Is domestic violence acceptable in Georgia?

Note: This article first appeared on the Caucasus Data Blog, a joint effort of CRRC-Georgia and OC Media. It was written by Salome Dolidze and Kristine Vacharadze. The views expressed in the article are the authors’ alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC Georgia, or any related entity.

According to a new UN Women and CRRC Georgia study, while most Georgians believe domestic violence against a partner is unacceptable, fewer are certain that their community believes the same.

The 2023 UN Women and GEOSTAT National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia found that one in four women (23%) experienced intimate partner violence at some point in their lives.

Additionally, half of women aged 15–69 had experienced at least one of seven types of violence — child sexual abuse before the age of 18; physical and/or emotional child abuse before the age of 18; any type of intimate partner violence; non-partner physical violence since the age of 15; non-partner sexual violence since the age of 15; sexual harassment; and stalking — asked about on the survey.

Clearly, domestic violence is a substantial problem in Georgia. One method for reducing its occurrence is through informing people that social norms view domestic violence as unacceptable.

In the latest UN Women and CRRC Georgia study, published on 18 March, only 6% of respondents stated that there were acceptable circumstances for someone to hit their partner or spouse, with 7% of women and 3% of men expressing this view.

In turn, 91% of respondents stated that there are no acceptable circumstances for hitting a partner.

However, fewer people (78%) agreed that their society would view things the same. The data showed that 13% were uncertain about the perceived social norm, but only 4% were uncertain about their own view.

A significant minority, 23%, responded that violence between husband and wife was a private matter and that others should not interfere. This view was shared by 19% of women and 27% of men.

While 74% personally disagreed with the view that spousal violence is a private matter, only 59% responded that they believe society as a whole holds the same view, with 16% uncertain over society’s views, compared to 3% uncertain of their own view.

Regarding physical violence, individuals under 45, those who are employed, and those with vocational education are less likely to agree that there are acceptable circumstances for hitting a spouse or partner compared to younger individuals, those who are not working, or those with lower education levels. This perception did not vary by sex, settlement type, ethnicity, or education level when controlling for other factors.

When asked whether violence between a husband and wife is a private matter and others should not intervene, men were more likely than women to agree with this statement. However, other demographic factors, such as age, settlement type, education level, ethnicity, or employment status, did not show any statistically significant differences.

The main difference between personal attitudes and social norms was uncertainty. Individuals aged 25–34, those with higher education, and ethnic minorities were more likely to respond with ‘don’t know’ when asked whether most people in their community believe there are acceptable circumstances for hitting a partner. This contrasts with younger individuals, those with secondary or lower education, and ethnic Georgians. This perception did not vary by sex, settlement type, or employment status.

Regarding the community’s perception that violence between a husband and wife is a private matter and others should not intervene, ethnic minorities were more likely than ethnic Georgians to respond with ‘don’t know’. However, this attitude did not significantly vary by sex, age, settlement type, education level, or employment status.

According to the above data, most people in Georgia disapprove of domestic violence, and only a small share believe it is justified to hit a partner. However, fewer people believe that their communities share these anti-violent views, with the gap largely made up of uncertainty about social norms. This presents an opportunity for campaigners to inform Georgians that indeed, the vast majority of the public are against domestic violence.

The data used in this article is available here. The regression analysis used in this article included the following variables:  age (16–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55+); sex (male or female); settlement type (Tbilisi, other urban, rural); education level (secondary or lower, vocational, completed or uncompleted higher education); ethnicity (ethnic Georgian or ethnic minority); and employment status (employed or unemployed).

More than half of all Georgians struggle to put food on the table

Note: This article first appeared on the Caucasus Data Blog, a joint effort of CRRC-Georgia and OC Media. This article was written by Zachary Fabos, a Researcher at CRRC Georgia. The views presented in the article are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of CRRC Georgia or any related entity.

A significant portion of Georgia’s population experienced food insecurity in 2024, according to data from CRRC Georgia’s 2024 Caucasus Barometer, with over half respondents indicating they could not afford food or had to borrow money to purchase it at least once in the past 12 months.

Although the frequency of food insecurity has steadily decreased since 2015, alarmingly, over half (53%) of Georgians in 2024 still reported either not being able to afford food or needing to borrow money to purchase food at least once in the past 12 months.

