May 2022 - Page 2

The Public Defender of Georgia has issued a statement on the occasion of the Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, stating that the purpose of this day is to “condemn violence and express solidarity with LGBT + people. However, LGBT + people and their supporters have not been able to celebrate this day publicly for years due to the risks of violence and the lack of state guarantees of protection. ”

The statement addressed the challenges facing the LGBTQI community and said that despite the increased visibility and the reduction of discriminatory sentiments, “this process is not accompanied by a coherent and thoughtful state policy. Moreover, state legal inaction encourages inequality against LGBT+ people in almost all areas of public life, fails to improve their quality of life and leaves them vulnerable to violence and discrimination.” In addition, the statement speaks about the shortcomings of timely, effective and accountable investigation of hate crimes and the lack of a unified state strategy in this regard.

The statement reiterated the events of July 5, 2021, “when leaders and other members of far-right groups directly and publicly called on the public to use violence against members of the LGBT+ community and their supporters.” On July 5, 2021, the day of the Pride March, law enforcement officers were unable to prevent a large-scale attack on journalists and human rights activists by these violent groups, resulting in a number of people being seriously injured.”

The Public Defender of Georgia called on the relevant state agencies and public figures to “effectively prevent and respond to alleged crimes against LGBT+ people and make public statements that will raise awareness of equality in society.”

The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, met to discuss the country’s Western course – judicial reform, the rule of law, and human rights challenges, including the protection of LGBTQ people.

Metsola and Gharibashvili posted information about the meeting on Twitter.

Had a chance to discuss ’s membership process w/ @EP_President. Submission of  Questionnaire during the recent geopolitical shifts stands as another confirmation of the irreversibility of  choice of  people. Grateful for @Europarl_EN‘s continuous support on this path. pic.twitter.com/tqCEPnQ3H6

— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) May 17, 2022

Irakli Gharibashvili wrote on his Twitter account that he had discussed the issue of Georgia’s EU membership with the President of the European Parliament and that “filling in the EU questionnaire during geopolitical changes is another confirmation of the Georgian people’s Western choice,” but did not comment on the issues discussed at the meeting.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, tweeted that “Georgia belongs to the European family” and that “judicial reform, the rule of law, media freedom, LGBTQI and human rights are crucial to the country’s European path.”

Metsola also noted that “they are unanimous in their support for Ukraine.”

Good meeting with Prime Minister of  @GharibashviliGe at @Europarl_EN.#Georgia belongs to the  family.

Reforms in judiciary, rule of law, media freedom, LGBTIQ+ and human rights remain crucial for the country’s European path.

We will remain united in our support to . pic.twitter.com/0voZLnSAAq

— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) May 17, 2022

Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics is conducting training on ethical coverage of gender and LGBTQ issues, which can be attended by media representatives working in Tbilisi.

On May 23-24, the training will be conducted by Khatia Ghoghoberidze, a journalist and a member of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics, and on May 26-27, the training will be conducted by Salome Ugulava, Editor-in-Chief of the Formula Digital Department of the TV company.

“What is gender-sensitive reporting, why is it important to work on these issues, what are the common forms of insensitive/harmful reporting, what does fair and balanced coverage mean, and what is the best experience in reporting violence against women and LGBT people?” , these are the topics discussed in the training.

The training for media representatives will be held at Frontline Georgia. Interested persons can register for the 2-day training at the link provided. The deadline for registration for the first training is May 21, 18:00, and for the second – May 24, 18:00.

The trainings are organised by the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics in cooperation with the United Nations Women (UN Women) against the project – Violence against Women and Girls, implemented by the United Nations Women and the United Nations Population Fund with the support of the European Union.

The Women’s Initiative Support Group (WISG) has published a new, large-scale research – from Prejudice to Equality, which is similar to the 2016 Survey on Public Awareness, Awareness and Attitudes Towards LGBTQI Community and Their Equal Rights. It includes information on changing public attitudes.

According to a new study based on a survey of different ethnic groups, public attitudes are changing for the better.

The number of people who think that LGBTQ people should be banned from freedom of assembly and expression is reduced by 25% to 53%, while 27.1% think that such a restriction is unacceptable. At the same time, the number of people who consider talking about LGBTQ equality issues as propaganda has decreased by 20.6%.

