct of investigations with the victims ' interests in mind are of high priority for the MIA.

According to her, MIA has drafted a package of legislative amendments to tighten the Criminal Code against perpetrators of sex crimes against minors, ultimately aiming at preventing crime. The tightened regulations foresee depriving the perpetrators of certain liberties. For example, the offenders are forbidden from working in educational institutions after leaving the penitentiary facility, etc.

The MIA has drafted legislative changes, according to which rape of a minor will be punishable by life imprisonment.

There will also be a database of convicted sex offenders to monitor sex offenders and protect minors from potential sexual abuse. The Parliament of Georgia has already supported this draft with the first hearing. In addition to conducting an effective investigation, the Ministry of the Interior has prioritized investigations tailored to the interests of victims of sexual offenses.

The Ministry created a Witness and Victim Coordinating Service for this purpose. Coordinators work with young people who are survivors of sexual offenses to help them overcome the initial stresses by giving them the necessary resources after experiencing the abuse.

“In the first 9 months of 2019 (January-September), 306 cases of sexual offenses and inviolability were registered,” stated Tsatsiashvili. “[also in the first 9 months], 152 persons were charged with sexual offenses, of whom 114 were charged with sexual offenses against a minor, and the remaining 38 were charged with sexual offenses against an adult,” she added.

During the same period of 2018, 127 persons were charged with a criminal offense, of which 101 were charged with sexual offenses against a minor and the remaining 26 were charged with sexual offenses against an adult.

In the sexual offenses against minors, most cases involve lewd acts and sexual intercourse with those who have not attained the age of 16.

In the first 9 months of 2019, a total of 39 persons were convicted of lewd acts against minors, compared to the same period of 2018, when the number was only 16.

Compared to 2018, the number of minors and their parents and guardians who address the authorities in case of such violations has grown, according to MIA, indicating increased public awareness in this regard.

According to the data, the initiators of notification of the facts of lewd actions are: family member/parent - 53%; affected child - 8%; Social Service Agency - 6%; Resource Officer - 6%; school - 4%; a neighbor - 3%; childcare institutions - 1%; NGOs - 1% and others - 18%.

“We appeal to the public, parents of children and anyone aware of sex crimes against minors to report immediately to the police to respond promptly to the crime and to avoid the danger of a new crime being committed by the perpetrators,” said Tsatsiashvili.

While the proposed initiative is a positive development in the fight against sexual offenders and rape culture, it should be noted that the database of sex offenders should be public and available for parents for them to be able to identify the perpetrators.

As far as banning convicted sex offenders from working in educational institutions is concerned, the change is long overdue and begs a question on how was it possible to not include it in the law for so long.

Although tightening the punishment for offenders is an important step in the battle against such crimes, a comprehensive approach is still required to make a notable difference. Educating young people about their rights and sexual freedom should be the first step for them to have the skills and knowledge necessary to identify adult inappropriate behaviors. While the state and the church are strongly opposed to sexual education, it remains as one of the main tools to fight such crimes effectively. Many young girls are conditioned to believe, especially in Georgia, that they owe affection and love to adult family members and close family friends, blurring the line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior.