Georgia: She Reported DV 5 Times — Police Filed Reports, Did Nothing

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Photo: police - jb

Georgia DV police failure is not an isolated problem. It is a documented and systematic pattern. Women in Georgia report domestic violence to the police multiple times. The police file reports. They may even issue a restraining order. But then nothing happens. The abuser violates the order. The police do not act. The woman reports again. The cycle repeats. This pattern appears in case after case, and it has been confirmed by international monitoring bodies including GREVIO and the CEDAW Committee.[1]

This article examines the scale of domestic violence in Georgia, the legal framework, and the gap between what the law promises and what actually happens. For expert witnesses and asylum decision-makers, understanding this pattern is essential. Georgia appears regularly in DV asylum cases across Europe and the UK. The evidence shows that state protection, while it exists on paper, fails in practice.

The Scale of Domestic Violence in Georgia

UN Women's National Study on Violence Against Women in Georgia (2017) found that 14% of women had experienced physical violence from an intimate partner. Additionally, 6% reported sexual violence. These figures are based on women who admitted to experiencing violence in a survey. The real numbers are almost certainly higher. About 78% of women who experienced violence never sought help from any source — not the police, not a doctor, not a shelter.[2]

The Public Defender of Georgia (Ombudsman) has recorded a steady increase in DV reports to police in recent years. In 2023, police received over 19,000 reports related to domestic violence. However, this increase likely reflects greater awareness rather than an actual rise in violence. Most experts believe that severe underreporting remains the bigger problem. Women do not report because they believe the police will not help them. In many cases, they are right.

Domestic violence kills women in Georgia. Between 2014 and 2024, dozens of women were killed by partners or former partners. In several of these cases, the women had previously reported the violence to police. The police had taken reports, sometimes issued restraining orders, but failed to prevent the killing. These cases received media attention and led to public protests. However, the systemic problems remain.[3]

Legal Framework: What the Law Says

Georgia has developed a legal framework for domestic violence over the past two decades. On paper, this framework looks relatively strong. The key laws are:

• Law on Domestic Violence (2006): Defines domestic violence, creates protection orders (issued by police) and restraining orders (issued by courts).
• Criminal Code Article 126.1 (since 2012): Makes domestic violence a criminal offence, punishable by up to three years in prison.
• Criminal Code Article 151.1 (since 2017): Criminalises stalking and controlling behaviour by a partner or family member.
• Amendments (2017-2020): Strengthened penalties, expanded the definition of domestic violence, and improved the restraining order process.

Georgia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) in 2017. This was an important step. The Convention requires states to prevent violence, protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators. Georgia accepted these obligations. The question is whether it fulfils them.[4]

The Enforcement Gap: Georgia DV Police Failure in Practice

The gap between law and practice in Georgia is wide. Georgia DV police failure follows a consistent pattern that has been documented by the Public Defender, GREVIO, international organisations, and Georgian NGOs. The pattern looks like this:

Police Treat DV as a "Family Matter"

Despite training programmes and policy changes, many Georgian police officers still view domestic violence as a private family issue. When a woman calls the police, officers often arrive and try to "calm the situation." They may speak to both parties and leave without taking formal action. Even when they file a report, the response is often limited to documentation rather than protection.[5]

Protection Orders: Issued but Not Enforced

Police can issue a protection order immediately — this is a temporary order (up to one month) that requires the abuser to stay away from the victim. Courts can then issue a longer restraining order. The problem is enforcement. When an abuser violates a protection order, the consequences are often minimal. Police may issue a new report, but prosecution for the violation is rare. The abuser learns that the order means nothing.

Restraining Order Violations Rarely Prosecuted

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of restraining orders issued by Georgian courts increased significantly. However, the prosecution rate for violations remained low. In many cases, a woman reports that her abuser has violated the restraining order — he comes to her home, he contacts her, he threatens her — and the police simply file another report. The cycle continues. This is the core of Georgia DV police failure: the system generates paperwork but not protection.

Shelters: About 100 Places for the Whole Country

Georgia has a small number of state-funded shelters for DV victims. As of 2024, the total capacity is approximately 100 places for the entire country of 3.7 million people. The Istanbul Convention recommends one shelter place per 10,000 people, which would mean Georgia needs about 370 places. The shortage is severe, especially outside Tbilisi. Women in rural areas have almost nowhere to go.[6]

Documented Pattern: "I Will Call Her Nino"

The following is a composite case based on documented patterns from Georgian NGO reports, the Public Defender's office, and GREVIO findings. It represents the typical experience of women who report DV in Georgia. The details are drawn from multiple real cases.

I will call her Nino. She is 32 years old and lives in a town outside Tbilisi. Her husband began hitting her two years after they married. At first, it was slaps. Then it became punches, kicks, and threats with a knife. Nino has two small children.