In addition, 38.6% of respondents believe that the state does not respond appropriately to crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), while 30.7% believe that the state responds appropriately. The public attitude towards the actions of the activists is still sharply negative, however, the improvement in this direction is also obvious and the negative attitude has been reduced by 20% to 56.8%. At the same time, the number of people who believe that if society does not loudly state that heterosexuality is the only correct form of relationship, the number of homosexuals will increase by 25.4%.

Gender researcher Ekaterine Agdgomelashvili said at the presentation that the study included questions about the most ingrained issues in society, including adoption and marriage. She said there had been an increase in the number of people who said they had difficulty answering a number of questions or refused to answer at all, possibly due to “a change in attitude towards openly expressing homophobic attitudes.”

28% of respondents do not consider homosexuality a disease, 23.2% considers it, and 33.8% find it difficult to answer or avoid it. Also, the number of people who believe that “there has always been and always is a negative attitude towards homosexuals” has decreased by 17.6% to 60.8%.

Opinions about gay/lesbian adoption and same-sex parenting were distributed as follows: 36.6% of respondents did not share the view that a child raised in a homosexual family would necessarily be homosexual; 15.2% had a neutral position, 31.2% agree with the provision; For gay and lesbian couples, the number of opponents of adoption decreased by 14%, while the number of supporters increased by 15%;

The percentage of opponents of gay marriage decreased by 15.4% to 74.6%, while the share of supporters increased by 5.6%.

Marriage-related questions included a widespread public belief that EU membership would legalise gay marriage. 73.5% of respondents do not consider legalising gay marriage as a precondition for joining the EU, which is 7.3% more than in 2016.

It should be noted that the number of people wishing to have closer relations with the EU has increased by 8% to 53%. At the same time, 77.7% of respondents want a closer or similar relationship with the EU, which is 21% more than in 2016. 76.3% of respondents want a closer (49.9%) or similar (26.4%) relationship with the US, which is 25.9% more than in 2016.

The attitude towards relations with Russia is almost unchanged, although the number of people wanting closer relations is reduced by 11% to 27.1%.

According to a 2016 study, there was no clear link between attitudes towards LGBTQ people and foreign policy, and according to 2021 data, this trend has also changed.

The study was prepared by the Women’s Initiative Support Group in the framework of the UN Joint Program on Gender Equality in Georgia, implemented by the United Nations Women, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Population Fund with the support of the Government of Sweden.

“I Used to Be a Homophobe” – is a new campaign launched by Tbilisi Pride. It allows people who used to hold negative attitudes and managed to put their homophobia behind them to share their changed viewpoints and attitudes.

The first participant of the campaign is a musician and a singer Tamriko Chokhonelidze. According to her, the time has come when she has finally re-evaluated everything and understood, that the main value that most people are not conscious of is the individual.

“We have heard it numerous times – allies and even LGBTQI+ community members themselves talking about how they used to be homophobic. That’s how the inspiration for this campaign was conceived. We think that it’s important to talk without any complex terminology, just sharing about our past, for the other members of the society to see that homophobia isn’t permanent: it changes, it is substituted with acceptance. This happens when, for example, we read more literature, hold friendships with queer people, appreciate and give feedback to ourselves.”

-Says Tbilisi Pride member Miko Shakhdinarian.

Anyone can share these stories with the hashtag  #მევიყავიჰომოფობი (#Iusedtobeahomophobe). Meanwhile, Tbilisi Pride will keep us updated with various new videos and stories.

According to the updated ILGA-Europe map, which shows the situation in Europe, in terms of LGBTQ rights and equality, Georgia ranks 34th out of 49 European countries.

On the 2021 map, Georgia was ranked 32nd in the LGBTQ rights ratio at 27%, and now, with a 25% index, the position has decreased by 2. Georgia has the highest coefficient of 53% in terms of equality and non-discrimination environment, followed by 50% access to free space for civil society, 26% in terms of hate crimes and hate speech, followed by marital status. Existing 11% index and 6% result in terms of legal recognition of gender.

It should be noted that Georgia’s neighbors – Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey share the last 4 places on the map of Europe. The last place with a coefficient of 2.41%, Azerbaijan is in the 49th place, Turkey is in the 48th place with a coefficient of 4%, Armenia is in the 47th place with 7.5%, and Russia is in the 46th place with an LGBT rights coefficient of 8.45 %.

