National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia

Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

2021-2025

Table of Contents

Introduction. 3

Core Principles. 4

Goals and Objectives. 5

Goal 1. Integrating Gender Perspective into NALAG’s Structure and Activities. 6

Goal 2. Promoting the Implementation of Gender Equality Policy in Municipalities. 6

Goal 3. Promoting the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence in Municipalities. 7

Goal 4. Improving Coordination Between Central and Local Authorities on Local Gender Equality Policy Issues. 8

Strategy Implementation and Monitoring. 8

Introduction

The National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (hereinafter – NALAG) is a non-governmental organization that unites all local self-government units in Georgia. NALAG’s objectives are to improve the local self-government system in the country and develop local democracy, decentralize state power, and develop local self-government institutions. Upholding and strengthening the principles of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in achieving these goals is one of NALAG’s important priorities. To realize this priority, NALAG, with the support of UN Women and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has developed a Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming Strategy.

NALAG’s Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming Strategy (hereinafter the Strategy) is based on the Constitution of Georgia, Georgia’s international treaties and agreements, and Georgia’s national legislation and policy documents on gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

The strategy is based on international human rights instruments to which Georgia is a party. These include the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), its Optional Protocol and the General Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life.

The strategy is also based on Georgia’s national legislation, including the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, the Law on the Prevention of Violence against Women and/or Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance of Victims of Violence, and the Organic Law of Georgia on Local Self-Government.

The strategy defines NALAG’s vision, goals, and objectives for gender equality and gender mainstreaming within the scope of its organizational competence.

Core Principles

Based on international and national frameworks for gender equality and women’s empowerment, NALAG:

Recognizes that gender inequality and gender-based violence represent one of the most widespread forms of human rights violations in the world and in Georgia;

Shares the view that gender equality in all spheres of public life, including political and economic life, is a prerequisite for a just and democratic society;

Shares the view that gender equality and women’s empowerment are also key to economic growth and sustainable development;

Considers that gender inequality affects both women and men, but gender discrimination and inequality have a disproportionately large impact on women and girls;

Recognizes that certain groups of women and girls experience intersecting forms of discrimination – in addition to their gender, they may be discriminated against on the basis of religion, ethnicity, age, disability, race, social status, sexual orientation, gender identity, involvement in stigmatized activities, and other grounds;

Believes that central and local authorities should contribute to eliminating barriers that promote gender inequality in political, economic, social, and cultural life;

Welcomes the declared policy of the Georgian state in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment and the progress that Georgia has made in fulfilling international and national commitments on gender equality in recent years;

Welcomes the efforts of local self-governments in recent years and the existing progress in strengthening gender equality and gender mainstreaming at local levels;

Believes that there are untapped and improvable spaces for achieving gender equality in local self-government to fulfill Georgia’s international, national, and local commitments;

Recognizes that integrating a gender perspective into all areas of local government activity is important for achieving gender equality and more effective, democratic self-governance in Georgia;

Believes that local municipalities should implement effective gender equality policies tailored to local needs, ensure gender mainstreaming in all areas of activity, and allocate adequate financial and human resources to achieve these goals;

Recognizes that the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of local gender equality policies should be done in collaboration with civil society working on these issues, especially women’s organizations, and with the active involvement of individuals and groups directly affected by inequality and various forms of discrimination;

Believes that NALAG, as an association of local self-governments, within the mandate granted by its member municipalities and in accordance with the Organic Law of Georgia – “Local Self-Government Code,” has an important role in supporting local self-governments in implementing effective gender equality and gender mainstreaming policies;

Believes that NALAG, as an association of local self-governments, within the mandate granted by its member municipalities and in accordance with the Organic Law of Georgia – “Local Self-Government Code,” has an important role in facilitating effective coordination and strengthening cooperation between local and central authorities on local gender equality policy issues.

