Montenegro

In the Year of Fight against Violence in Family, UNDP provides support to the Women’s Safe House

Podgorica, 11 May 2010

By signing a grant agreement between the UNDP and the Women’s Safe House the problems of the oldest Montenegrin shelter for victims of violence in family were solved, at least for the next year. Both organizations appealed to the state organs to provide financial support for the functioning of the Shelter, stating that that was their duty.

Looking into the facts, only last week the Shelter was a home for three women and three children. During the last seven days, the Shelter was a source of hope for 9 people who came to seek for advice and support. Last week also, this organization provided food packages for two single mothers with their children. All those noble, valuable efforts for the people in need should be recognized, praised and supported by all, and especially by the institutions of the system.       

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Montenegro will support the work of the Podgorica Women’s Safe House Shelter for Victims of Violence in Family through financial support for renting facilities and utility costs for the period of one year. In the Year of Fight against Violence in Family this is one of direct and concrete ways of providing assistance to the efforts in domain of protection of victims of violence, and it represents an invitation for the institutions of the system and other relevant institutions to make assistance to this and to other shelters for victims of violence in family regular and stable.

At the official signing of the Grant Agreement, Mr Alexander Avanessov, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro said that the problem of violence in family should be adequately addressed through synchronized actions of all relevant institutions, in partnership with non-governmental organizations. “We cannot afford to victimise victims again, by leaving them without support and protection of the Shelter, and this is the main reason for providing ad hoc financial support ,“ said Mr. Avanessov.

Mr. Avanessov also pointed out that the institutions of the system should support such efforts, and he used the opportunity to invite the Government, relevant Ministries and institutions to address the institutionalisation of services and shelter support for victims of violence. “Many European countries that we prefer to look at, as best examples, have established partnerships with NGOs on this matter. We expect the Montenegrin Government to look at those best practices and to consider applying them for the benefit of all,“ said he.

Emphasizing the importance of the Shelter, Ms Ljiljana Raičević, Director of the Women’s Safe House in Podgorica stated that in the last ten years they had supported more than 2.500 persons through the safe accommodation, free legal and psychological aid, employment assistance and mediation with relevant institutions. “Shocking data of the NGOs and European Commission reveal that every third woman in Montenegro suffers physical violence. Violence in family impacts to a great extent the social exclusion and poverty among women, and that is why among the beneficiaries of the material assistance provided by the social welfare centers there is a great number of women and children – victims of violence in family,” said Ms. Raičević.

Within the last year’s 16 Days against Violence Campaign, Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Đukanović, President Filip Vujanović and Speaker of the Parliament Ranko Krivokapić all demonstrated dedication to the goals of the campaign by hosting events that brought together representatives from numerous international and national organizations, the judiciary and the police, all of whom should play vital roles in preventing violence in Montenegrin families. Acknowledging that it is ready and willing to address the problem of violence in family, the Government of Monteegro adopted a Declaration to proclaim 2010 the Year of fight against violence in family.

Ms. Raičević said that in the region shelters receive substantial budgetary donations. “I thought that this year would be crucial in the minds of people who manage the state budget, in order to recognize this institution as a very important one that provides shelter for a number of women with special needs status. Donors told us very clearly that they had supported this project for almost 11 years and that now was the time that the state recognizes this form of protection for women and children as a priority,” said Ms. Raičević.

Restating that Montenegro cannot do anymore without the shelter that needs to be financed by the state, she said that the negotiations with the state organs were underway and that the Shelter would certainly not give up.

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Thanks to the persistent and dedicated work of the Women’s Safe House and other women’s non-governmental organizations, the issue of violence against women was recognized as a problem of human rights violation, and as an issue that needs to be urgently addressed, through adoption of adequate legislation, as well as through promotion of services for support to the victims.  

It is the work of the women’s NGOs that contributed to the Government’s recognizing for the first time violence against women as a social problem, by adopting a Declaration to proclaim 2010 the Year of Fight against Violence in Family and by adopting a Draft Law on Prevention of Violence in Family.

Being aware of the complexity of violence in family UNDP has been supporting, for several years now, different initiatives of both Government officials and NGOs to address this problem. Furthermore, the UN Gender Thematic Group in montenegro supported the drafting of the Law on protection of violence in Family - which was recently adopted - and for three years already, UNCT has been conducting the awareness raising campaign against violence in family as part of the Global 16 days campaign against violence.

UNDP will continue to further address this problem, and soon a three years Gender Program will be launched in partnership with the Department for Gender Equality of the Ministry of Minority and Human Rights and Delegation of European Commission, which will address violence in family and support the implementation of the Law on prevention of violence in family.