Those not having enough money to buy food at least once in the past 12 months (45%) is slightly higher than those borrowing money to purchase food, at least once in the past six months (36%). Importantly, as the survey specifically asked respondents to indicate if they borrowed money for food, it potentially undercounts the frequency in which the public faces food insecurity, as a common means of purchasing food is to request it on loan from a shop, with the promise of paying for it later.

Although widespread, food insecurity is especially concentrated among particular demographic groups.

A regression analysis, which combines not being able to afford food in the past 12 months and borrowing money to purchase food in the last six months, to represent food insecurity, demonstrates that those living outside of the capital, ethnic minorities, and those with one or more children are most likely to experience this form of poverty.

For example, ethnic minorities are 17 points more likely than ethnic Georgians to report not being able to afford food or borrowing money to purchase it.

Likewise, those living in rural and urban communities are 19 and 16 percentage points more likely, respectively, to report food insecurity in the past year, compared to inhabitants of Tbilisi, while those with one or more children are 13 percentage points more likely to experience food insecurity, compared to those without a child.

Though still a decrease from 10 years ago, the Caucasus Barometer data demonstrates there remains an alarming rate of food insecurity across all populations of Georgia, especially among ethnic minorities, outside Tbilisi, and in families with children.

Note: The analysis in this article makes use of binomial regression analysis. The analysis included gender (male, female), age group (18-34, 35-54, and 55+), settlement type (capital, urban, rural), ethnicity (Georgian, ethnic minority), and has child(ren) (has a child, does not have a child) as predictor variables.

The data used in this article can be found here.

Are Georgians becoming more concerned about stray animals?

Note: This article first appeared on the Caucasus Data Blog, a joint effort of CRRC-Georgia and OC Media. It was written by Teimuraz Kobakhidze, a Junior Researcher at CRRC-Georgia. The views presented in this article are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC Georgia, NDI, or any related entity.

Stray animals have increasingly become a top public goods issue amongst the Georgian public. Data from an October 2023 CRRC/NDI survey found that 22% of people named stray animals as a top issue, tying it at the top of public priorities with roads.

According to a 2023 official census by the Animal Monitoring Agency, there are over 30,000 street dogs in Tbilisi, only a third of whom have been spayed or neutered. It was the first such census to be conducted since 2015.

To address this issue, in December 2023, the government’s Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee introduced the law ‘Regarding Domestic Animals’, which was intended to address many details of domestic animal welfare, ranging from the number of pets a person can own to stray animal population control. Breaking the law can lead to fines of up to ₾3,000 ($1,050).

Animal welfare has also become a top concern for the Georgian public, who consider the issue among the highest priorities in their local communities.

According to data collected in an October 2023 NDI/CRRC survey, stray animals was tied for the top public goods issue across Georgia, with 22% of the public naming it as a top issue, the same share which named roads.

This issue has been growing in importance for the Georgian public.

While 4% and 6% named this issue in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the share rose to 18% in 2022, with a new high in 2023.

This rise is reflected in the share of the public concerned with street dogs. Between March and October of 2023, the share reporting that they were concerned with street dogs rose by 13 percentage points from 55% to 68%.

According to the data collected by CRRC/NDI, people’s prioritisation of and concern with stray animals varied by a number of characteristics.

People in urban areas outside Tbilisi were more than three times as likely to name stray animals as a top public goods issue compared to people in rural areas. Within Tbilisi, people were three times more likely to prioritise the issue as a top public concern compared to those in rural areas.

Women were 10% more likely than men to name stray animals as a priority, while people aged 35 and older were more likely to report the issue compared to people aged between 18–24.

Education level was not associated with attitudes on this issue.

Attitudes also varied among different social and demographic groups on the second question in the survey asking how concerned the public was about stray dogs.

Women were eight percentage points more likely to report being concerned than men. Similarly, people with a higher education were eight points more likely than those with a secondary education or less to report being concerned with street dogs. Concern did not vary by settlement type or age.

As can be seen from the above data, concern for street animals and their priority as a public goods issue appears to be on the rise in Georgia, with women, individuals with a higher education, and those over the age of 35 paying particular attention to the issue.

The data in this article come from a series of regression models. The independent variables included age group (18-34, 35-54, 55+), sex (male or female), settlement type (Tbilisi, other urban, or rural), education level (secondary or lower, secondary technical, higher than secondary). The models looked at 1) whether or not someone named homeless animals as a most important public goods issue, and 2) whether or not the respondent was concerned about homeless dogs. The survey had a total of 1,278 respondents.