{"id":1042,"date":"2015-07-13T09:03:15","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T08:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcstaging.co.uk\/ehrac\/?post_type=case-studies&p=1042"},"modified":"2023-10-31T20:14:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T20:14:36","slug":"x-and-y-v-georgia","status":"publish","type":"case-studies","link":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/key-ehrac-cases\/x-and-y-v-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"X and Y v Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
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Communication No. 24\/2009<\/strong>
\nDecision date: 13 July 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

X was raped by her future husband at a party. She\u00a0married him because of societal pressure in Georgia\u00a0which prizes women\u2019s virginity as a significant\u00a0precondition for marriage. Together they had five\u00a0children. X and her daughter Y \u2013 both Georgian\u00a0nationals \u2013 for years suffered physical and sexual\u00a0violence and psychological abuse at the hands of\u00a0their husband and father respectively.<\/p>\n

From 2001 onwards, X repeatedly complained\u00a0to the authorities about acts of violence to which\u00a0she and her children were subjected. In 2004,\u00a0X also reported incidents of physical and sexual\u00a0abuse inflicted on Y by her father. None of her\u00a0complaints was properly investigated, and a\u00a0criminal case was never opened. The decision\u00a0not to open a criminal case was appealed by\u00a0X, and her last appeal was dismissed by Tbilisi\u00a0Court of Appeal in February 2006. At the time of\u00a0the events, there was no legal framework in Georgia\u00a0to provide effective legal protection, shelter\u00a0and support to victims of domestic violence.<\/p>\n

X submitted that the authorities viewed\u00a0her complaints as a private matter, and her\u00a0husband was merely asked to sign unenforceable\u00a0declarations that he would not resort to\u00a0violence again. Criminal charges were never\u00a0pressed against him despite the existence of\u00a0prima facie<\/em>\u00a0evidence of criminal offences. X\u00a0and Y\u2019s claims before the\u00a0CEDAW Committee<\/a>\u00a0included that, by the authorities\u2019 inaction,\u00a0they tacitly contributed to the husband\u2019s\u00a0violent behaviour. They also reiterated that,\u00a0outside of the family, the testimonies of X, Y\u00a0and the other children were always subjected\u00a0to an inherently biased and discriminatory\u00a0attitude in favour of the husband\u2019s evidence.<\/p>\n

The full case summary is available in the\u00a0Summer 2016 Bulletin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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