“We Were Their Last Hope”: Georgia’s NGO Crackdown Leaves Women Without Protection

“People trusted us, they went to us. In many cases, we were their last hope,” said Khatia Rekhviashvili, a project coordinator at one of Georgia’s oldest non-governmental organizations supporting women.

For more than 25 years, Rights Georgia has provided free legal support to people who have experienced human rights abuses, from victims of gender-based violence to families displaced by war. But amid an escalating government crackdown on civil society, that work is now under threat.

Since May 2024, the ruling Georgian Dream party has passed a series of laws restricting organizations receiving donations from abroad, including NGOs and independent media outlets. The legislation requires foreign-funded groups to register, give up potentially sensitive information and acquire permission from a government commission for all foreign grants. 

More than 25,000 NGOs are registered in Georgia, according to the EU, though many are considered inactive. While the exact volume of foreign funding remains unclear, civil society groups are widely seen as heavily reliant on external donors. Between 2019 and 2024, the EU allocated €46.1 million to civil society programming in Georgia, including €8.6 million for human rights and gender equality projects.

Just this month, the legislation was further tightened, meaning employees of NGOs that fail to comply could face hefty fines or up to six years in jail. 

Georgian Dream has defended the policies, saying they are designed to promote transparency and defend the country’s sovereignty. But many organizations have opted to boycott them, citing concerns for the safety of staff and beneficiaries and the stigmatizing effect of registering as “foreign agents”. 

The pressure on civil society is part of a broader wave of repressive measures. Georgia was once regarded a democratic frontrunner in the post-Soviet space, but a recent EU report accused it of serious backsliding, describing it as a “candidate country in name only.”

Research by the Caucasus Regional Research Center found 119 organizations running gender equality projects between 2021 and 2023 and noted that civil society groups largely “depend on foreign donors” and face “significant financial challenges”.

Rights Georgia previously relied on funding from UNHCR, USAID, and the EU to sustain its work. With new restrictions limiting access to foreign grants, Rekhviashvili and her colleagues are now working part-time without pay — determined to see their existing cases through despite the mounting strain.

“These are really difficult cases. We don’t know how, but we have to continue them,” said Rekhviashvili, who specializes in supporting victims of gender-based violence.

A 2022 UN report found that one in two women in Georgia experience violence, making it a core focus for many NGOs. Among Rights Georgia’s active cases is a disabled survivor of attempted femicide whose earlier request for a restraining order went unheeded before the attack.

With only half its staff remaining and funds rapidly shrinking, Rights Georgia has suspended its educational programs, reduced three 24/7 hotlines to just one, and stopped accepting new cases — except in urgent, high-risk situations where survivors have nowhere else to turn for legal support.

“We do our best to help [people], it’s really heartbreaking that we are not able to help them always,” Rekhviashvili said.

More to Her Story spoke to eight organizations from across the NGO sector; all of them had been forced to significantly scale back operations and some had even halted activities altogether.

Alongside new legislation, the state anti-corruption bureau has started investigating civil society groups. Seven NGOs have had their accounts frozen amid an investigation into “sabotage”, including Sapari, a leading women’s rights group, whilst dozens of others – including Rights Georgia – have been issued inspection notices by the bureau in relation to the grants law.

The investigations drew criticism from the EU’s diplomatic service, which described the measures as “weaponization of the justice system as a tool of repression.”

Legislation targeting civil society has become increasingly common amid a global trend of rising authoritarianism. Hungarian lawmakers passed a foreign influence bill in 2023, attempting to introduce further restrictions last year and Serbia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have also pursued similar legislation.

But according Ucha Nanuashvili, the Vice President of the International Federation of Human Rights, Georgia’s case is particularly severe, with the penalties of the new amendment rivalling Russia in harshness.

Civil society in Georgia is in “severe crisis,” Nanuashvili told More to Her Story. 

Legislative changes have also been accompanied by political rhetoric villainizing organizations receiving foreign funds, with politicians claiming they are acting as proxies of outside powers or meddling in politics. This stigmatisation of civil society groups has translated into real-life harassment.

One organization requested not to be named for safety reasons after its headquarters were attacked: “We changed offices because it wasn’t safe any more, not only for us but also for community members,” the founder said. 

Rights Georgia’s offices have also been vandalized several times and posters of the executive director with the label “enemy of the state” were stuck up around the building.

The group’s lawyers have even experienced abuse in the courtroom. In one case, an opposing lawyer referenced Elon Musk tweets dubbing USAID a terrorist organization in an attempt to discredit the organization, which had received funding from the American body.

The pressure on civil society groups comes at a time when risks for women and LGBTQ+ people are already heightened.

In 2024, Georgian Dream passed the Law on Protection of Family Values, outlawing so-called “LGBT propaganda” in media and education and banning adoption and fostering for same-sex couples. The anti-LGBT law is yet to be enforced, but the effect on society is already being felt.

Attitudes toward gender-based violence are also hardening. A report funded by the EU and the UN last year found that views have worsened since 2019, with a growing share of men blaming women’s “carelessness” for rape and saying women should endure abuse to preserve the family unit.

Against this backdrop, Rekhviashvili worries about the consequences if organizations like hers are no longer able to provide vital services to socially-disadvantaged women.

“These laws really affect the most vulnerable groups,” Rekhviashvili told More to Her Story. “If the NGO sector doesn’t survive, there will be a huge [resource] gap for these groups.”

Some names of organizations and their representatives have been omitted due to safety concerns.