In 2025, civil society actors reported an increasingly polarised environment marked by state-aligned disinformation and hostile narratives. According to community-based and service-providing organisations, these dynamics have contributed to declining trust in public institutions, particularly law enforcement, and have increased pressure on independent organisations already facing legal uncertainty, reputational attacks, and funding constraints.

In 2025, internal civil society data underscored that emigration among LGBTI people in Georgia continued to be a growing and persistent concern. Community-based organisations reported a recurring, “wave-like” pattern in requests for relocation or international protection support, consistent with trends observed in the previous years. The highest number of requests in 2025 was recorded in May, which may correlate with the entry into force of the so-called “Georgian Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA)” and the heightened climate of fear and uncertainty it generated. A comparable spike was observed in 2024, with peak demand in September and October – periods that coincided with the third reading of anti-LGBTI legislation and the murder of Kesaria Abramidze.

In 2025, the continued prevalence and systemic nature of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity remains one of the most pressing challenges faced by the LGBTI community in Georgia. Nonetheless, a mismatch between the official statistics and reality was induced by the obstacles hindering the effective prevention and investigation of SOGI-based hate crimes — such as delays in launching investigations, granting victims the status of ‘aggrieved party’, or properly qualifying criminal cases, combined with the lack of sensitivity and awareness among police officers, prosecutors, and investigators.

In July, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld the life sentence of Beka Jaiani, convicted of murdering trans  woman  Kesaria  Abramidze.  The  original

sentence, handed down on April 16, found Jaiani guilty of premeditated murder committed with particular cruelty, with the motive determined to be related to the victim’s gender identity.

This was the last case in which “gender identity” was recognized as a hate crime motive in Georgia, following the removal of “gender identity” from the list of protected grounds in the country’s hate crime provisions under the Criminal Code and the anti-discrimination law in 2025.

In March, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2025)31 concerning the execution of judgments in the Identoba and Others v. Georgia group of cases, including Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group and Others v. Georgia and Aghdgomelashvili and Japaridze v. Georgia. The Resolution expressed serious concern at the continued  failure  of  the  Georgian  authorities to ensure effective protection against, and investigation of, bias-motivated violence targeting LGBTI persons. It noted persistent shortcomings in identifying discriminatory motives, holding perpetrators accountable, and addressing police misconduct. Despite more than a decade of supervision of these judgments, the Committee of Ministers underlined that investigations remain incomplete and that implementation of required individual and general measures has been insufficient.

In April, the Georgian Dream party advanced a series of legislative amendments in the first reading, including significant changes to the Law on Gender Equality. These amendments removed the term “gender” from the text, replacing all references to “gender identity” or “gender equality” with the narrower formulation “equality between women and men.” Accordingly, the 2014 Law of Georgia on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination was also amended with “gender identity” being removed from the list of protected grounds, and the Gender Equality Committee was formally dissolved. The Georgian Dream party justified the initiation of these amendments by claiming that the term “gender” had been purposely introduced into Georgian legislation under foreign influence as a “reflection of the global processes”.

In July, a statement by the Georgian Orthodox Church, through its governing body, the Georgian Patriarchate voiced opposition to the European Commission’s call for Georgia to repeal its anti-LGBTI legislation, claiming that such a demand contradicts prior EU assurances that European integration would not require changes to the country’s traditional values. The Church described the 2024 law, passed under the ruling Georgian Dream party, as protecting “family purity” and restricting LGBTI “propaganda” aimed at minors. The Patriarchate stressed that the religious community fully supported the law at the time of its adoption and continues to see it as essential to maintaining a

“healthy social lifestyle.”

