Institutions whose main task is to protect citizens have proven to be insufficiently effective, and if it turns out to be true that the thugs who beat up the barely-aged Nikšić woman are not citizens of Montenegro, they are probably already out of the country and will not be available to our judicial authorities.
This is what a human rights activist told Vijesti Bojana Jokić, commenting on the recent case of violence against VJ from Nikšić, who was beaten in Budva because she did not allow a man she did not know to sit at the table she was sitting at.
The President of the Board of Directors of the LGBT Forum Progres said that we are faced with a serious crisis that is reflected in the growing frequency of violence against women and every day brings new terrifying stories about women who have suffered violence, whether physical, psychological or sexual.
"Recently, we were able to read about the beating of a barely adult woman from Nikšić in Budva, by two young men whom she did not allow to sit at her table. And just fifteen days before that, we could read how the ex-husband killed a woman from Podgorica, even though he had a restraining order. These tragedies are not just individual problems, but a reflection of deep-rooted social problems that the state ignores. Institutions, whose main task is to protect citizens, have proven to be insufficiently efficient. According to unofficial information that came to me, a girl who was a victim of violence in Budva recognized the slur in the speech of the young man who abused him, and the inaction of the institutions almost a week after that heinous act leads us to the fact that, if it turns out to be true that the abusers are not citizens of Montenegro Gore, they are probably already not in the country and will not be available to our judicial authorities," said Jokić.
She pointed out that the lack of resources, lack of up-to-date institutions and sluggish legal system contribute to the culture of impunity:
"Victims of violence often remain unprotected, and the perpetrators pass without adequate sanctions, which further worsens the situation and encourages the perpetrators because they know that they will go unpunished or with a minimal punishment."
Jokić said that she expects the state to take concrete steps to stop the trend of violence against women. "A wider social change is necessary, which includes education and prevention. Violence against women is not a private problem, but a social phenomenon that affects us all. The state must recognize that every woman is a victim and a social failure. This fight must not be left only to women and NGOs, it is the responsibility of all of us. We call on all relevant authorities to stop ignoring this problem and act now. Every lost woman is a reminder of our collective failure, and every unpunished violent behavior is an institutional call to violence," she said.
The news recently announced that a twenty-one-year-old woman from Nikšić was beaten in Budva on the night of August 25, after she refused to allow an unknown man to sit at the table where she was sitting with her company.
VJ told the police that she was attacked when she went to a restaurant on the Slovenian coast with a friend, when a man aged around 30 threatened to rape her before punching her.
While she was waiting for her food, a man about 180 cm tall, with light brown hair, about 30 years old, with a beard and wearing a black T-shirt, approached and sat down at her table. When she told him that the seat was taken, he reacted cheekily, and not long after, he kicked her in the stomach. Trying to protect her, her friend was also punched in the head, and the attacker was joined by another - he punched VJ in the head until she lost consciousness.
At the time, the Police Administration replied to Vijesti that Nikšićanka received medical help that night in the Budva emergency room, after which she was transported to the hospital in Risno.
They pointed out that officers of the Budva Security Department took a number of measures and actions to shed light on that event.
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