Population of women: 50,2% Life expectancy of women: 76,27 % of women among adults with HIV/AIDS: 22,22%
Female illiteracy: 9,74% Secondary school enrollment of girls: 50,55% Women in workforce: 43% Unemployment of women: 56,7% Parliament seats occupied by women: 9,8% Women in ministerial-level positions: 6,25%
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Background information
The status of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was decided by the Referendum on Montenegrin independence that was held on 21 May 2006. The turnout on the referendum was 86,5%, of which 55,5% voted for independence (55% was the treshhold needed to validate the referendum under rules set by the European Union). Based on the results of the referendum, Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006. On June 28, Montenegro became the 192nd Member State of the United Nations. According to the last census conducted in 2003, Montenegro has a population of 620,145 people, of which 314,920 are women, and 305,225 are men. Montenegro has a president and a parliamentary system of government. On 11 May 2004, Filip Vujanovic was elected President of Montenegro for a period of five years through direct and secret ballots. The Montenegrin Parliament passes all laws in Montenegro, ratifies international treaties, appoints the Prime Minister, ministers, and justices of all courts, adopts the budget and performs other duties as established by the Constitution. The current president of the Parliament is Ranko Krivokapic. A new official flag of Montenegro was adopted on July 12,2004 by the Montenegrin legislature. The national day is July 13th.
Today, young women in Montenegro are educated, talented, emancipated and ready to contribute toward the achievement of a democratic society but still do not have the same opportunities as men. Women’s NGOs and recent institutional mechanisms for gender equality are important factors for improving the situation. In comparison to the situation in the past regarding gender issues, the status of women has changed slightly and shows an improving trend.
Equality The equality of all citizens of Montenegro is assured by the constitution and by-laws. The Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro states that all citizens are free and equal regardless of personal attributes, and everyone is equal before the law (Article 15). Article 17 states that, "Everyone is entitled to an equal protection of his freedoms and rights in the procedure prescribed by law." V
Thus, there are many de jure protections for women, but in practice, many things are very different, and inequality is noticeable. Montenegro is still a patriarchal and traditional society, where women are generally in an unequal, submissive and subordinate position with regard to men. Women constitute more than 50% of the population, but are not represented accordingly on all levels of decision–making. The primary role of women is as caretakers in the family, to raise the children and to do household jobs. The professional engagement of employed women is not a priority, and women’s employment is generally viewed and accepted as additional income for the family budget.
Mechanisms for gender equality
Two institutional mechanisms for gender equality exist in Montenegro: the Parliament Committee for Gender Equality and the Governmental Office for Gender Equality.
The Parliament Committee for Gender Equality was established on 11 July 2001 to monitor and promote the human rights and freedoms concerning gender equality that are guaranteed under the Constitution. The Committee’s duties include: reviewing draft legislation to ensure the promotion of gender equality; endorsing international documents on gender equality; recommending measures to advance gender equality in the fields of education, healthcare, public awareness, social policies, employment, entrepreneurship, families and decision-making processes; participating in the development of programmes on gender equality that coincide with the European Union’s standards; and, cooperating with NGOs that focus on gender equality.
The Gender Equality Office was established by the Decision of the Government of Montenegro on March 27th 2003 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro, no. 20/03). The Office performs expert and other tasks related to the implementation of the principle of gender equality and implementation of international conventions and contracts needed for the Government of the Republic of Montenegro, coordinates the activities of governmental bodies from this field and is a partner to NGOs dealing with gender equality issues and women’s human rights
Domestic Violence
The presence of domestic violence is evident in Montenegrin society, even though increased changes in gender values can be seen recently. Beside existing NGOs and other institutions and organizations dealing with violence against women issues, attempts to solve the problem have weak effects.
According to the SOS hotline for women and children victims of violence Podgorica, the number of clients calling the SOS hotline from 1997 to 2003 was as follows:
During 2004, 166 persons called volunteers of the SOS Hotline Podgorica 260 times. This number only includes calls where legal advice was provided over the telephone. Seventy-three additional calls were recorded separately, so the total sum of users of the SOS line in 2004 was 239. In 76.5% of all cases in 2004, the presence of one or more of the different forms of violence were cited, while in 23.5% cases, there were other problems, like loneliness, disease, poverty, adolescent problems, reported. In 34.3% of cases, endangerment of children was recorded. The percentage of unemployed and employed women was almost identical. The sex of the violator was 93.6% males and 6.4% females.
During 2005, 190 persons called volunteers of SOS hotline Podgorica 300 times.
Article 220 of the Criminal Code punishes violence in the family by a fine or imprisonment of up to one year. If a weapon is used to carry out the violence, the prison sentence ranges from three months to three years’ imprisonment. Serious bodily injury or death as a result of the violence increases the prison sentence to five and twelve years, respectively. According to the U.S. Department of State, the victim is not required to file a complaint for prosecution to occur, and some prosecutions did take place in 2003.
