On December 10th, 2010, UNFPA Georgia marked the International Human Rights Day by conducting the South Caucasus Regional Photo Exhibition on Women’s Rights at the Gallery VernySsage. The exhibition brought together artworks from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and was held simultaneously in the three countries of the South Caucasus in adherence to the UN Secretary General’s UNiTE campaign to end violence against women.
The exhibition coincided with the closing of the ongoing global 16 days campaign against Gender-Based Violence and the International Human Rights day to emphasize that violence against women is a violation of human rights and that women’s rights is part of the human rights agenda.
Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia George Tsereteli, Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia John Bass, Ambassador of Norway to Azerbaijan and Georgia Erling Skjønsberg and Assistant Representative a.i. of UNFPA in Georgia Lela Bakradze made opening speeches at the event stressing the importance of work against gender-based violence and acknowledging contributions of all stakeholders, including government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and media to the successful implementation of the 16 days campaign. Other invitees include representatives of parliament, government, and diplomatic corps, international and nongovernmental organizations.
Violence against women, namely domestic violence constitutes a pervasive problem in Georgia and in the region. As the UNFPA National Research on Domestic Violence revealed every 9,1% of women ever married in Georgia subjected to physical violence. Similar research was recently carried out in Armenia, revealing that 8,9% of Armenian women have experienced physical violence from their husbands. Research is soon to be completed in Azerbaijan which will enable policy makers and researchers in the region to compare main trends on domestic violence and gender equality in the region of the South Caucasus.
