A/HRC/41/45/Add.1 was designed with the participation of men who have sex with men. Stakeholders, however, have expressed concern at the fact that the trans population was not consulted when preparing the plan and that the particular vulnerability of this group has not been studied and taken into consideration in the final draft. 80. Stigma that translates into discriminatory practices in everyday life is exacerbated by regulations such as the prohibition against men who have sex with men from donating blood, a prohibition that has been continually struck down by the Constitutional Court only to reappear again. The Independent Expert was informed that, after having been invalidated twice by the Constitutional Court, which found the Ministry of Health’s regulations discriminatory, a ban on blood donation has recently been reintroduced prohibiting men who have sex with men from donating blood for 10 years after having had sexual intercourse with a same-sex partner. As pointed out by the Court in its previous decisions, the fact that modern technologies allow for the detection of HIV/AIDS in donations makes a ban unnecessary. Such policies only add to the stigma associated with men who have sex with men and should be abolished. 6. Education, culture and sport 81. The Law on General Education (art. 9 (1)) and the Law on Higher Education of Georgia (art. 3 (2) (h)) prohibit discrimination, and the Code of Ethics for Educators (art. 3) obliges teachers not to subject students to verbal, physical or psychological abuse and to protect the students’ health and personal safety.42 There are, however, no specific policies or programmes to promote tolerance towards diverse sexual orientations or gender identities in educational settings and no regulatory documents with regard to bullying based on these grounds.43 82. A survey conducted in 2014 by a non-governmental organization shed light on the extent of bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse pupils in schools, with 7 out of 10 students surveyed reporting that they had been victims of bullying. Many members of the community testified about violence and isolation in school. The low level of awareness about variations in sexual orientation and gender identity as a normal phenomenon creates a hostile environment and breeds intolerance towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse students. Members of the community said that at times, parents and teachers joined forces to convince students to change their sexual orientation, including through psychological counselling, giving the erroneous impression that the child had to be “cured”. In such an environment, students internalize the negative attitudes and values of society, which may have a detrimental impact on their well-being and mental health and result in school dropout, self-harm or violence. 83. The Independent Expert was informed that a new identification and referral mechanism was envisaged to address peer violence and violence against children in educational settings. Such measures should incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity and be complemented by the adoption of specific programmes to promote tolerance towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse persons in the education sector and to address bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 84. While the Government has introduced the subject “Me and society”, which aims at developing citizens who take care of their families, communities and the natural and cultural environment, sexuality education is not yet part of the school curriculum. Attempts to introduce issues related to sexual life, sexual orientation and gender identity have failed due to the strong opposition of neo-conservative and far-right groups. 44 This is of great 42 43 44 16 Reportedly, the principles of ethics and integrity are emphasized in higher educational institutions through Order No. 07/N dated 31 January 2019. Public Defender’s Office, “Survey of human rights in education and educational environment in general education field”, 2018. Public Defender’s Office, Human Rights in the Context of Sexual and Reproductive Health and WellBeing in Georgia: Country Assessment (2018). Available from www.ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2019040211031497196.pdf.