Georgia – Third Party Intervention before the European Court of Human Rights, September 2024

Equality Now and the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre submitted a joint third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of M.D. v. Georgia. The case concerns allegations of insufficient and ineffective criminal investigation into the applicant’s claims of sexual assault. It further concerns the applicant’s alleged re-victimisation during the investigation.

What’s included in the submission?

The submission aims to: 

1. Analyse the shortcomings in the definitions of sexual violence crimes within Georgian law and identify challenges in enforcing these laws. 
2. Examine sexual violence as a crime of discrimination and the multiple layers of discrimination inherent in such cases, as well as explore how discrimination manifests in the mishandling of such cases by the authorities.

Who’s it for?

• The European Court for Human Rights
• Law and policymakers 
• Legal professionals
• Government institutions

Key recommendations

• It is submitted that inequality of treatment of women victims/survivors of gender-based violence and, in particular, sexual violence is intrinsic to this form of abuse. Female victims/survivors are attacked because they are women, and this form of abuse affects women disproportionately.
• It is submitted that there are at least two clear legal purposes for routinely examining Article 14 of the ECHR in this context:
  • Identifying and addressing the multiple layers of discrimination inherent in gender crimes and 
  • Exposing and remedying the impact of intersecting vulnerabilities that facilitate and perpetuate these crimes, where relevant.