The Pride movement in Georgia, led by Tbilisi Pride, has constituted one of the most visible tests of equality, civic space, and democratic governance in the country. Pride initiatives have represented not only advocacy for LGBTI rights but also a broader indicator of Georgia’s commitment to human rights standards and the protection of freedom of assembly. Pride-related events, including the March for Dignity in 2021 and the Pride Festival in 2023, were violently disrupted by far-right groups. Civil society organisations reported limited and ineffective protection by law enforcement authorities and, in some instances, inflammatory statements by senior public officials. As of 2025, no effective investigations had been carried out, organisers had not been granted official victim status, and those responsible for organising and perpetrating the violence had not been held accountable. In recent years, Georgia has undergone a marked authoritarian shift, characterised by increasing restrictions on civil society and non-governmental organisations, alongside intensified anti-LGBTI rhetoric. In this context, Tbilisi Pride reported that it was compelled in 2025 to largely suspend its activities, close its office, and relocate staff, citing the inability to organise Pride Week safely under prevailing conditions.

In April, the Georgian Parliament passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in its third and final reading. The law requires that any individual or organisation deemed to act in the interest of a foreign entity — including those receiving foreign funding — register as a foreign agent and imposes penalties for non-compliance. FARA is intended to replace the ‘Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence’ adopted the previous year.

Almost simultaneously, the Georgian Parliament approved amendments to the Law on Grants in a third and final reading. The new provisions ban the receipt of foreign grants without prior government approval, which must be granted within ten days by the government or an authorised official. According to the law, compliance will be monitored by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and violations will be punished with a fine equal to twice the grant amount.

More recently, further amendments to the Law on Grants expanded the law’s scope to treat activities such as signing ordinary service contracts for knowledge sharing or technical assistance as equivalent to issuing a grant.

In November, independent monitoring data indicated that the Anti-Corruption Bureau expanded its oversight over civil society organisations. Since 2024, independent NGOs have been required to submit extensive documentation, including personal data, relating to their activities. In September, the bureau initiated “monitoring” of more than 80 organisations under amendments to the Law on Grants adopted in April, ordering civil society organisations  to  provide  detailed  information on activities carried out since 16 April 2025. The organisations responded stating that the bureau’s monitoring was unlawful due to the fact that the bureau did not reference specific provisions of the amended Law on Grants. Subsequently, the bureau filed motions with the Tbilisi City Court to enforce the monitoring. In mid-September, the court issued an order requiring nine organisations to comply, adopting the bureau’s reasoning without independently examining the legal or factual basis of the request. At the end of 2025, related court proceedings remained ongoing, and a number of organisations challenging the monitoring measures continued to operate while being subject to active investigation.

oad range of discriminatory provisions. By June, the Georgian Parliament granted preliminary approval to the draft legislation. The law came into force in December 2024 and includes measures that prohibit non-heterosexual people from adopting children, prevent LGBTI people from changing their gender marker on identification documents, outlaw public gatherings that promote same-sex relationships, and prohibit educational institutions from presenting what the government terms “LGBTI propaganda.” Additionally, the law bans legal gender recognition, criminalises medical procedures related to transitioning, equates same-sex relationships with incest, and declares May 17 a “Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents”, a holiday opposing the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). In addition, the law exempts labour relations from anti-discrimination obligations to avoid terminology referring to ‘’biological sex’’.

Throughout 2025, civil society actors reported a continued deterioration of the human rights environment amid broader democratic backsliding. The Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG) noted that anti-Western narratives and institutionalised LGBTI-phobic rhetoric have intensified pressure on civil society organisations and independent media. According to these reports, legal and administrative measures have increasingly been used to restrict access to funding, stigmatise organisations, and expand compliance and enforcement risks for human rights defenders.

In April, the Georgian Parliament received a legislative proposal aimed at restricting LGBTI symbolism. The initiative came from the international association “Protect Your Homeland,” which called for urgent adoption of a law banning LGBTI marches in Georgia and prohibiting the display of rainbow clothing in public gathering spaces. According to the Parliament’s Bureau, the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee was assigned to study the proposal and report back to the Bureau.

