Montenegro

A round table on Domestic Violence in Montenegro: current status and future activities

As a contribution to the Global International Campaign “16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence” the Office for Gender Equality of the Government of Montenegro, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Foundation Open Society Institute, Representative Office Montenegro (FOSI ROM) and the United Nations Country Team in Montenegro (UNCT) organized a round table titled “Domestic Violence: current status – future activities”.

The aim of the round table was to mobilize political, expert and other support in Montenegro in order to direct future activities towards long-term resolution of domestic violence problem, in particular to ensure political support and dedication to resolution of this problem, to improve the legislation and the code of conduct, as well to develop cooperation between relevant institutions at all levels.

The participants in the round table discussed the results achieved in combating domestic violence and the existing challenges in the legislative, institutional and social systems. Also, they used the opportunity to summarize the effects of this year’s “16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence”campaign which targeted men in Montenegro.

“Men need to understand that violence is not the way to resolve problems in a civilized society,” said Ms. Nada Drobnjak, Head of Office for Gender Equality of the Government of Montenegro. „Every fifth woman in Montenegro experienced violence. We can, therefore, say that every fifth man in Montenegro is a bully and they need to get involved and change themselves. The Law on Protection against Violence is a good tool to help. The fact that the problem has become visible is by all means a sign that the Government, the international and the local community are taking responsibility and will not leave women to deal with the problem by themselves or to keep silent like it was ten years ago,“ Ms. Drobnjak said. She also announced a regional conference „Men and Domestic Violence“ to take place by 2010.

“The fact that 60 years after adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights violence against women is still a serious problem shows how hard work there is still to be done to stop it,” H.E. Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro said. She commended the fact that the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence underwent government procedure and its adoption is to be expected soon. “When the Law enters into force Montenegro will finally have the necessary international tools and a national legal frame to enable comprehensive actions for elimination of this problem which is, though mainly undisclosed – unfortunately - very realistic,” Ms. Badescu said.

Ms. Sanja Elezović, Director of the Foundation Open Society Institute, Representative Office Montenegro emphasized that domestic violence, especially against women, is a problem that need to be limited by Montenegrin laws, but most important of all is a change in men’s and women’s consciousness. “Being strong should not mean being violent, and violence is not a model of behavior that should be supported,” Ms. Elezović concluded.

Speaking of domestic violence and violence against women, Mr. Clive Rumbold, Head of Political, European Integration and Trade Section in the EC Delegation to Montenegro said that one of the problems in Montenegrin society was apparent disbalance between the reported cases and those in process. “I believe it is clear that the number of cases reported is not large. However, we need to keep in mind that there was an increase in 2007 whereas there is a disbalance between the number of cases reported and the number of related verdicts. Therefore, we need to take into consideration the issue of law enforcement practice. Also, there is still no financial assistance for the organizations that offer service and support to the victims. Also, centers for social welfare need to be more open for the victims of violence, them being reluctant to report on it.

Ms. Stanka Vučinić, Montenegro Supreme Court Judge said that domestic violence cannot be discussed in reliable terms since there is the lack of accurate data and statistics. „Montenegro is a society where, traditionally, unpleasant family events are not to be revealed,“ said Ms. Vučinić, adding that just a small number of cases gets to the Court since the majority of victims do not denounce bullies. „Even if a case reaches the Court it mainly happens that the victimized women use their legal right not to testify. And if it does happen that they testify – they then tend to change and lessen their statements in order to protect their children,“ emphasized Ms. Vučinić.

Mr. Dejan Gilić from the Police Directorate provided statistical data which show that domestic violence is a problem, especially in the Municipality of Podgorica, and that a number of bullies – though not a large number of them – are females. „There were 11 cases of psychological violence against women this year, whilst there were 27 last year. When it comes to physical violence against women 98 cases were recorded, and 81 last year. There were 122 cases of combined - psychological and physical violence this year and 231 in 2007,“ Mr. Gilić reported. He also said that there were 282 reports in Podgorica this year and 429 last year. „There are 150 criminal charges brought this year and 256 of those last year. The number of women reported on men’s violence was 167 and 256 last year. There were also 5 cases of men reporting on women’s violence, and last year there were double as much of such cases,“ Mr. Gilić explained.

“Women’s issue became visible to the international community, specific needs of women are identified in societies and any responsible government strives towards promotion of measures that contribute to equal opportunities on the political scene, in economy, family and all other spheres of life,” explained Mr. Alexander Avanesov, UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro. “Violence against women is surely a complex problem, shared by both poor and rich societies, deeply affecting the private sphere. Effective solution to this problem implies synchronized action of all social players. Full support of political, expert and general public in Montenegro is necessary in order to improve the legislative frameworks as well as professional response and cooperation between relevant institutions at all levels,” Mr. Avanesov suggested.

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About this year’s campaign “16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence” in Montenegro:

This year the campaign “16 days campaign against violence” (based on the American NGO Family Violence Prevention Fund campaign against violence) was organized in Montenegro for the first time jointly by the Office for Gender Equality of the Government of Montenegro, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Foundation Open Society Institute, Representative Office Montenegro (FOSI ROM) and the United Nations Country Team in Montenegro (UNCT).

The campaign was supported by the Montenegro Waterpolo and Swimming Federation and the Montenegro Basketball Federation. During the sports matches they exposed slogans on banners and on T-shirts „Being strong does not mean being a bully“, „Domestic violence is not a fair play“, „It’s your move“, etc.. Also, Mr. Petar Porobić, Head Coach of the Montenegro Waterpolo Team, and Mr. Igor Kolaković, Head Coach of Montenegrin “Budućnost” Valleyball Team and Head Coach of Serbian National Volleyball Team personally supported the campaign by “borrowing” their faces on a number of posters and billboards and through a number of interviews and public appearances.

This  campaign invited men to be part of the solution by teaching the next generation that violence is always wrong. The campaign targets men – whether fathers, coaches, teachers, uncles, brothers or mentors – who spend time with pre-teen and teenage boys.

The aim of the “16 days campaign against violence” campaign this year was to mobilize the support of wider public in Montenegro and to raise the awareness towards long-term problem solutions for domestic violence and to motivate men to set the right examples for young boys and speak with them about the important issue of domestic violence prevention.

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Violence against women is a global phenomenon and one of the most frequent forms of human rights violations. As such, it represents a permanent obstacle to the promotion and improvement of women’s rights. Violence against women exists in every country and at all levels of society, it happens to persons of all ages, ethnic origins and religions regardless of personal characteristics, and this makes it universal. Even though in the past decade a significant progress was made, there is still a lot to be done in order to prevent and eliminate this problem. Available data show that domestic violence has very serious consequences in both individual and social aspects, and its victims are far more women and children than adult men.

Domestic violence is a global problem which exceeds the limits of different cultures, economic groups, religions, gender. It takes various shapes and it does not bypass any society. Statistical data in the UN Secretary General’s Report for 2006 show that between 40% and 70% of murders of women were committed by their (ex) partners, while every third woman face domestic violence.

That domestic violence represents a violation of human rights is even confirmed by the International Law, as well as by numerous measures for prevention and sanctioning of this problem defined in international treaties and conventions, such as Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child, etc.. The states signatories to these international treaties are obliged to responsibly conduct politics and to introduce measures for significant reduction of domestic violence.

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The global international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” has been carried out by over 1,700 organizations in more than 100 countries since 1991. Every year the campaign officially starts on November 25th, the International Day Against Violence Against Women as proclaimed by the United Nations, and it lasts until December 10th, the International Human Rights Day.