42 prosecutors, inspectors and staff members of the Human Rights Department of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs received their certificates of completion of the HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) on 29 November. The course participants completed a 3-month online HELP course on violence against women and domestic violence which was a joint effort by the Council of Europe, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The participants are trained on the key concepts, the international and European legal framework and the European case law governing the prevention and protection of women and girls from violence, focusing in particular on the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention.

In addition the Council of Europe has provided expert support to review the prosecutions guidelines on domestic violence for the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in line with the standards of the Istanbul Convention. The report and recommendations provided by the Council of Europe were also discussed during the event. It is expected that the prosecution guidelines will be revised in 2019 based on delivered recommendations that aims to strengthen the prosecution response to cases of violence against women and domestic violence and to contribute in better protection of women against all forms of violence in the country.

The meeting was held within the framework of the Council of Europe project “Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Georgia”.