LGBTI rights is a very sensitive topic in Georgia.
The Georgian Orthodox Church considers homosexuality as an illness or a sign of perversion. More than 80% of Georgians support the Church and believe that the Patriarch is a direct representative of God. In addition, the country’s increasingly violent far right political groups claim Georgian “masculinity” as a sign of patriotism. As a consequence, LGBTI people have trouble finding space in Georgian society.
According to Georgia’s LGBTI Civil Society Organizations, the government is doing nothing to improve their situation. To the contrary, state institutions turn a blind eye to acts of violence and downplay the existence of discrimination in the country.
Unexpectedly, Georgian Foreign Ministry officials mentioned “sexual rights” and noted the problem of discrimination and hate crimes against LGBTI people. According to one Georgian diplomat, these hideous events are part of a wider Russian hybrid war and disinformation campaign against the country. Moscow seeks to spark violence by Georgia’s far-right movements through a patriotic, anti-Western, anti-LGBTI narrative.
In Georgia’s parliament, we met Dimitri Tsikitishvili and Guguli Magradze, members of the Council for Gender Equality. Both of them acknowledged the existence of discrimination against LGBTI people and he occurrence of violence against them. They pointed to signs of progress, including the Anti-Discrimination law that was passed in 2014, the creation of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the role of the Defender of the People in protecting the community.
At the same time, both politicians tended to believe that the combination of Russian influence and Georgia’s conservative and religious society impede stronger measures by the government. These conditions are deeply rooted and unlikely to change quickly.
For now, additional policy changes to protect one of Georgia’s most vulnerable groups are unlikely, as they would require elected leaders to take considerable political risks. But parliamentary elections are around the corner, and perhaps a reformed system of representation will open the door to greater social change.
-- Cecilia O., Cohort 4