How must the state fight against domestic violence and can strict punishments serve as the solution? One part of non-governmental organizations and the state could not agree about this issue.
Georgian Parliament has a bill about domestic violence. One part of the group, working about bills, wanted to change or annul 126th prime article, after which criminal liability is determined as a punishment for domestic violence. Finally, it was decided, that this article in the law won’t be changed.
In June 2012, 126th prime article has been added to Georgian Criminal Code, what implies the violence of one family member against another, systematic insult, blackmail, humiliation, which has caused physical pain or suffer. The crime is punished by community service from 80 to 150 hours, and if the same action is committed repeatedly, in the presence of a juvenile, pregnant woman, also against two or more persons, the sanction is community service from 100 to 200 hours, limitation of liberty up to one year, or deprivation of liberty up to one year. By this change, the sanction for domestic violence has been tightened. Before it, domestic violence issues were regulated by the law about “ Eradication of domestic violence, protection and help of domestic violence victims “ of 2006.
The lawyer, Koba Bochorishvili has been working on the bill about domestic violence. In the interview with “Netgazeti”, he tells, that 126th prime article has to be annulled or changed, because it covers the law about “Eradication of domestic violence, protection and help of domestic violence victims” .
The law about domestic violence, which entered into force in 2006, is preventive and determines , what kind of actions can be considered as violence.
By this law, in the case of physical violence, a person will be punished under criminal law; if there is economical violence-by Civil code, and in the case of psychological or other violence- law enforcements have to use different punishments.
One of such sanctions, is restraining order issued by a policeman. This act defines temporal measures of domestic violence victim’s protection and is presented to the court for issuing protecting order.
The lawyer, Koba Bochorishvili, tells that for victims’ interests, it’s better to use such less strict sanctions. In addition, this gives the opportunity for family members to continue relations after solving this conflict.
As Koba Bochorishvili tells, 126th prime article of Criminal Code caused a problem – which has to be used about concrete issues: Criminal Code or the law about domestic violence. After this article, psychological violence is a criminal offence, what means that in the cases of a juvenile or another family member, he/she will be punished by Criminal Code.
The director of the Fund of trafficking victims and the protection and help of victims welcomes 126th prime article and is against it’s annulations. There is a shelter of domestic violence victims on the basis of this fund.
“This was a step forward, because the criminalization of domestic violence means , that the state doesn’t consider domestic violence as a private action and defines it as a criminal crime. We hear every day about domestic conflicts, murders or injuries, and so, this article has been a recognition of the problem from the state.
My position has been strong in the group, working about the bill of domestic violence, because I am working about these issues for a very long time and 126th prime article has been a step forward in the field of fighting domestic violence”- tells Mari Meskhi.
She doesn’t agree the argument, that the sides of domestic violence must not be punished equally and this worsens victims’ situation.
As one part of specialists thinks, the law about domestic violence gives enough opportunities for the state to handle domestic violence with less strict mechanisms.
Other part thinks, that after tightening the law, the work about domestic violence issues has become easier, because criminal investigations have been begun about such facts. Before the entering into force of 126th prime article, the conflict had to be adequately evaluated.
After the official information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 1 January 2011 until 1 April 2012, the patrol police has received 3850 reports about domestic violence, and the policemen have used restraining order only about 275 of them.
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