MONITORING REPORT ON SERVICE CENTERS (SHELTERS) FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TRAFFICKING PUBLIC DEFENDER OF GEORGIA 2020 UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality. The report was prepared with the financial support of the Swedish government within the framework of the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality in Georgia. 1 Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Report Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Monitoring Phases ........................................................................................................................ 4 2. Main Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 5 3. Access to Protection and Assistance Services by the Victims of Violence ......................................... 6 4. Placement in the Shelter .................................................................................................................... 8 4.1. Assessing Environment and Services at the Shelter ..................................................................... 9 4.2 Shelter Administration and Personnel....................................................................................... 10 4.3 Shelter’s Internal Regulation and Issues Related to Them .......................................................... 11 5. Protection of Health ......................................................................................................................... 11 6. Living Conditions and Hygiene ........................................................................................................ 13 7. Nutrition ........................................................................................................................................... 15 8. Rehabilitation of Beneficiaries and Preparing them for Life Free of Violence ................................. 16 8.1. Employment .............................................................................................................................. 17 8.2 Role of municipalities in the empowering victims of violence ................................................... 17 9. Assessment of Crisis Service Centers for Victims of Domestic Violence .......................................... 18 10. Assessment of Services Related to Protection and Assistance of Victims of Trafficking ................ 22 11. Concomitant Monitoring and Activities for Protection and Support of Victims During Pandemic .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 27 2 Introduction The number of cases of violence against women and domestic violence is increasing every year. Against this background, special importance is attached to the provision of adequate protection and assistance services to victims of violence. Service centers for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, same as shelters and crisis centers, are one of the main legislative mechanisms against violence against women and domestic violence; hence the proper provision of legal, psycho-social, medical or housing services by these centers plays a decisive role for victims to escape violence and prepare for a life free from abuse. In 2019, the Gender Department of the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, with the support of the UN Women, carried out monitoring of all state shelters and crisis centers in Georgia for the victims of domestic violence and trafficking. The monitoring team payed visits to the shelters of Batumi, Kutaisi, Gori and Signagi1, as well as the crisis centers of Tbilisi, Gori, Kutaisi, Ozurgeti and Marneuli. Additionally, the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia monitored all state shelters2 and crisis centers operating in Georgia in 2020 in order to check the shortcomings identified during the monitoring in 2019 and implementation of the issued recommendations. Also, along the spread of the novel coronavirus, it was important to obtain information on the extent to which shelters and crisis centers address the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic and what regulations exist in institutions to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect beneficiaries. The present report reflects the problems identified as a result of the monitoring. 1. Report Methodology Pursuant to Article 18 of the Organic Law of Georgia on the Public Defender, the Gender Department of the Public Defender of Georgia monitors the service center (shelter) for victims of domestic violence. The shelter/crisis center is a service facility for the protection, assistance and rehabilitation of victims (including their dependents) of domestic violence and trafficking, which aims to provide adequate, safe and secure living environment to the beneficiaries living in the shelter. Also, it aims to protect their rights and interests; ensures health of the beneficiaries, psycho-social rehabilitation and integration into the family and society, if the beneficiary wishes so. The Gender Department of the Public Defender's Office visited shelters and crisis centers unplanned, without prior agreement with the shelter administration. 1 Tbilisi Service Center (Shelter) for Victims of Human Trafficking and Violence was closed due to ongoing construction work during the monitoring period, therefore no monitoring was conducted at this shelter. 2 By this time, the renovation works at Tbilisi Service Center (Shelter) for Victims of Human Trafficking and Violence had been completed and it was operating, therefore, a visit was payed to the shelter. 3 The purpose of the monitoring was to assess the situation at shelters and crisis centers, as well as to determine its compliance with international and local standards. The target group of the monitoring consisted of adults using the shelter services and persons employed there. Semi-closed questionnaires were applied. The monitoring focused on the implementation of the recommendations issued by the Public Defender in its report for 2018 on Monitoring Service Centers (Shelters) for Victims of Domestic Violence and Trafficking. Particular attention was paid to the issue of providing psycho-social rehabilitation programs to beneficiaries, which has been a significant challenge in recent years.3 1.2 Monitoring Phases During the first phase of the monitoring, the representatives of the Public Defender’s Office checked the physical environment and nutrition at the shelters and crisis centers through unscheduled visits. Information was also collected about the services offered through the survey of shelter staff and beneficiaries. Beneficiaries were interviewed individually. A total of 15 beneficiaries were interviewed4. The questionnaires were formulated in a way that it was possible to assess the extent to which beneficiaries had information about protection and assistance services in the country, their experience with enrollment in the services, whether they were satisfied with the services received at the shelter and whether their capacities were enhanced. As for the questionnaire for persons employed in shelters/crisis centers, it was compiled individually for each employee, depending on the specifics of their work. The questionnaires provided the maximum opportunity to analyze the practice of shelters with regard to the identification and meeting the needs of the service users. At the same time, it was important to detect the challenges and problems in the shelters as seen by the staff themselves. At the second stage of the monitoring, the Public Defender's Office requested statistics from the LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking5 on using service 3 In 2018, the Gender Department of the Public Defender of Georgia conducted a monitoring of the service centers (shelters) for the victims of domestic violence and trafficking and issued relevant recommendations regarding the physical environment of the shelter, employment, scarcity of psycho-rehabilitation and educational programs, checking the health conditions of the beneficiaries and other issues. Information is available on the website: https://bit.ly/2uPMJmC 4 Only those beneficiaries who voluntarily participated in the monitoring