Montenegro must urgently introduce a stricter punishment policy for perpetrators of violence against women, in order to make it clear that femicide will not be tolerated, said non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Safe Women's House (SŽK) and SOS telephone for women and children victims of violence Nikšić.
Those NGOs said that another femicide in Montenegro testifies to the inadequacy of the reactions of the competent institutions and the alarming inefficiency of the women's protection system.
"While we were waiting for justice for the previous femicide, we lost another life," said the NGO.
They asked if the perpetrator in this case was motivated by bad criminal policy, because he has a large number of criminal offenses behind him.
The NGO believes that these crimes are not isolated incidents, but the result of a deep-rooted systemic failure, where institutions are often silent or slow in the face of the violence that women suffer on a daily basis.
As they stated, every femicide is a reminder that without decisive and urgent changes, no woman is safe.
Nikšić from SŽK and the SOS telephone pointed out that the declarative statements of the competent ministers about their commitment to combating violence are not sufficient and that they have no weight without adequate application in practice.
"The state must urgently introduce a stricter penal policy for perpetrators of violence against women, without exceptions and mitigating circumstances, in order to make it clear that femicide will not be tolerated," the statement said.
It is emphasized that every voice of a woman who reports violence must be heard as a priority and taken seriously, because it is the first line of defense for her life.
SŽK and SOS Telefon Nikšić said that the prevention of femicide must become a priority, and the protection of women an obligation that cannot be postponed.
"Every institution and every individual in the system must understand that any failure or slow reaction can mean a lost life. "Justice must be proactive, not belated," the statement concludes.
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