Anti-propaganda laws | -5/10 | No evidence of applicable anti-discrimination legislation: 0/10 | Anti-discrimination legislation covers one protected characteristic: 5/10 | Two grounds of discrimination: 7.5/10 | Three grounds of discrimination: 10/10
Over the past two years, LGBTQI and SOGIESC-related legislation in Georgia has drastically deteriorated. Once considered relatively progressive in line with European anti-discrimination standards, though never fully or effectively implemented, Georgia's legal framework has now been reversed in ways that grossly violate the human rights of LGBTQI people. The current legislation contradicts Georgia’s Constitution and its international human rights obligations.
In 2024, the ruling party, Georgian Dream, put forward an anti-LGBTQI constitutional law project. As part of a broader political strategy, the draft constitutional law aimed at politically instrumentalising LGBTQI issues in the lead-up to parliamentary elections. Despite the Venice Commission’s recommendation not to proceed with its adoption, the Georgian Parliament passed the Law of Georgia on the Protection of Family Values and Minors along with 18 related amendments to existing legislation.Article 8 of the Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors covers the topic of “Education” and imposes a blanket ban on the inclusion and dissemination of information in educational institutions that “aims to popularise” identities or relationships outside of rigid cisnormative and heterosexual frameworks. It targets content from preschool to higher education and even informal interactions within institutional spaces. The overly broad and vague phrasing, particularly through the use of the term “popularising, opens the door to arbitrary and politically motivated interpretations.
The article directly targets LGBTQI people by equating same-sex relationships and diverse gender identities with incest. This not only stigmatises LGBTQI identities but also intentionally links them to criminal or socially taboo behavior, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and justifying repression.
Article 8 violates key rights protected under international human rights law, including the freedom of expression and academic freedom (ICCPR, ECHR Articles 10 and 13), right to education without discrimination (CRC, ICESCR, ICERD, CEDAW), and the protection from discrimination based on SOGIESC (Yogyakarta Principles, ECHR jurisprudence). This article also contradicts Georgia’s Constitution, which guarantees equality, freedom of expression, and access to education.
The Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors risks silencing not only teachers but also students, researchers, and civil society actors within educational environments. Its enforcement could result in censorship, disciplinary actions, and self-censorship, undermining educational quality and mental well-being, especially for LGBTQI youth.
In parallel to the passing of this law, amendments were made to existing education laws to ensure their full alignment with the anti-LGBTQI agenda. Both the Law on General Education (2005) and the Law on Higher Education (2004) were revised to reflect and enforce the principles set out in the Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors. These amendments introduced new articles mandating compliance with the Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors’ requirements.
Article 8 of the Law on General Education and Article 3 of the Law on Higher Education read: “It shall be inadmissible to include such information in the curriculum of a general education institution or school, and/or to disseminate or facilitate the dissemination of such information by an employee of the institution within the framework of its activities or on its premises, if the information implies the popularisation of assigning a person to neither of the biological sexes, or to a sex different from their biological sex, or of relationships between representatives of the same biological sex based on sexual orientation, or incest. For the purposes of this article, the term ‘popularisation’ shall be interpreted in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors.”
These revisions embed ideological censorship into the very fabric of Georgia’s education system, erasing all possibilities for inclusive teaching and open discussion of human diversity.
Further exacerbating the situation, in April 2025, the Law of Georgia on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (2014), widely known as the anti-discrimination law, was also amended. Previously, the law included “sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression” among the explicitly protected grounds. However, the 2025 amendment removed the “gender identity and expression” grounds, stripping legal protection from trans and non-binary individuals. While sexual orientation formally remains a protected ground under this law, the contradiction is glaring: the newly enacted legislation bans the so-called “popularisation” of same-sex relationships, effectively nullifying protections in practice.
These amendments were induced through the adoption of a legislative initiative by the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament on April 2, 2025, aimed at removing the term “gender” from Georgian legal texts. Notably, the Law of Georgia on Gender Equality was renamed the Law on Equality Between Women and Men, reinforcing a strictly binary and exclusionary framework.
These legislative changes directly contradict and disregard the recommendations made in the 2019 country report of the UN Independent Expert on SOGI, which identified serious systemic shortcomings in Georgia’s education system regarding the treatment of LGBTQI students (see more under Policies and Action Plans).
These developments mirror the so-called "anti-propaganda" laws seen in other authoritarian-leaning states. Framed under the guise of “protecting children” and preserving “family values,” these laws in reality institutionalise discrimination, amplify hate speech, and endanger LGBTQI children and youth.