Activists of SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence Podgorica, with its partners’ organisations SOS Hotlines from Bar and Berane, and with support from USAID/MAP/ORT, conducted the initiative “Monitoring of enforcement of the article 220 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Montenegro,” which treats domestic violence as a criminal act. Within this initiative, data was obtained from the Police Centers and courts in 9 Montenegrin municipalities (Podgorica, Kolasin, Danilovgrad, Bar, Ulcinj, Budva, Berane, Rozaje and Plav).
Analysis has shown that regardless of these positive steps forward, the system’s institutions are still unaware of domestic violence’s consequences for society as a whole, and how important their role is in prevention, despite the institutions’ persistent assertion that the biggest number of delinquent and even criminal behavior is due to the effects of the violators’ own experience of violence by their own families.
For Commentary on the Montenegro draft law on Domestic Violence, click here.
Employment and sexual harassment
Women constitute 43% of employed persons. Even though women are equal or even more advanced in terms of education and educational achievements than men, they are primarily employed in the service-provider areas of health, social protection, and education, all of which are lower-paying jobs. In terms of power distribution, in accordance with attitudes and opinions of patriarchal culture, women have an unimportant role. Employed women are very rare in leadership positions, although they possess high professional abilities. A small number of them run their own businesses. During the period of intensive social, economical and political crises, women found themselves in the most difficult situation; they were the first to lose a job, and they rarely could find new employment. Due to those reasons, women were forced to work in the black market and accept any employment, regardless of their educational background. This situation at times endangered their physical and moral integrity. Women constitute the poorest part of the total population. As a result, women, especially those who are uneducated and economically dependent, are exposed to different forms of discrimination and violence. Women, in general, are unfamiliar with their rights and the state’s obligations for their protection. There is no law that prohibits sexual harassment, even though there were proposals for its introduction in the law in the previous period. However, Article 207 of the Criminal Code prohibits sexual intercourse through abuse of position. Prison sentences range from three months to three years.
Women in politics
Regarding participation of women in politics and in decision-making, they are under-represented, particularly in higher-level positions. The Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro has only 9.8% female members. Of the 16 Ministers within the Government of the Republic of Montenegro, there are two female Ministers, but women’s participation in positions of deputy ministers is increasing. Out of 21 municipalities in Montenegro, two of them are led by women, and women serve in less than 9% of municipal councilor positions. Forty percent of women are members of the Trade Union, and women constitute only 13.6% of individuals employed in managing positions. It should be also stressed that participation of women in the judiciary is increased.
Sexual Assault
Rape is punished under Article 204 of the Criminal Code. Any person, who forces another to engage in sexual intercourse or other similar act, by coercion or threat of death or other physical injury, may be punished by a prison sentence of two to ten years. Sexual intercourse by threat to honor or dignity may also be punished by one to eight years’ imprisonment. The prison sentence increases to a maximum sentence of eighteen years if specific aggravating factors are present. Other provisions of the Criminal Code also punish sexual offences, including sexual intercourse with a juvenile (Article 206), sexual intercourse by abuse of position (Article 207), other punishable sexual acts (Article 208), and the procurement and permitting of such sexual abuse (Article 209). Spousal rape is also an offense under the Criminal Code.
Trafficking in Persons
Trafficking in human beings is prohibited under Article 444 of the Criminal Code, which states that anyone who canvasses, transports, submits, sells, buys, participates in, hides or keeps another person for the purposes of forced labour, slavery, performing criminal offence, prostitution or begging, usage in pornographic purposes, organ transplantation or armed conflict by force or threat, bringing into delusion or keeping in the delusion, abuse of permission, trust, subordinate position, difficult status of the another person, keeping an identification card or giving or receiving the money or other benefit, for the purposes of getting consent from the person who controls the other person, shall be punished from one to ten years’ imprisonment. If the offence results in serious bodily injury or death, the maximum prison sentence increases to twelve years. The Republic of Montenegro has also established an Anti-Trafficking in Persons Strategy, which addresses the prosecution, protection and prevention of trafficking in persons. It sets forth means of combating the problem, such as public awareness campaigns, educating officials, law enforcement, medical personnel, and organizations, assisting and protecting victims, gathering statistics, disciplining and/or prosecuting corrupted public officials, and reforming laws to conform to international standards.
In February 2001, the Government of the Republic of Montenegro established the position of the National Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. The Office of the National Coordinator coordinates the work of the governmental agencies, nongovernmental and international organizations involved in combating trafficking in persons. Since the beginning of 2006, the government has financially supported the shelter for victims of trafficking in human beings (previously financed by the International Organization for Migration), which is operated by the NGO Montenegrin Women’s Lobby.