Rape as Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination Against Women: Analysis of German and Georgian Criminal Law Through the Lens of the International Anti-Discrimination Framework
Abstract
This article studies and examines the conceptualisation of rape through the lens of gender equality, arguing that sexual violence must be understood as a form of discrimination against women. Against the backdrop of recent developments within the United Nations, particularly the renewed emphasis on women’s rights and gender equality in the work of the General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women (2026), the study situates its analysis within the broader human rights and anti-discrimination framework. The article critically engages with legislative developments in Georgia, specifically the removal of the concept of “gender” from legal discourse and its replacement with the narrower notion of “equality between women and men,” which is based solely on biological sex. It argues that such a shift obscures the structural and gendered dimensions of sexual violence and undermines a comprehensive understanding of rape as a manifestation of inequality. Adopting a feminist legal perspective, the study conducts a comparative analysis of Georgian and German criminal law on sexual violence using doctrinal and comparative legal methods. Drawing on this analysis, it demonstrates that framing rape as gender-based discrimination enhances both the conceptual clarity of the offence and the effectiveness of legal responses. The article further draws on key contributions from feminist legal scholarship to support its normative and analytical framework. The study advocates for the reintegration of gender as a central analytical category in legal discourse and for the development of legal frameworks that more adequately address the structural inequalities underpinning sexual violence.
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