Among other things, Georgia follows in Moscow’s footsteps on LGBT+ rights

Georgia‘s path to European Union membership seems to be going downhill: the country's aspirations to finally free itself from Russian influence, and anchor itself to the West, had seemed on the verge of being realised in December 2023, when the EU granted the Caucasus republic candidate status.

However, a series of measures adopted in recent months by the government, led by the national-populist Georgian Dream party (ქართული ოცნება, GD), have caused a setback.

The first of these measures was the so-called "foreign agents" transparency law inspired by the law adopted by Moscow to suppress Russian civil society. Nicknamed the "Russian law", this text qualifies as "foreign agents" any organisation that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad, and imposes heavy bureaucratic requirements and equally heavy sanctions, effectively limiting the organisation's action. The law was approved by parliament in mid-May despite protests that drove tens of thousands of people into the streets of Tbilisi and other cities. In reaction, the EU suspended Georgia's accession process on 27 June.

Against “LGBT propaganda”

On the same day, Georgian deputies approved in first reading another Kremlin-inspired text, the so-called law against "LGBT propaganda" and for the "protection of family values and children". The measure bans same-sex marriage, the adoption of children by people who are not heterosexual or who do not identify with their birth sex, as well as interventions aimed at gender reassignment.

In addition, the law bans all public gatherings that promote same-sex relations and identification with a different sex, as well as the dissemination of information on the subject (including films or other cultural productions). The penalties against such "LGBT propaganda" include fines of up to 5,000 lari (about €1,660 euro), a significant sum in a country where the average salary is about 1,600 lari (about €570).

The two measures are emblematic of Georgian Dream's two-faced attitude towards Georgia's European aspirations, particularly in view of the 26 October parliamentary elections, which were considered by many to be decisive for the country's future direction.

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In public and abroad, GD claims to want to bring Georgia to Europe – its ubiquitous campaign logo merges the party's symbol with that of the EU – while at the same time taking measures that actually go in the opposite direction, bringing the country closer to Moscow.

Russia now stands at the vanguard of attacks on sexual minorities, and more generally against sexual and reproductive rights and feminist movements. These policies should be read within a form of cultural and political backlash, which is taking shape among conservative movements around the world, and is generally deployed in an "anti-Western" key.

In Russia, the bombastic turn against so-called "LGBT propaganda" – which goes hand in hand with homophobia and discrimination – dates back to 2010, with an acceleration in 2014, at the same time as the invasion of Ukraine.

A first law against "LGBT propaganda" was passed in Russia in 2012, and in 2022 the law was strengthened, leading to the withdrawal from the market of specific texts, films and art works deemed "propaganda". In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court condemned a supposed "international LGBT movement", leading to the closure of the last associations still active in supporting the queer community, and paving the way for the persecution of its members.

The queer question in Georgian society

With only a few weeks to go before the elections, Georgian Dream aims to woo the more conservative segment of the electorate, which is rather large, while knowing that it has already alienated the more progressive and pro-Western Georgians.

According to a study published in 2022 by the National Democratic Institute and Caucasus Research Resource Centre Georgia, only 38% of young people think it is important to defend the rights of sexual minorities. Meanwhile, 80% of Georgians say they are in favour of the country joining the EU.

The issue of sexual minority rights in Georgia is a relatively recent one, explains Giorgi Tabagari, LGBT+ activist and part of the Tbilisi Pride organisers: "Between conflicts with Russia, population displacements [following the Russian occupation of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions] and economic difficulties, there was no place for queer issues in Georgian society until the situation stabilised. The first gay bar opened in 2000, and the first queer rights organisation started operation in 2006. So, the visibility of the queer community has gradually increased ever since."

"Obviously," Tabagari continues, "as Georgia has missed out a lot of parallel processes that were happening outside the Soviet Union, the country ended up largely conservative. However, the progress in acceptance towards LGBTQI people has been increasing in the past years. Especially among the new generations."

But there is still a long way to go, he adds, in particular – again – because of Russian influence, which is still very strong in the region: "The typical Kremlin tactic of using LGBT+ rights as a political weapon is being used in Georgia by pro-Russian groups, and hatred towards queer people is organised and financed. The most common narrative of the current government opposes family values to pro-Europe and pro-LGBT+ values, in the name of ‘true patriotism’, and those who oppose this are Western agents opposed to traditional values".

In this battle that is now cultural, the government has an iron ally: the Orthodox Church, a highly influential institution within a relatively conservative society, especially outside of Tbilisi, the capital, and Batumi, the country's second largest city.

