Traditionally on June 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an information campaign - "Do Not Deprive Childhood". The campaign is directed against child marriage.
The main objectives of the campaign are to eliminate crimes of child marriage, raise public awareness, and also ensure timely reporting to law enforcement officers about this category of crimes. The campaign, now in its fourth year, is implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
At the opening ceremony of the campaign, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Georgia, Ulrik Tidestrom, Head of the UNFPA Country Office Georgia, Lela Bakradze addressed the attendees. Within the framework of the event, the Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, Head of the Human Rights Protection Secretariat of the Administration of Government, Maka Peradze, Chairman of the Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament, Mikheil Sarjveladze, Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Tamila Barkalaia, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Tamar Makharashvili, Deputy Minister of Justice, Buba Lomuashvili and Deputy Head of the Department of Supervision and Strategic Development of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Londa Bichikashvili also spoke about the importance of prevention and fight against child marriage.
Among the invited guests were the representatives of state agencies, members of the Parliament, representatives of the Public Defender's Office, international organizations and non-governmental sector dealing with child marriage issues.
The Department of Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring of the Ministry of Internal Affairs made a presentation, informing the attendees about the activities to be carried out within the campaign. Furthermore, a video prepared on the topic of child marriage was shown at the opening event.
In order to prevent child marriage and effectively respond to the detected facts, the Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring Department studies the possible motives of child marriage throughout the country on a daily basis. Various thematic activities are planned based on the challenges identified during the monitoring stage.
The information campaign will last for one month and include a number of events, such as placing information posters in all public and private schools in Georgia. The representatives of Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring Department and police units will also hold informational meetings with different target groups in regions of Georgia.
Informational posters, T-shirts, bags and other branded materials printed within the framework of the campaign will be distributed to school administrations and other stakeholders during the ongoing campaign. A drawing contest will also be held as part of the campaign.
The campaign is carried out in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Office, under the auspices of the United Nations Joint Program on Gender Equality, funded by Sweden.
