Georgian journalist wins sexual harassment lawsuit against her boss

Shalva Ramishvili, a prominent Georgian TV host, was ordered to pay compensation in the amount of GEL 2 000 for non-pecuniary damages to his former colleague Tatia Samkharadze after she accused him of sexual harassment.

Although the court only partially sustained Samkharadze’s claim (Ramishvili was ordered to pay for non-pecuniary damages but was acquitted of the pecuniary part), Georgian human rights defenders termed it as ‘an unprecedented case’. In their opinion, what is most important is that the court assessed the incident as sexual harassment.

Baia Pataraia, a leading women’s rights advocate and the executive director of the Sapari union hopes that ‘this case will set a precedent for other victims of sexual harassment so that they won’t be afraid of filing lawsuits against their abusers’.

Samkharadze is satisfied with the court ruling as well.

“The most important part was that the court confirmed the fact of sexual harassment and imposed compensation for non-pecuniary damages…I think it’s important for any person who has ever faced such a problem,” Samkharadze told the on.ge media outlet.

Meanwhile, Ramishvili claims that it was he who won the case. “The matter had nothing to do with either discrimination or sexual harassment,’ said Ramishvili.

The motivation part of the court ruling hasn’t been made public yet.

In 2015, 25-year-old Imedi TV employee Tatia Samkharadze accused her boss Shalva Ramishvili, an influential and prominent TV host, of sexual harassment and filed a lawsuit against him. Ramishvili completely denied those accusations.

Tatia Samkharadze was the first Georgian woman to sue her boss for sexual harassment.