Country Profile Georgia

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national women’s helpline in Georgia which is free of charge, operates 24/7 and provides multilingual support. There are six women-only shelters in Georgia, three of which are run by the state and three by women’s NGOs. There are also 10 women’s crisis centres which are available to all survivors of violence. There are no specialised services for survivors of sexualised violence in the country, however, state-run crisis centres and shelters support survivors of sexualised violence. There is a National Action Plan on violence against women and girls in Georgia, which includes specific provisions on the primary prevention on violence against women, however, there is no specific budget allocated to such activities. The state does collect data on women’s specialist services, including primary prevention activities, and this data is publicly available. The State Welfare Agency, responsible for overseeing shelters and crisis centres, compiles statistics related to the usage of these services. Additionally, separate statistics are gathered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (some information is publicly available), the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Social Agency.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national women’s helpline in Georgia called the LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking (სახელმწიფო ზრუნვისა და ტრეფიკინგის მსხვერპლთა, დაზარალებულთა დახმარების სააგენტო, tel.: 116 006). The helpline is free of charge, operates 24/7 and offers multilingual support in Georgian, English, Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Persian and Arabic. Georgia, therefore, does meet the Istanbul Convention minimum standards for the provision of a national women’s helpline. The helpline is funded by the state as well as through international funding. In 2024, the helpline received 4,762 calls. The most common forms of violence reported by callers were domestic, physical and psychological violence. There are other helplines supporting women survivors of violence in Georgia, including five helplines run by local women’s NGOs.

There are six women-only shelters in Georgia, all of which offer 24/7 access, but the number of beds is not available. Since 2022, three shelters had to close. Women are not expected to pay for their accommodation during their stay in a women-only shelter. The average length of stay in the women-only shelters is three to six months, although women can stay more than one year if needed. The maximum length of stay in a state-run shelter is nine months, while accommodation at the shelters run by women NGOs is more flexible. The types of in-house services most often provided by women-only shelters are counselling/psychological support, legal advice and practical advice.

Some women-only shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, homeless women, women with physical, cognitive or sensory disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, older women (65 years and above), transgender women, women with older sons (14 years and above), women with children with disabilities and unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. There are no specialised shelters supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors or those at risk of specific forms of violence in Georgia.
Funding for women-only shelters comes from the state as well as through international funding. Three women-only shelters are run by the state and three are run by NGOs. The shelters are located in major cities in Georgia. The main reason why women-only shelters had to decline referrals was that they were inadequately equipped for the needs of the women/children. In 2024, the most common forms of violence reported by survivors to the women-only shelters were domestic, physical and psychological violence.

There are no other shelters in Georgia, besides the women-only shelters, that can provide support to survivors of violence.

There are 10 women’s crisis centres in Georgia for all survivors of violence, including women. All centres offer counselling/psychological support, legal advice, housing and employment advice, referrals/collaborations with other services, representation at court/police/social services and residential support services. All centres also provide specialised support for survivors of sexualised violence such as needs assessment, specialist psychological care and legal advice.

Some women centres can be accessed by and are accessible to refugee women, women with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities and older women (65 years and above). Additionally, some women’s centres can support survivors (at risk) of forced marriage. There are no specialised women’s centres supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors or those at risk of specific forms of violence.

Women’s centres are located only in major cities. Seven women’s crisis centres are run by the state and three by women’s NGOs. They are funded by the state as well as through donations and international funding.

There are no specialised services for women survivors of sexualised violence in Georgia. However, legal counselling and survivor needs assessments are provided by all state-run women’s crisis centres and shelters.

Public authorities in Georgia collect data on primary prevention activities. There is a National Action Plan (NAP) on violence against women and girls, the National Action Plan on Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence and Measures to be implemented for the Protection of Victims 2022-2024, which includes a specific definition of primary prevention. The National Action Plan was developed by the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence with UN Women technical and financial support within the framework of the “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Georgia (EVAWGG)” programme. The programme is funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Available primary prevention activities include awareness-raising campaigns and programmes. There is no specific budget allocated to primary prevention activities.