Contributed by: Vanja Mikulic and Irena Milatovic, Montenegro National VAW Monitors

A regional project, entitled "Support Women’s Human Rights in the Western Balkans," was initiated at the end of last year. The implementing organization is the Humanist Committee for Human Rights (Utrecht, the Netherlands), while donors of the project are HIVOS and PSO. The national partners in the project include fourteen relevant women’s NGOs from different countries in the Balkans (Croatia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Srpska, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia).

The project is aimed at providing comprehensive national studies, in which each national team will analyze:

• A level of harmonization of domestic legislation with international standards (documents/treaties of European Union, Council of Europe and CEDAW),
• A factual situation: prevalence of domestic violence, economic, social and political factors linked to domestic violence, the policy of state institutions and NGOs related to protective and preventive measures (the latter part will be based on an extensive field study),
• Possible suggestions/recommendations to the state party and NGOs for combating domestic violence.

Further, these national studies will serve as basis for the regional in-depth study that will be published in local languages and in English. The second part of the project will be devoted to lobbying for changes – national teams will design lobbying strategies based on the needs of each respective country.

In Montenegro, the national partners in the project are the following NGOs: Forum of Women of Montenegro and SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence Podgorica.

The beginning (first phase) of the implementation of the Regional Project “Support to Women’s Human Rights in Western Balkans” consisted of coordination efforts for drafting activities and planning, as well as at the national and regional levels; regarding the biggest study in Montenegro, these two NGOs have done project activities presented in a logical framework to ensure a qualitative approach to this study.

Following the Content Report, the first draft has been developed in cooperation with the partner organization - SOS hotline in Podgorica. The first two months of this Project has started with only one partner organization from Montenegro – Women Forum of Montenegro, due to a lack of funds necessary to support the two in the other countries.

Thanks to the efforts, strength and interest of HOM in the field study in Montenegro, a second NGO was involved. The second phase of the activity, which was implemented in December, was the implementation of the First National Activity – Round Table on Domestic Violence, which SOS Podgorica and Women Forum of Montenegro have jointly organized, inviting participants from all relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Interior, judicial institutions and NGOs.

This was an opportunity to inform all national stakeholders about the ongoing study and to raise their interest and therefore their participation and cooperation. Sharing experiences and knowledge regarding domestic violence in Montenegro, we concluded that:

• Seek more intense cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, 
• Harmonize the legal definition of violence in family with the definition in the study,
• Strengthen institutional capacities to deal with violence in the family, 
• Develop the National Action Plan to combat violence in the family, 
• Establish a special institution that provides support to victims of violence (such as victims’ institute).

As the project is ongoing, preliminary results may be expected in October 2005.

Source: SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence Podgorica