The Parliament of Georgia has initiated a draft law “on Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Violence against Women and / or Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance to Victims of Violence.”
According to the draft law, a new concept of Intimate Partner is added to the category of family members in the Law on Violence. As for the current preventive mechanisms – restraining and protective orders apply only to family members.
According to the draft law, Intimate Partners are those that are not/have not been in a registered married, do not/have not had a shared family business, but are in an intimate relationship, which includes romantic/sexual relationship.
Romantic and sexual relationship is defined as following:
“in a romantic relationship the couple/partners have (or have had) regular contact, an emotional connection. The individuals are characterized with an identity of a couple, have information on each other’s lives, have physical and/or sexual contact. Those individuals that do not have a romantic relationship but are in an intimate relationship are also considered to be intimate partners.”
The amendment is related to the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, which states that Domestic Violence means all acts of physical, psychological, sexual or economic violence that take place in the family or in the home, between ex or current spouses or partners, regardless of whether the offender lives with the victim.
“By adding intimate partners to the concept of a family member, we provide protection and support to those who do not fall within the scope of the current low, and thus we come closer to the norms of the Istanbul Convention.” – reads the explanatory note.
Additionally, support service prerequisites, including victim status required for shelters, are abolished and municipalities are empowered to participate in both preventive and victim protection measures for violence against women and domestic violence.
The authors of the initiative are Nino Tsilosani, Khatuna Kvitsiani, Mikheil Sarjveladze, Nino Iobashvili, Teona Akubardia, Ramina Beradze and Rati Ionatamishvili.
