A/HRC/41/45/Add.1 some form of abuse by family members.19 Members of the community are often subjected to psychological and physical violence and attempts to limit their freedom of movement and social contacts with their peers as a punishment for not conforming to socially acceptable behaviour and practices. For boys, engaging in activities or behaviour understood to be “feminine” is considered shameful and rejected by both family and society. Girls who display traits that are supposed to be “masculine” are dismissed as tomboys (kalabicha) and expected to change over time or face extreme violence. 20 During one conversation, a young lesbian woman told the Independent Expert how her father had repeatedly beaten her and put a gun to her head; when the case reached the police, the mother sided with the father because she considered her daughter’s sexual orientation to be an insult to the family. 36. The Independent Expert regrets the lack of progress made to take into consideration sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of domestic violence and violence against women, a measure the Government had planned to implement. 21 Measures taken to prevent and eradicate violence against women, gender-based violence and domestic violence, as well as support mechanisms for victims, appear to have been designed from a heteronormative perspective. In practice, lesbian, bisexual and trans women very rarely utilize these mechanisms. For example, a 2018 study showed that while more than 20 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse persons who were victims of abuse by family members were in need of shelter, only 2.4 per cent applied for shelter. 22 A recent case also shed light on legal barriers faced by trans women in gaining access to such protection mechanisms, when the court refused a request for a restraining order on the basis that, in her identity documents, the applicant was listed as a man. 23 Domestic violence is closely connected with social vulnerability and homelessness and the State has yet to recognize this correlation. 37. Shortcomings in addressing domestic violence involving this community include a lack of data, which must lie at the heart of public policies. The conceptual framework and systems that would allow for the disaggregation of data on domestic violence have not been completed and further refinements are needed when it comes to acts of domestic violence motived by the victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity. The Supreme Court, for example, recorded 1,578 cases of domestic violence for the first eight months of 2018 but could provide no information whatsoever regarding which of those cases was linked to sexual orientation or gender identity. 38. The Independent Expert is nevertheless encouraged by the work initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office to gather statistics and by the proposal submitted by that Ministry to the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights to add sexual orientation and gender identity as aggravating circumstances in such cases. There are also a number of encouraging initiatives being carried out with the support of non-State actors aiming at integrating the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse persons into relevant legislation and policies. A series of training programmes on sexual orientation and gender identity are also being rolled out to sensitize various professionals and service providers for victims of gender-based and domestic violence. 2. Hate crimes 39. Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are presumed to be commonplace.24 Yet, there are almost no cases of hate-motivated crimes on the grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity going through the chain of justice. The number of cases identified by civil society organizations is significantly higher; one such 19 20 21 22 23 24 8 The Equality Movement, the Women’s Initiative Support Group and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)-Europe. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia 2017, pp. 92–94. National Action Plan for the Protection of Human Rights, 2016–2017, task No. 13.2.4. Submission from Equality Movement, the Women’s Initiative Support Group and ILGA-Europe. Tbilisi City Court, case No. 3/605-18 brought by Sapari, judgment of 5 February 2018. Council of Europe, Hate Crime, Hate Speech, and Discrimination in Georgia.