Violence reports rise as public attitudes towards domestic violence shift in Georgia
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In recent years, the disclosure of domestic violence cases has dramatically increased in Georgia. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, it actually doubled in 2015, while the number of restraining orders issued increased from 227 in 2013 to 2,598 in 2015.
This increase is largely attributed to a significant shift in public attitudes towards domestic violence: this problem used to be perceived as a “family issue” (78.3 per cent in 2009), where victims or their relatives were reluctant to report it to the relevant agencies, even in quite extreme cases - but now this attitude has changed. According to a UN Women study on the perceptions of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Tbilisi, Kakheti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (2013), only 25 per cent now believe that domestic violence is a family matter, while 69 per cent believe domestic violence is a crime.
Nowadays, there are more people appealing to law enforcement bodies with domestic violence problems, as well as people who benefit from State services.
For example, the emergency management centre “112” received 5,447 calls about domestic conflicts in 2013. Out of these calls, 212 cases resulted in restraining orders being issued. While in 2014, the hotline “112” received over 10,000 calls about domestic violence resulting in 817 restraining orders.
Read the full story at: http://georgia.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/02/public-attitudes-towards-domestic-violence-in-georgia---trends-at-a-glance