In Georgia, issues of violence against women, especially domestic violence and early child marriage are still problems. So, at my site, I decided to conduct a lesson on domestic violence in Georgia with my 10th graders. Given my work previous to joining the Peace Corps, this was an area in which I felt I could contribute some skills.
We started off talking about statistics worldwide. Worldwide, 1 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetime. Furthermore, of all the women in the world killed in 2012, almost half were killed by a partner or a family member. Next, we defined what exactly is domestic violence is. We talked about how domestic violence is not just physical, but also includes things like financial abuse, emotional abuse, using children, and minimization, denying, and blaming. This was done to dispel the myth that if it is not physical it is not abuse. Then, we discussed how anyone can be a victim, regardless of class, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, etc.
Then, I introduced the statistics for Georgia:
- 56% of Georgian women and 72% of Georgian men believe a good wife should obey her spouse.
- 58% of Georgians believe that being in a bad marriage is better than being single.
- 38% of Georgian women and 54% of Georgian men believe that a wife should endure humiliation from her spouse in the interest of preserving the family.
- 35% of married women have experienced violence (physical or mental) aimed at controlling their behavior.
- 78% of women consider domestic violence cases to be a family matter and don’t believe it should be discussed publicly.
We discussed what cultural ideas and societal norms make these ideas persist in Georgia. The students had a really intelligent discussion about this, and I am very proud of them!
Next, we discussed the reasons why people stay in abusive relationships, and the effects of violence on children.
I also introduced the class to a really cool campaign here in Georgia made by the Georgian Rugby Team. Since around 2010, the Georgian National Rugby Team has teamed up with UN Women to raise awareness about the problem of domestic violence in Georgia. They have dedicated several matches to HeForShe and to raising awareness, which is amazing.
I was really impressed and excited to hear this because the rugby players are so popular here, especially among boys and men, and they can be excellent role models and ambassadors for the issue of gender equality here. Here are the 2 Rugby PSA's that I showed in class:
A player even spoke recently at a UN meeting about the role athletes have in ending violence against women! You can watch it here! And you can see some news articles about the team's actions and campaigns here and here!
We ended by learning about what we can do as active bystanders to prevent domestic violence and support people experiencing it. Students made PSA posters detailing what they learned or what they wanted to say to other people regarding domestic violence. Here are some of the results:
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I would also like to call your attention to another issue that is a huge problem here in Georgia: child marriage.
Georgia has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Europe. A few weeks ago, I ran across an amazingly done article about the issue of child marriage in Georgia done by National Geographic which can be found here. Although the exact numbers of underage girls who are married is unknown, the UN records suggest that at least 17% of girls in Georgia are married before they are 18. The legal age of marriage being 18 (except with both parents' permission they can marry at 16), but unfortunately the problem persists. There have been cases in Georgia of girls under 12 being married.
However, families can subvert the law by holding off on registering marriages for a few years, or by holding weddings secretly and considering the couple "married" without official registration. The problem is greatest in the regions of Adjara, Kvemo Kartli, and Kakheti, although I know that at my site in Guria, underage girls at my school have been married (and have since dropped out).
As we know, child marriage not only violates the law, but has enormous impacts on the girl's life. Worldwide, girls married as children are significantly less likely to get higher education or even finish high school. They are more likely to live in poverty, and their children are less educated and less healthy. Furthermore, early pregnancy threatens the health of young mothers and their babies.
Furthermore, the practice of "bride kidnapping", or forcibly taking a girl and forcing her to marry, is still practiced in some parts of Georgia, although it is now illegal.
More information on child marriage and bride kidnapping can be found here, in an NPR report here, and here.