Malta (92.02%), Denmark (73.78%), Belgium (71.51%), Norway (68.3%), Luxembourg (68.03%) are in the top ten in terms of LGBTQ rights and equality. Sweden (67.97%), France (64.18%), Montenegro (63.43%), Iceland (62.88%) and Portugal (62.03%).

At the same time, across Europe, the coefficient for the protection of LGBTQ rights and equality is 38%, while in the EU this index reaches 48%.

On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Tbilisi Pride, with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), organised a panel discussion – May 17: Memory and Perspectives.

The panel discussion brought together members of the LGBTQ community, representatives of local and international civil society organisations, activists, the diplomatic corps, media representatives and politicians. To discuss with the speakers the challenges facing Georgian queer people, infringements on the freedom of speech and assembly, years of experience with violence and LGBTQ achievements in the direction of human rights.

Tbilisi Pride live broadcast

MP Tariel Nakaidze delivered a speech about the situation of minorities, common oppression and mutual solidarity. According to Nakaidze, building a democratic country and a free environment without solidarity is difficult to imagine, which is especially important at a time when the state does not allow it.

“If we want to have a bright future, to live in a democratic country, in a free environment, first of all, we must be in solidarity with the people, regardless of their orientation or any distinctive sign. Unfortunately, we do not see any good treatment of any minority by our current government, it is difficult to find any hope, it is difficult to find a positive context, so different social groups should be even more in solidarity with each other at this time. The main value is the human being and we must have a clear, open and explicit position on the rights of the individual. It is necessary for more and more activists to be involved in the parliamentary processes, and I am personally ready to be the voice of the minorities, because it is necessary to start actively talking about taboo topics. It is difficult to say how much progress can be made in these conditions, but I think that the struggle always has a result and we must all stand together – politicians, society. The changes that have been achieved in the direction of citizens’ attitudes should be continued and everyone should play their role in this, including us, the parliamentarians, “Tariel Nakaidze said while talking to us.

MP Khatuna Samnidze believes that the main problem in politics is the fear of talking about LGBTQ issues, which makes it difficult to make progress.

“First of all, the fear of talking, discussing and relating to the community should be overcome in politics. LGBTQ issues are not part of politics, parliamentary work and I think this is the main problem. Politicians avoid working on similar topics and interacting with the community, which needs to change. Gaining equality is a long, tedious process that requires patience from the community and their supporters, and the state does not recognise the problem, which makes it difficult to make progress. Public sentiment is changing, as evidenced by opinion polls, and even if they aren’t accepting, many condemn the violence. However, more work is needed now to see the progress clearly, “- said Khatuna Samnidze.

Tbilisi Pride live broadcast

The Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, Ekaterine Skhiladze, spoke about the legal status of LGBTQ people and the attitudes of the society. Speaking to us, Skhiladze assessed the challenges facing the LGBTQ community and noted that the main problem is that LGBTQ issues are not part of state policy.

“The biggest challenge for the LGBTQ community today is that issues that are important to them are not part of state policy. Inconsistent state policies fail to address cases of discrimination or other important human rights issues. However, it is important to note that the celebration of May 17 was linked to violations of the right to assembly and expression. For years, community members and their supporters have not been able to celebrate this day in a free, safe space due to lack of state will.

Tbilisi Pride live broadcast

Journalist Khatia Ghoghoberidze, a member of the Council of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics, presented a report on the role of the media in overcoming homophobia and transphobia. She said the media should understand the role it plays in educating the public and try to provide information to the audience so that people can draw conclusions in favor of love and kindness.

“Representatives of the media provide information to the audience and we must work in such a way that the society draws conclusions not in favor of hatred and evil, but in favor of love and kindness, realising that people do not deserve hatred and exclusion. The media also has the role of educating the public, and if we follow the current trajectory of our society, we will not get the result we want our country, our future. Even the oppression of one person is the responsibility of any citizen who worries about the fate of the country. The role of the media is to increase the self-awareness of citizens, to directly call abusers abusers and not to refer to them as human rights defenders, which we have seen happen. People chasing people on the street were referred to by the media as human rights defenders. It is important to separate from each other and call everything by its name, it will definitely bring results. We have a small achievement, but it is necessary to go even further and, in addition to the information space, to better understand the background of hatred and stigma when working on comedy or entertainment programs, ”said Khatia Ghoghoberidze, speaking about the role of the media.

