The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia launched a new information campaign against child marriage titled - "Do not take away your childhood."

The aim of the campaign is to eliminate crimes that promote child marriage and raise public awareness on this issue, which, on the one hand, will help to detect the crime in a timely manner and, on the other hand, will help respond effectively in conjunction with obtaining the necessary evidence.

The campaign presentation was held at the Rooms Hotel. The First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia - Ekaterine Dgebuadze, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs - Alexander Darakhvelidze, the Deputy Ambassador of Sweden to Georgia - Erik Illes, the Head of the UNFPA Georgia Office - Lela Bakradze attended the event.

Ekaterine Dgebuadze addressed the audience and spoke about the importance of education and inter-agency cooperation in preventing child marriage in Georgia.

The information campaign, which will last for two months, includes several social and cognitive events in Tbilisi and the regions.

The opening ceremony of the campaign was also attended by representatives of the governmental and non-governmental sector, members of parliament, representatives of the Public Defender's Office and international organizations working on the issue.

The “Do Not Take Away Childhood” Campaign, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Office, is part of the Swedish Government-funded UN Joint Program on Gender Equality. It is also supported by the international organization Arbiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) and the networks of Centres for Democratic Involvement.