The court recognized a person as an offender for masturbating in front of a woman in a narrow alley

21 June, 2023

In January 2023, two cases of masturbation occurred in front of a 23-year-old woman in a narrow alley of one of the streets of Tbilisi. The woman went to the police and demanded a proper response to the facts. To protect her interests, the lawyer from Rights Georgia was involved in the case.

The evidence submitted to the police by the victim and her lawyer confirmed the facts of the sexual harassment and made it possible to identify the harasser, as a result of which the police drew up an administrative offense protocol and submitted it to the court for consideration.

In turn, the court shared the victim's point of view and evidence. The court confirmed the sexual harassment committed by the individual and ordered him to pay a fine of 300 GEL as an administrative penalty. It should also be noted that, unfortunately, the representative of the Ministry of the Interior, who had to prove the facts of the sexual harassment before the judge, showed passivity during the trial, which largely shifted the burden of proof to the victim and her lawyer.

It is also worth noting that the judge of the Tbilisi City Court, Irakli Chikashua, while discussing this administrative offense, made important clarifications about the specifics of considering sexual harassment cases, which, according to the judge, clearly distinguish them from other categories of cases. In particular, the judge explained that the distribution of the burden of proof and the assessment of the evidence in cases of sexual harassment are characterized by certain peculiarities due to the fact that cases of sexual harassment are usually hidden and visible only to the alleged victim and the harasser. Therefore, the Court noted that an excessively strict approach to the examination of evidence and a formal attitude to cases of the category under consideration could, to a certain extent, encourage the commission of the offenses in question and make it more difficult to prevent them.

At this stage, it is not known whether the alleged perpetrator of the sexual harassment will appeal the decision of the Tbilisi City Court, but in the event of an appeal, Rights Georgia will continue to protect the interests of the victim.

This case is being litigated by Rights Georgia with support from the USAID Rule of Law Program.

If you consider that you are a victim of domestic violence and domestic crimes, physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, sexual and other violent crimes, or have information about such facts, please contact the Rights Georgia through the hotline: 577 541 655.