Kachreti, June 22-23, 2018 –A two-day seminar was held for journalists on the role of media and promotion of gender equality as well prevention of violence against women and domestic violence. Fifteen journalists from different TVs, printed and electronic media outlets took part in the seminar. The participants discussed the topics of the role of media in shaping public perception about women and gender equality as well their role reporting VAW cases. Seminar discussion revolved around the balanced representation of women and men in media including as a source of opinion and expertise; gender stereotypes and how the journalists can change gender stereotypes.

Dea Goshkheteliani, a victim of domestic violence in Georgia, whose case was quite well known for the public and was covered very actively by media also participated in the seminar. According her case, one of the topic of the discussion was the reviewing Georgian media materials where women portrayed in a stereotypical role. “Discussing the issues of domestic violence with journalists is very relevant for the victims like me” – Goshkheteliani said.

The experience of National Observatory of the Image for Media and Gender Equality of Spain was presented by the director Maria Jesus Ortiz, who was specially invited for the event to share the Spanish experience with Georgian journalists.

The event was initiated by the project “EU supporting the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality”.

Information about the project

The project “EU supporting the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality” started in October 2017. It will be completed by May 2019. The contractor is NIRAS Sweden as the leader and the consortium includes CPM. The specific purpose of this project is to assist Georgia’s executive, legislative and judicial authorities in advancing gender mainstreaming into public administration. The Project target provinces are: Tbilisi, Gori and Zestaponi

The Gender Equality Commission (GE Commission) of Georgia is both the main partner and the beneficiary of the project. The project will also support other stakeholders: Line Ministries such as: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Labour Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, GeoStat, Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, Local Municipalities, Media and Civil Society.

The project will provide a platform for developing and strengthening a partnership and networking in the country to allow the GE Commission and interested parties to draw on and share expertise, resources and information about gender equality policies. The Project has four main components:

· Strengthened Institutional mechanism trough a participatory approach

· Strengthened Sex Disaggregated Data Collection

· Increased knowledge on Gender Responsive Budgeting

· Enhanced public information and communication and improved partnership and networking