Experts discuss prevention and monitoring of femicide at a conference
By Levan Abramishvili
Thursday, December 12
The term “femicide” was coined just over four decades ago by Diana Russell. The main aim of creating a name for sex-based hate crime was to “mobilize against something that had been invisible thus far”. The term quickly gained recognition amongst the social sciences, since the issue was so prevalent all over the world.
A Conference held on December 11 with the support of the Public Defender of Georgia and the UN Women focused on femicide prevention and monitoring. The goal of the conference was to address the systemic issue and the most extreme form of killing of women.
Welcome speeches were delivered at the conference by Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjaria, first UN Women Representative in Georgia Erika Kvapilova, and Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia Natia Mezvrishvili.
Biljana Brankovic, a member of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), spoke about the importance of monitoring the cases of femicide, the international scope of the problem of femicide and preventive measures.
Representatives from various governmental agencies responsible for human rights monitoring and protection delivered speeches at the conference. The main findings of the study were presented by expert Giorgi Gotsiridze.
Femicide is an acute problem within the Georgian society and the statistics from the Prosecutor’s Office make it clear on how widespread the nature of the phenomenon is.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, 135 killings of women were reported in 2014-2018 (3 of the victims were led to suicide), 64 of which showed signs of domestic offence (2 victims were led to suicide); other motives were identified in 71 cases (one victim was led suicide).
In the same years, there were 69 attempted murders (5 of the victims were led to attempted suicide), 46 of which contained sings of domestic offence (5 women were led to attempted suicide); other motives were identified in 23 cases.
According to the 10-month (January-October) statistics of 2019, 16 murders of women were reported (one of the victims was led to suicide), 9 of which showed signs of domestic offence (one of the women was led to suicide by her husband); other motives were identified in 7 cases. According to the 10-month data of 2019, there were 16 attempted murders of women. Signs of domestic offence were identified in 12 cases, while other motives were identified in the rest 4 cases.
Given the broad range of measures introduced in Georgia to counter gender-based violence that has contributed to a significant increase in disclosures of violence against women in recent years, progress in cases of sexual violence remains considerably lagging.
According to the UN Women/EU National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia conducted in 2017, 6% of ever-partnered women aged 15-64 had experienced at least one act of physical or sexual violence, or both, by a male intimate partner in their lifetime.
Despite these figures, which paint only a partial picture of the actual scale of the problem, only eight such cases made it to the courts in 2018, up from five cases in 2017. Addressing gender-based violence in any stage and raising awareness on these issues could be the first preventive steps to counter femicide.
According to the study findings, due to the lack of consistent statistical methodology, the statistical data of different agencies on gender-related killings of women are often inconsistent or different from each other, rendering collaboration between agencies more difficult.
The study does not represent the findings of quantitative research in the context of the above, and the statistical information found in it was derived from the information requested from the courts.
The report’s key findings show that it is still problematic for the court to assess a case as femicide or attempted femicide. Even when gender motives are identified, this is not reflected in aggravating circumstances of the punishment.
“Accordingly, it is important for the Prosecutor's Office to take appropriate measures to identify gender motives in the murders or attempted murders of woman,” says the study.
In the final part of the conference, the Public Defender of Georgia summarized the key issues of the conference. According to her, despite the decline in the rates of femicide, complex efforts are important during the examination of cases to address systemic shortcomings.
The meeting was attended by representatives of state agencies, international and local organizations, as well as international missions accredited in Georgia.