Double pressure
Gender and gender identity intolerance remain the leading motives of hate crimes in Georgia, according to the Georgian Prosecutor’s 2023 report. Out of 1,218 persons charged with hate crimes last year, 1,164 were charged on the ground of gender-based hate crimes.
“The majority of defendants charged with hate crimes are adult men and the majority of the victims of hate crimes are adult women,” says the report.
After Abramidze’s death made headlines, Temida, an organization that helps Georgia’s LGBTQ+ community with shelter, psychological and other health services, launched a hotline to offer psychological aid.
“We have received up to 16 calls since yesterday,” said Beka Gabadadze, the chairperson of Temida, adding that callers had asked: “If she was killed, someone so successful and well-off, what will happen to us?”
There have been three other high-profile murders of transgender women in Georgia in the past decade.
Temida, along with other service providers for the LGBTQ+ community, is facing a two-fold threat to its work in Georgia.