One of the priorities for the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the timely detection of crimes related to cases of child marriage and effective investigation. Human Rights Protection and Quality Investigation Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has studied up to 200 criminal cases launched in 2019 under the articles 140, 143 and 1501 of the Criminal Code of Georgia across the country, which could be committed on the grounds of child marriages. In 2019, 175 facts of the upper mentioned facts have been exposed, which took place on the motif of child marriage. The mentioned index is almost identical to the results of 2018, when 176 similar facts were identified.
It is worth mentioning that compared to the results of 2018, in 2019 the number of police reporting on the supposed cases of obligatory marriage (article 1501) and number of cases launched have increased. In particular, in 2019 on the fact of mandatory marriage of under-aged females, 14 cases of investigation have been launched, while in 2018 the number of initiated investigations over the similar crimes have amounted to 9. In 2019, legal persecution was initiated against 5 persons, while in 2018 only one person was brought to criminal justice.
In parallel with the investigation, where the circumstances of the forced marriage were identified at the first stage of investigation, under-aged persons have been transferred to the shelters/crises centers based on the restraining orders, considering safety aspects of under-aged victims of violence.
Lack of legal awareness among the population and the scarcity of information regarding the mentioned crimes still remains as challenge, owning to which police forces are often informed with a delay of several months regarding the supposed crime. The mentioned aspect often complicates the timely detection of crime and effective response as well as extraction of necessary evidences.
In order to identify such crimes, it is important to enhance the role of community officers and district inspectors and increasing the quality of the investigation is crucially important to boost the qualification and sensitivity of investigators.
In 2019, with the aim of improving quality of investigation and to ensure safe environment for victims, Human Rights Protection and Quality Investigation Monitoring Department has elaborated special instructions for investigators on standards of investigating crimes committed on the basis of child marriage. Active appliance of the mentioned methods in practice is being monitored by the Human Rights Protection and Quality Investigation Monitoring Department.
In the second half of 2019, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an information campaign under the slogan- "Don't Take Away Childhood" with the aim to eliminate child marriage-related crimes and raise public awareness on the issue, as well as for promoting timely notification of mentioned crimes to the police.
For the effective combat against the existing challenges, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will continue to work in coordination with the relevant agencies to effectively respond to the facts of the crime and redirect the victims to the appropriate services, as well as to take preventive measures and conduct information campaigns.
The conference was held in a distance work schedule, with representatives from government agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations.
