Human rights defenders point to increased aggression against LGBT people in Georgia

After the self-isolation regime had been imposed in Georgia, LGBT people found themselves in distress: many of them lost their jobs, lost their housing, and fell victim to domestic violence, rights defenders claim.

On June 25, at a session of the country's parliament, Georgian Ombudsman Nino Lomdjariya delivered a report on the human rights situation in the republic and the rights of LGBT people in particular. The Ombudsperson claims that members of the LGBT community are not protected in any area.

In Georgia, LGBT people are denied rental housing: owners usually explain their refusals by formal arguments, but in fact, the reason lies in discrimination. Over the past year, far-right forces have intensified with the goal of fighting LGBT people.

According to Alla Parunova, an activist of the "Equality Movement", the quarantine imposed because of the coronavirus epidemic intensified the problems of the LGBT community. During the coronavirus epidemic, most LGBT people lost their jobs and could not get help from the authorities, because they worked without employment contracts. The self-isolation intensified homophobia. "For that reason, because of homophobia, the number of cases of domestic violence has increased," Alla Parunova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Victims prefer not to file complaints to the police, because law enforcers often treat them in the negative way, the human rights defender notes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 26, 2020 at 12:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.