AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE

Sunday, September 24, 2006

(New York) -- Tens of thousands of women in Georgia are hit, beaten, raped and in some cases even killed by their husbands or partners, while perpetrators usually go unpunished, Amnesty International said in a new report today. The group says that the recent adoption of legislation on domestic violence is an important step forward, but that authorities must exercise strong political will to bring change.

"Women in Georgia suffer incredible violence in their own homes, violence that persists due to widespread impunity," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "It's the government's responsibility to end this scourge. There are signs of progress, but we'll be watching closely."

The 28-page report, Georgia: Thousands suffering in silence: Violence against women in the family, outlines:

• the widespread impunity of perpetrators of domestic violence in Georgia;
• the insufficient measures and services to protect the victims of domestic violence, such as a deficiency in temporary shelters and adequate, safe housing;
• the absence of a functioning cross-referral system with regard to domestic violence cases between different agencies such as health workers, crisis centers, legal aid centers, and law enforcement authorities; and
• the lack of mandatory government training programs for police, procurators, judges and medical staff.

The report includes testimonies of women who have survived domestic violence and who prefer to keep their anonymity for fear of reprisal and social ostracism. "Nino" married when she was 17; her husband forced her to give up her studies in a music school, forbade her to meet her friends, controlled her every move and never gave her money to spend. "Nino" was hospitalized twice after being beaten by her husband. She never called the police because she was afraid that her husband would beat her more. She could not leave him because she had nowhere to go with her three children and was economically dependent on him; her 20-year ordeal ended when her husband left her for another woman whom he now beats.

A very small percentage of women in Georgia seek help and justice after suffering violence. Many stay with their partners because they have nowhere else to go; currently there are only two shelters in all of Georgia, both run by NGOs. Police have sometimes not responded to complaints of violence, and women who do go to the police are often beaten again by their husbands or partners.

Domestic law presents a further hurdle to fighting impunity. If a woman sustains serious injuries, the state is obliged to open a criminal case. However, for crimes such as "premeditated infliction of minor damage to health" and "beatings" the state does not initiate prosecutions -- the abuse survivor has to file a complaint herself in order to obtain justice. These laws put survivors of domestic violence at further risk because batterers often pressure women to drop their cases.

"The United States should pressure this ally to prioritize taking action to help bring domestic violence to an end," said Maureen Greenwood-Basken, AIUSA Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia. Greenwood-Basken said that the U.S.'s responsibilities went further, too. "The Bush administration's new foreign assistance framework must address the human rights of women and, in particular, create a global plan to combat domestic violence and hold individual governments accountable."

In May 2006 the Georgian parliament adopted the country?s first domestic violence law, which was drafted following extensive consultation with NGOs. It introduces a definition of domestic violence into Georgian legislation and provides a legal basis for the issuance of protection and restraint orders. It also stipulated that a national action plan on domestic violence should be approved within four months after the law's publication, and this plan is expected soon.

Still, Amnesty International is concerned that past government programs regarding domestic violence -- such as the National Action Plan for Combating Violence Against Women (2000-2005) -- were not implemented successfully. The group called for the world community to urge Georgian leaders to demonstrate strong political will in quelling domestic violence.

Today's report is part of a series of studies as part of Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign.

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Read the report, Georgia: Thousands suffering in silence: Violence against women in the family »

Contact: Wende Gozan, 212/633-4247 or Ben Somberg, 212/633-4268

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