Among the speakers of the panel discussion was also a gender and human rights researcher, activist, Levan Berianidze, who spoke about the history of May 17, the achievements and challenges in the field of visibility policy. Nino Bolkvadze, Director of Equality 17, spoke about the importance of freedom of assembly and expression, as well as the decisions of the European Court.

During the panel discussion, the Public Defender of Georgia, Nino Lomjaria, the Deputy Director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Office in Georgia, Teona Kufunia, and the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to Georgia, Nick Beresford addressed the audience.

The concluding part of the panel discussion was in a question-and-answer format, during which the speakers discussed with the audience the challenges that the LGBTQ community has today and the plans for progress towards equality.

Today, in three cities of Georgia – Tbilisi, Zugdidi and Batumi, a performance to protect the lives of women – Your Silence Kills! – will be held.

On May 21, on public transport, the husband killed his wife in front of their children. “People who are extremely shocked by this tragic fact are planning to speak out against the brutal series of murders of women, to defend the fundamental and inviolable right to life of women.”

The Rally/performance planned in three cities will be held on May 22: in Zugdidi the rally will be held at 15:00 at the Skate Park, in front of the Philharmonic Hall in Tbilisi at 18:00, and in Batumi at the main entrance of the May 6 Park at 18:00.

The organizers of the action-performance are Cognitive Center of Georgia, Women’s Association – Gvirila and Femina.

At the plenary session of the parliament, members of Parliament – Khatuna Samnidze, Mikheil Sarjveladze and Beka Liluashvili spoke about cases of violence against women and called on the government to take effective measures.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Mikheil Sarjveladze, in his speech also commented on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on May 17 and noted: “This day should remind every member of our society that one cannot hate people and express this hatred toward people who are simply different from them. It is all the more unacceptable to have to prove the existence of these people’s rights and talk about the need to protect them from vandalism.”

Sarjveladze also mentioned the murder of the woman on public transport on May 21 and the case of a woman injured at a bus stop on May 23 and noted: “Such horrendous and mortifying facts should make us think about what we could have done and didn’t do to avoid such facts… We should work tenfold to end femicide and violence toward women in our country, where this problem has already been deeply rooted.”

Khatuna Samnidze, a member of the United National Movement, noted that the war, to which the Georgian Dream does not pay attention, has claimed the lives of two women in recent days.

“The country does not have a human rights action plan. According to recent statistics, the number of restraining orders has been reduced and the court is canceling the issued orders. All this is reflected in the fact that the country has seen the worst tragedy. Violence against women is a constant, endless war of this country. Instead of the Georgian Dream, the government, politicians taking special measures, at least making a statement, the government is busy with its propaganda – making it seem as if everything is the opposition’s fault in this country. I would like to remind the Georgian Dream once again that this is a long-lasting war, women are dying in this country. You should have a position on femicide and there should be special measures, awareness programs, a human rights action plan.” – says Khatuna Samnidze.

Beka Liluashvili, a member of the majority, also commented on the violence against women, talking about the difficult situation of women’s safety during the pandemic and calling on the authorities to use all political platforms and support to reduce violence against women.

On Friday, Romanian human rights groups condemned a Senate-approved bill banning so-called “gay propaganda” in schools. They noted that this is a direct legitimation of discrimination against the LGBTQ community, which reflects the current reality of Hungary and Russia.

The groups called on the lower house of parliament, which has the final say, to reject the bill. The bill bans the use of materials promoting homosexuality and gender reassignment in schools.

Several Hungarian MPs from the Junior Ruling Coalition Party, who were the initiators of the bill, said it would help prevent violence against children. This was sharply criticised by the European Commission and the case went to court.

“Censorship in the Budapest education system should not be repeated in Bucharest, Romania should refrain from illiberal propaganda, which is strictly controlled by the European Union. Censorship of sexual orientation and gender identity information is a disgrace to Romania, so the lower house should support an end to incitement to discrimination,” said ACCEPT, an LGBTQ rights group.

ACCEPT and local LGBTQ rights group MozaiQ fear that the changes will lead to censorship of films and news about the LGBTQ community and restrictions on public marches and events.