The government of Georgia is planning to introduce an electronic surveillance system for those accused of domestic violence. This was stated today by Deputy Minister of internal Affairs of Georgia Nino Tsatsiashvili, speaking in Parliament.

Family violence is one of the most common crimes in Georgia. The victims of such crimes are most often women.

In the first reading, the Parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the law "on violence against women or suppression of domestic violence, protection and assistance to victims of violence".

"Every member of society should be well aware of their responsibility to prevent family violence and violence against women," Tsatsiashvili said.

The draft amendments, initiated by the Ministry of internal Affairs, provide for the enforcement of a restraining order by electronic supervision of a person accused of domestic violence. The authors of the initiative believe that this innovation will help protect women who have already become victims. Thanks to electronic bracelets, law enforcement officers will be able to instantly receive information about the approach of a rapist to them.

The Ministry of internal Affairs proposes to establish electronic surveillance both at the time of issuance and during the entire period of validity of the restrictive order. When making this decision, the police will take into account several circumstances: the presence of criminal records for a family crime, the use of cold or firearms in the Commission of domestic violence, and so on.

The decision to wear an electronic bracelet will also have to be approved by the court. Failure to comply with the supervision obligations or willful evasion of it will be considered a violation of the requirements provided for by the restrictive order. This may result in criminal liability.

In addition, the bill expands the definition of "family member". According to it, family members are also considered to be persons who in the past were in a civil marriage, or were under guardianship.

The protective order will be issued for a period of up to nine months, instead of six, and its validity will be determined by the court.

The project to introduce an electronic surveillance system is being implemented with the active participation and support of the European Union and UN women.

Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia called on all residents of the country, especially men, to unite in the fight against violence against women and join the social campaign. According to him, it is important that such facts are publicly condemned by all departments of the country.

In Georgia, domestic violence remains one of the most common crimes. In 2019, more than 6 thousand such cases were registered. In 2018, the interior Ministry registered 5,600 crimes committed by one family member against another.

Since 2014, family violence has been included in a separate article in the Criminal code of Georgia. This is an aggravating circumstance when considering a particular case. The Georgian authorities decided to tighten the legislation after a wave of murders based on family conflicts. In 2014, 14 people were killed in a family dispute.

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