Contributed by: Gabrijela Mihova, Macedonia National VAW Monitor

The regional conference “Domestic Violence and Women’s Human Rights in the Western Balkans” took place from 5-8 October in Ohrid, R. Macedonia, as part of a two-year regional project “Support for women’s human rights in the Western Balkans.” This regional project is supported by the Netherlands Humanist Committee on Human Rights (Humanistisch Overleg Mensenrechten, HOM) that started this project in partnership with women’s and human rights organizations in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia). In Macedonia, this regional project was implemented with the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women-ESE as local partner organization.

The aim of the project “Support Women's Human Rights in Western Balkans” was to evaluate the implementation of the existing norms at the level of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union related to domestic violence in the countries of the Western Balkans. The protection of human rights, especially against violence, has become a major issue at the global, regional and national levels. In this regard, this process encompassed an analysis of the existing international norms and standards regarding domestic violence, an analysis of the factual situation in the participating countries, as well as compliance of national legislation with the international standards.

The project had a national and regional character. The aim was the preparation of a regional report on domestic violence. For this purpose, there was preparation of national studies which encompassed the collection of existing data regarding the prevalence and characteristics of the problem, the governmental response with a focus on the existing legislation and implementation by governmental institutions, as well as the response of the civil society sector on this field. The nationally-prepared studies have resulted in the preparation of a regional report which compared the findings contained within them.

The regional report was promoted and presented to the regional conference, which was further directed toward strengthening cooperation between both sectors, the governmental and civil society sector. For that reason, besides representatives from NGOs, competent representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, judges from the Basic Courts, police representatives, and Members of Parliament took part in the conference, and presented on the current situation about domestic violence. The regional conference was focused on exchanging experiences between participants from different countries and professional backgrounds. The participants used the opportunity to share relevant cases from their personnel experience regarding DV and solutions to those cases. These case studies stressed the necessity for mutual coordination of all relevant actors (governmental and non governmental organizations) in their work with victims of domestic violence, toward the direction of their effective protection.

The representative from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia (MLSA) has presented the national strategies for combating domestic violence. What is characteristic in this regard is that there are two significant initiatives on this field which are an example of strong cooperation between the civil and governmental sector.

The first process is initiated by Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of the Republic of Macedonia – ESE and Association of Citizen ‘Akcija Zdruzenska” in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health. The aim of this process is the unification of the civil and criminal justice systems in the field of domestic violence. Prior to this, protocols for dealing with cases of domestic violence were prepared for each relevant ministry in this field and for the civil sector, as well.

The second initiative is directed toward the preparation of a national program for combating domestic violence as a strategy in this field. Association ESE and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare are partners in the realization of this process. The actual preparation of the national program will comprehend the involvement of a broader audience, such as other relevant ministries, institutions under their jurisdiction, and civil society organizations active in this field. The National Program will incorporate priority areas regarding domestic violence, measures and activities for their achievement, concrete carriers for their realization, as well as a time frame and indicative budget for the implementation of the national program.