Violence against women is still a serious problem in Montenegro, it was said at a seminar for holders of judicial functions and it was assessed that representatives of the judiciary can play a key role, by adequately responding to violations of rights and not tolerating exceptions.
Minister for Human and Minority Rights Suad Numanović said that violence against women and children is no longer a private issue, but a clear violation of human rights.
"When we talk about gender equality, protection against discrimination, protection against domestic violence, then we understand that these are also issues of human rights in general and that they are part of the everyday life of all of us, because they concern both the individual and society," he said.
Numanović reminded that, according to the research conducted by IPSOS for the needs of the Ministry and the UNDP Office in June, September and November last year, women were recognized as the most frequent victims of violence (up to 86 percent), followed by children (57-63 percent), old people (five percent) and men (four percent).
"Since the adoption of the Law on protection against domestic violence, from year to year, an increased number of reported cases of domestic violence and violence against women has been observed, which shows that the law is being applied in practice," Numanović said.
The President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, recalled the establishment of the Girls' Institute of the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the first female high school, in 1869 in Cetinje, stating that, in the years that followed, educated young women found a way to fight for their positions, primarily in working environment, then also in politics.
"Which was necessary so that the voice for the prevention of discrimination against women and violence against them could be heard as far as possible and be borne first by legal regulations, and then by concrete actions with the aim of achieving gender equality," she said.
According to Medenica, that silent struggle of women is still going on.
"There is still a deep-rooted awareness of women's predisposition to study at certain faculties, perform certain jobs, but, unlike before, today we have solid legal frameworks that ensure gender equality and protect women from all forms of violence," she added.
Medenica believes that even more comprehensive and better judicial protection of women against various forms of discrimination and violence would be provided if our laws had norms prescribing the so-called positive discrimination of women.
"The current norms are based on the complete equality of men and women, and this still leaves room for discrimination to occur. International recommendations would be respected through positive discrimination," she said.
Medenica announced that the fact that, out of the total number of judges in Montenegro, 144 are women, or 56,69 percent, and 110 are men, or 43,31 percent, speaks of the absence of any gender discrimination when it comes to court employees. .
The head of the political sector of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Podgorica, Alberto Kamarata, said that reports have already stated that gender equality is not fully guaranteed in practice in Montenegro.
"After the full harmonization of laws in the area of anti-discrimination, our attention will be on the judiciary. In other words - does the justice system offer better protection, especially through a stronger sanctioning system," he said.
According to Kamarata, prosecutors and judges must be fully familiar with the provisions in the field of anti-discrimination and gender equality.
"We know, based on research, that violence against women is still a serious problem in Montenegro. The representatives of the judiciary can play a key role in this by ensuring that the severity of the response of the judicial authorities corresponds to the severity of the violation of rights, by not tolerating exceptions. And what is even more important, that victims of violence are quickly given access to social services," he added.
Kamarata said that strong institutional mechanisms are needed for monitoring and reporting.
"The Office for Gender Equality must play a leading role in this. In any case, we are ready to provide support, directly or through financial assistance to institutions, especially the Center for the Education of Judicial Officers. We want all prosecutors and judges to be fully aware of their obligations under international conventions," he said.
Their basic duty, he added, is to provide effective protection to women and sanction abusers and discriminators.
Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stanković said that the data from the first survey of violence against women in the EU, published in March 2014 by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and conducted on a sample of 42 women, show that one in ten women was a victim some form of sexual violence until the age of 15, and that one in 20 was a rape victim.
"At least one in five women has experienced physical or sexual violence from a previous or current partner. "Only 14 percent of women reported the most serious case of violence from their partner to the police, and 13 percent reported violence from a person who is not a partner," said Stanković.
The results of the research, as the Agency announced, are alarming, and physical, sexual and psychological violence against women is a widespread form of violation of human rights in all EU member states.
Stanković said that the obligations of the state prosecutor's organization in the field of combating violence against women derive not only from the competences established by the Constitution and the law for the prosecution of perpetrators of those criminal acts, but from national strategic documents.
"One of the measures foreseen in the Action Plan for Chapter 23 is the implementation of education for judges, prosecutors and lawyers on the topic of gender equality," he said.
The seminar on anti-discrimination legislation in Montenegro, with special reference to Montenegro's obligations under the CEDAW Convention and the Convention on Protection from Violence in the Family and against Women, was organized by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, in cooperation with the Supreme Court - Center for the Education of Holders judicial functions.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
