The Georgian legal system has undergone significant changes related to the fight against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity (hereinafter, SOGI), including the adoption of new normative acts, as well as the incorporation of additional norms and amendments into the existing legislation. The Human Rights Action Plan and Strategy document was adopted, which introduced specific mechanisms for the implementation of legal guarantees. Regardless of the determined legislative guarantees, the adoption of which was mainly related to the fulfillment of international obligations, the human rights situation of LGBTI individuals in the country is grave, manifesting in their subjection to systemic violence, discrimination, and harassment. The tendency to politicize LGBTI issues and strengthen the homophobic discourse further intensifies the discrimination and marginalization of the community and influences the effectiveness of state policies directed at the protection of LGBTI rights. The state fails to enforce secular, human rights-based policies in response to the homophobic agenda produced by different social, religious, and political groups and often expresses open loyalty to the dominant religious group and discourse.

The present report aims at the comprehensive description and documentation of the human rights situation of LGBTI persons and state policies in Georgia. The report reviews the situation for LGBTI persons in relation to each right, identifies systemic problems on legislative, institutional, and human rights levels, and proposes specific recommendations for relevant state agencies.

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