Goals and Objectives

Within the framework of this strategy and considering the organization’s competence, NALAG aims to work on gender equality and gender mainstreaming issues in the following directions for 2021-2025:

Integrating gender perspective into NALAG’s structure and activities;

Promoting the implementation of effective tools for developing, monitoring, and evaluating gender equality action plans in municipalities;

Promoting the implementation of gender mainstreaming tools in municipalities;

Promoting the elimination of violence against women and domestic violence in municipalities;

Improving coordination between central and local authorities on local gender equality policy issues;
Goal 1. Integrating Gender Perspective into NALAG’s Structure and Activities

To promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming in local self-government, NALAG sees the integration of a gender perspective into its own organizational structure and activities as one of the first and important steps. To achieve this goal, NALAG defines the following objectives:

Objective 1. Integrating gender equality and gender mainstreaming issues into NALAG’s mandate and activity-regulating norms and communication platforms (charter, website, social media, etc.);

Objective 2: Increasing the capacity of NALAG employees, including board members, on gender equality and gender mainstreaming issues;

Goal 2. Promoting the Implementation of Gender Equality Policy in Municipalities

To achieve gender equality goals and objectives at the local level, the Law of Georgia on Gender Equality obliges local self-governments to develop and implement gender equality action plans.

NALAG believes that local gender equality action plans should share the gender equality policy declared by the state, especially the spirit of the National Strategy for Human Rights Protection, the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and the National Action Plans on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. At the same time, local plans should be tailored to the local context and based on the needs of local women and girls. NALAG also believes that in order to align local gender policy with international standards, it is important for municipalities to join the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life and share its spirit.

For the implementation of effective gender equality policy, in addition to separate gender equality action plans, it is important to integrate gender issues, so-called gender mainstreaming, into all areas of municipal activities. Gender mainstreaming should be implemented in all activity programs, including health, education, infrastructure, and economic empowerment programs. Gender perspective integration should also occur at all stages of municipal program implementation – from program planning to data collection, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation.

To achieve this goal, NALAG defines the following objectives:

Objective 1: Implementing a guide/instruction for the development, monitoring, and evaluation of municipal gender equality action plans

Objective 2: Increasing the number of municipalities signing the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life

Objective 3: Implementing instructions for gender mainstreaming in municipal activities
Goal 3. Promoting the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence in Municipalities

Violence against women and domestic violence are caused by gender inequality and at the same time represent one of the main obstacles to achieving gender equality.[1] This problem is also a challenge in Georgia, where according to 2017 Geostat data, 1 in 4 women has experienced some form of gender-based violence, 1 in 7 women has experienced domestic violence from a spouse/partner. 9% of women have experienced sexual violence in childhood. Local self-government has an important role in eliminating violence against women and domestic violence. Efforts to eliminate violence against women and domestic violence in municipalities should be implemented with a multidisciplinary approach based on effective coordination of various state agencies, local bodies, and cooperation with the civil sector. To achieve this goal, NALAG defines the following objectives:

Objective 1: Developing instructions for municipalities on prevention of violence against women and domestic violence and support for victims of violence

Goal 4. Improving Coordination Between Central and Local Authorities on Local Gender Equality Policy Issues

For the implementation of a unified, needs-based, and effective gender policy at all levels, NALAG considers it important to strengthen coordination and cooperation between central and local authorities. NALAG also believes that the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of local gender equality policy should be done in collaboration with civil society working on these issues, especially women’s organizations, which will make this policy more needs-based and transparent. To achieve this goal, NALAG defines the following objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthening coordination between municipalities and central authorities on local gender equality policy issues

Objective 2: Strengthening coordination between municipalities and civil society organizations on local gender equality policy issues

Strategy Implementation and Monitoring
A detailed and realistic action plan will be developed to implement the goals and objectives set out in the strategy. The NALAG Gender Equality Council is responsible for the leadership and coordination of the implementation of the strategy and action plan, which in turn is accountable to the NALAG Board. As a result of monitoring the implementation of the strategy, the effectiveness of the planned measures will be regularly evaluated and the strategy will be reviewed/updated taking into account new circumstances.

[1] See Istanbul Convention, Preamble.