During the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in 2013, "the Georgian Orthodox church mobilised thousands and thousands of followers and attacked 10 to 15 people who were forced into a yellow van. And this was televised and the attack was brutal", recalls Ana Tavadze, queer activist and Development Officer of the Shame movement.

The following year, in 2014, the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate established the "National Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents", which falls on 17 May, not coincidentally the same day as the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. From that year on, the day has been declared by the government a bank holiday and public holiday, and government politicians lead the march in the centre of Tbilisi," Tavadze explains.

In this context, opposition forces prefer not to risk losing support by taking an open stance against the anti-LGBT+ measures: "Local rights groups and media have so far failed to compel Georgian pro-Western and liberal groups to clearly articulate their stance on queer rights," explains Shota Kincha, a journalist and LGBT+ activist.

"For example, President Zourabichvili and pro-Western parties have not clearly promised to stop or, if adopted, abolish the law against 'LGBT propaganda'. Additionally, their plans to enforce existing anti-discrimination legislation remain vague. I find the silence of organisations not specifically focused on queer issues even more alarming. Increasingly, they refrain from raising their voices against homophobia and Georgian Dream's hate speech."

"The overall situation is becoming increasingly discouraging, as the relatively safer spaces for Georgian queer socialisation have not translated into a politically dynamic movement," Kincha adds. "What we currently have is a queer activism in crisis, which has focused, essentially, on attempts to organise marches, and less on community building. Activism has also suffered a lot from emigration caused by repression.

Today, almost all the openly queer and politically active people I knew around ten years ago are living abroad". As for the media, Kincha explains that the situation is not optimal: "At times, it is challenging to report on queer issues because queer rights groups are often hesitant to comment. The reasons for their silence vary, but a commonly cited one is their desire not to endorse and help what they see as an agenda set by hate groups or the government."

This trend is confirmed by Khatia Ghoghoberidze, a queer activist and editor of the online magazine Aprili Media ("the only news outlet that works directly with the LGBT+ community"): "Over the past few years, the LGBTQ+ community has had to endure increasing repression, particularly when it comes to public demonstrations."

The first Tbilisi Pride events, in 2019 and 2020, were held in the capital without too many setbacks. In 2021, however, when 15 political parties, including the United National Movement, the main opposition party, signed a pact to "eliminate discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ citizens by all available means", Pride was marked by violent counter-demonstrations that led to the cancellation of the march. "More than 50 journalists were injured," Ghoghoberidze says.

The following year, Pride week was held in an essentially private form, and the music festival organised in 2023 "was gatecrashed by anti-LGBT+ rights demonstrators, and the police did practically nothing to stop them or protect the organisers," recalls Ghoghoberidze. "This year, the organisers decided that there will be no organised event – neither march nor concert – because of the political situation. This decision was announced in March, when the protests against the adoption of the so-called 'Russian law’ began, so as to avoid any manipulation by the government".

In this context, the LGBT+ community tends to keep a low profile. In the absence of public support, organisation tends to run parallel to other issues. "Among other things", Ana Tavadze says, "I manage a project called Proud Families project, the first in the country that works with the parents of queer people, to create a sense of community, offer them psychological support, and help them reconnect with their children. It is a project that I run at the same time as Girls Wave, an initiative that promotes the reproductive and sexual health rights of girls and young women, one of the most taboo topics in Georgia".

"There are no protests specifically on this law. After the adoption of Foreign Agents law, the ruling Georgian Dream party has been on the path to eradicate civil society and independent media", Tabagari explains. "The law is expected to be passed during the autumn, just before the elections, so that Georgian Dream can use it during the campaign. Thus, at the moment the society as a whole is focused on the elections, and hoping that pro-Kremlin forces won't hold on to power."

The Georgian constitution "states that we are all equal and that it is not permitted to discriminate against citizens on the basis of sexual orientation. So, obviously we will challenge the text in the Constitutional Court, but this court also happens to be in the hands of Georgian Dream", says Mariam Gogosashvili of the NGO Rights Georgia. "But the government's ultimate aim is to exploit debates around the law to gain more votes from the conservative electorate".

Meanwhile, the LGBT+ rights movement, Gogosashvili concludes, "is aware that either the government changes in October, or there won't be a future in Georgia for the queer community. And it is not just queers who are in danger. If the state remains fully captured by anti-democratic forces, and concepts like rule of law, justice and democracy become irrelevant, then it will be difficult for liberal-minded citizens to continue business as usual."

Francesca Barca contributed to this report.