Restorative justice in Georgia: On the limited recognition of prostitution in Tbilisi

Liana Kupreishvili - University of Regensburg

The paper problematizes contemporary principles of restorative justice in the Georgian criminal justice system, by examining legal cases of recognition of prostitution, application of public policies and their aims toward various actors of sex-work community working in this industry. Currently we observe a dichotomy in practices of restorative justice in Eastern and Post-Soviet countries. Some of them demonstrate the harmful nature of the industry, negative effects on the workers and community, in order to discourage involvement in it; and another tries to achieve future where sex workers are respected as human beings and have the same rights as other workers. Georgia chooses to ignore sex workers by separating them from “ordinary humans” by limiting their recognition as members of society.
Restorative justice includes various sides, victim, offender, and, where appropriate, any other individuals or community members affected by a crime. Paper discusses questions: who is recognizing the problem of sex-work as an industry? Who is demanding restitution and for what? Who is considered as victim in the case of sex work and in general can we apply legal understanding of restitution to the sex industry in Georgia?