LGBT rights in Georgia (country)

This article is about LGBT rights in the country of Georgia. For LGBT rights in the U.S. state of Georgia, see LGBT rights in the United States.

LGBT rights in Georgia
Georgia
Status	Legal since 2000
Gender identity	-
Military	Unknown if gays and lesbians are allowed to serve openly
Discrimination protections	Sexual orientation protection in labor code since 2006
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No legal recognition of same-sex relationships
Adoption	No recognition of same-sex adoptions

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Georgia face legal and psychological problems not experienced by non-LGBT residents of the country. While both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in Georgia, same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Even as Georgia's pro-Western government generally maintains a neutral position to comply with the minimum requirements set forth by the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, the members of the LGBT community are frequently subjected to harassment and discrimination from the general public, which is still dominated by a mix of conservative Christian and Soviet influence.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Homosexuality (adult male only) was criminalised by Joseph Stalin in 1933 and it is likely that many of those prosecuted under the article were sent to Siberian concentration camps. The article was also used by Soviet authorities against dissident movements, with many activists being arrested on trumped-up sodomy charges. After Georgia obtained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, this practice fell out of use and there are no recorded cases of sodomy article being openly used against political opponents ever since.

Same-sex sexual activity became legal in Georgia after the adoption of a new criminal code in 2000, which the government put in place to meet the standards set forth by the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights. The age of consent is equal for both heterosexual and homosexual sex, at 16 years of age as set by the Georgian Penal Code Articles 140 and 141.

Social attitude

According to social attitude questionnaires, homosexuals remained one of the most disliked groups in society - with most respondents preferring an alcoholic rather than homosexual colleague at work. Conspiracy theories flooded the Georgian press warning the public against the prederast's mafia. The wider Georgian media generally censors the topic of homosexuality. In October 2007 one of the contestants on the reality TV show Bar-4 outed himself on public television. After reportedly receiving a call from the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II of Georgia, the Georgian president allegedly pressured the producers of the show into evicting the gay participant from the TV program. .

The only LGBT group in Georgia, Inclusive Foundation, published Me Magazine since 2006 in order to raise awareness of LGBT issues and balance the mainstream Georgian media; there was, however, only one issue of this quarterly magazine in 2010 due to lack of funding.

Gender identity/expression

See also: Legal aspects of transsexualism

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Georgia does not legally recognize same-sex unions.

Adoption

Same-sex couples are not able to adopt children in Georgia.

Discrimination protections

Since 2006, as part of the new Labor Code, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal in employment. This, however, only means that an employer will not be able to openly relieve a homosexual employee of duties.

See also

• LGBT rights in Europe
• LGBT rights in Asia