Report 1: Nino calls the police after a bad beating. Two officers arrive. They see her injuries. They tell her husband to calm down. They file a report and leave. No protection order is issued.

Report 2: Three months later, the violence happens again. Nino calls the police. This time, they issue a one-month protection order. Her husband must leave the home. He leaves for two days. Then he returns. Nino does not call the police again because she believes they will not help.

Report 3: Six months later, after a severe beating, Nino goes to the hospital. The hospital contacts the police. A new report is filed. A court issues a restraining order for six months. The husband violates it within two weeks by coming to the house.

Report 4: Nino reports the restraining order violation to police. They file a report. No prosecution follows.

Report 5: The husband attacks Nino again. She calls the police. They come, file a report, and tell her they will send the case to the prosecutor. Months pass. Nothing happens.

DV Reports vs. Prosecutions in Georgia

Figure 1: DV reports to police vs. criminal prosecutions initiated. Blue bars = reports, red bars = prosecutions. Sources: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Public Defender's Office, 2019-2023.

What the Law Says vs. What Actually Happens

Table 1: The gap between Georgia's DV legal framework and its implementation. Sources: GREVIO (2022), Public Defender of Georgia (2024).

GREVIO and CEDAW Findings on Georgia

GREVIO is the Council of Europe's expert body that monitors the Istanbul Convention. In its Baseline Evaluation Report on Georgia (2022), GREVIO found several serious problems. It criticised Georgia for failing to ensure that restraining order violations are effectively prosecuted. It noted that police training is insufficient and that officers continue to treat DV as a family matter. GREVIO also found that the number of shelter places is far below what the Convention requires.[7]

GREVIO urges the Georgian authorities to ensure that breaches of restraining and protection orders are duly investigated and prosecuted, and that sanctions are effectively applied.
GREVIO, Baseline Evaluation Report: Georgia, 2022

The CEDAW Committee, which monitors the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, has also raised concerns. In its most recent Concluding Observations on Georgia, the Committee expressed worry about the high rate of DV, the low prosecution rate, and the limited availability of support services. It recommended that Georgia strengthen police training, increase shelter capacity, and ensure that protection orders are enforced.[8]

Government Promises vs. Results

The Georgian government has made many promises on domestic violence. It has passed new laws, ratified the Istanbul Convention, created inter-agency coordination mechanisms, and launched training programmes for police. These are positive steps on paper. However, the results have been disappointing.

The government launched a National Action Plan on Combating Violence Against Women in 2018 and updated it in 2022. The plan includes targets for increasing prosecutions, expanding shelters, and improving police response. However, progress has been slow. Shelter capacity has barely increased. The prosecution rate remains low compared to reports. Police attitudes change slowly. The government's own Public Defender has repeatedly criticised the pace of reform.

In 2023 and 2024, Georgia's political direction raised additional concerns. The government's "foreign agents" law and its increasingly authoritarian orientation have shifted attention and resources away from human rights issues, including domestic violence. NGOs that provide support to DV victims have faced increased scrutiny. International observers worry that progress on DV could stall or reverse. For more on Georgia's human rights situation, see our country reports.[9]

Implications for Asylum Claims

Georgia DV police failure has direct implications for asylum claims. When a Georgian woman claims asylum in the UK or another country based on domestic violence, the central question is whether Georgia provides sufficient state protection. The evidence presented in this article suggests that it does not.

Under the Horvath test (sufficiency of protection), a state must have a system of criminal law that makes violence a crime AND a reasonable willingness to enforce that law. Georgia has the first — DV is a crime under Article 126.1. However, the evidence shows that the second element fails. Police file reports but do not protect. Orders are issued but not enforced. Prosecutions are rare. Shelters are insufficient.[10]

This means that a Georgian woman who has experienced domestic violence and reported it to police without receiving effective protection has a strong basis for an asylum claim. The pattern documented here — multiple reports, no effective action — is exactly the kind of evidence that courts need to see. An expert witness can provide the country-specific detail that links the individual case to the systemic pattern.

Conclusion

Georgia DV police failure is not a matter of individual bad officers. It is a systemic problem confirmed by GREVIO, the CEDAW Committee, the Public Defender of Georgia, and numerous NGOs. The pattern is clear: women report, police file reports, orders may be issued, but enforcement does not follow. The abuser learns that there are no real consequences. The woman learns that the system will not protect her.

For asylum decision-makers, this means that Georgia cannot be assumed to provide sufficient state protection for DV victims. Each case must be assessed individually, but the systemic evidence is strong. When a woman has reported domestic violence to Georgian police multiple times without receiving effective protection, the failure of the state is documented in its own records. Georgia has the laws. It does not have the enforcement. And without enforcement, the law is just paper.[11]