Throughout the year, a report produced by the WISG underscored that LGBTI persons remained particularly affected by stigma, confidentiality concerns, and discriminatory practices in healthcare, with trans people facing additional hurdles due to the absence of national protocols for trans-specific care, limited medical competences, and a lack of insurance coverage. Civil society organisations have also pointed to a growing gap between Georgia’s obligations and its domestic legal framework. In particular, they noted that Georgia has failed to properly implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling in

A.D. and Others v. Georgia, which required Georgia to provide legal gender recognition procedures that  are  efficient,  transparent  and  accessible.

Instead,  recent  national  legislation continues  to

obstruct access to legal gender recognition and has introduced measures that effectively criminalise aspects of gender-affirming healthcare.

The stakeholder report jointly prepared by the Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM), Equality Movement and Tbilisi Pride for Georgia’s fourth Universal Periodic Review in 2025, noted the cumulative impact of anti-LGBTI and anti-NGO laws on HIV prevention and treatment work in Georgia. Particularly, the report highlighted that there is a noticeable reduction in outreach activities, driven by decreased participation from beneficiaries, fearing surveillance or legal consequences, and increased burnout among staff members of LGBTI community organizations.

In October, the Georgian Dream party began promoting  disinformation  about  LGBTI  people to portray the European Union as interfering in Georgia’s internal affairs. This came as the EU threatened to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian citizens over the government’s failure to protect LGBTI rights and its enactment of anti-democratic legislation. Under Georgian Dream, the government rejected previous plans for EU membership and ignored the August 31 EU deadline to implement measures  ensuring  LGBTI  protections  and repealing anti-democratic laws.

Since 2024, the ruling party and allied pro-Russian groups have accused the EU of promoting “LGBT propaganda” and attempting to erase Georgia’s national identity. Party officials have publicly framed EU recommendations as unreasonable demands, including that the EU requires Georgia to introduce marriage equality and legal gender recognition procedures.

Following an official letter from the European Commission requesting clarification on Georgia’s fulfillment of conditions for continuing visa liberalisation, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the government is prepared to abandon the EU visa-free regime if it is treated as an ultimatum.

Kobakhidze described these conditions as “empty political ultimatums” lacking legal basis and emphasised that Georgia’s priorities are sovereignty, peace, and stability. He stated that visa liberalisation is a matter of convenience, whereas traditional values and societal stability are existential issues.

In February, a research report titled Human Rights Crisis in Georgia Following the 2024 Parliamentary Elections documented the systematic use of homophobic and degrading language by police and special forces during the suppression of the November–December 2024 anti-Russian protests. The report describes repeated instances of insults, threats, degrading treatment and sexualised violence, with individuals perceived as insufficiently “masculine” reportedly singled out for particularly severe physical abuse. The documentation further indicates that minors were among those affected, with recorded cases of verbal humiliation, physical violence and confiscation of personal belongings.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe voiced concern that, despite repeated requests, Georgian authorities proceeded with the adoption of the “Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors,” which bans the promotion of LGBTI identities and restricts public assemblies organised for that purpose. The Committee warned that this legislation represents a regression in the execution of previous cases and raises serious questions about Georgia’s compliance with European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments. It therefore urged the Georgian state to repeal the law.

In July, ILGA World, Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG), Tbilisi Pride, and Equality Movement (EM) submitted a shadow report for Georgia’s fourth Universal Periodic Review. The report assessed the situation of human rights for LGBTI people in Georgia between 2021 and 2025, highlighting systematic rollbacks of rights, increasing state-sponsored hostility, and growing exclusion from public life. It also noted that progress on gender equality had been undermined, with measures to promote women’s political participation revoked and gender-based violence, particularly by law enforcement, going unpunished, sustaining a climate of impunity.

In 2025, civil society condemned Georgia’s failure to implement the ECtHR ruling in A.D. and Others v. Georgia (See also under Health), underscoring that the September 2024 ‘family values/minors’ law includes a complete prohibition of legal gender recognition and has been applied as a basis to restrict gender-affirming healthcare.