The Council of Europe in co-operation with the Georgian General Prosecutor’s office launched its fourth HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) online learning course on violence against women and domestic violence on 16 April 2020.

The online launch served to introduce the HELP platform and its methodology to the participants. Deputy General Prosecutor, Natia Merebashvili welcomed the participants and underlined the importance of launching the fourth edition of the course for the institution.

20 prosecutors will be trained on the key concepts, the international and European legal framework and the European case law governing the prevention and protection of women from violence, focusing in particular on the Council of Europe Convention on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). The course will be tutored by the Head of the Human Rights Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, Salome Shengelia.

In the last two years, more than 60 Georgian legal professionals, including specialised prosecutors, have been trained.

In times of COVID-19 outbreak, capacity building of public officials on effective state response to violence against women and domestic violence becomes more important than ever. The Council of Europe new guidance to Governments on respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law highlights that during pandemic “the policy of isolation and confinement leads to increased levels of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence – and therefore to a heightened need of protection against this.”

The launch of the course was organised in the framework of the Project 'Promoting an Integrated Approach to End Violence against Women and Enhancing Gender Equality in Georgia'.