In the past six years, progress has been made regarding the introduction of gender equality in the security sector, but this is not the case in all positions and in all lines of work, it was announced at the final conference and panel discussion of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM).
The director of CEDEM, Milena Bešić, said that within the project "Initiative for the empowerment of women: through education for gender equality" a comparative analysis "Representation of women in the security sector: key achievements and obstacles" was published, which, as she explained, contains recommendations for increasing the representation of women in high-level positions in the security sector.
"This analysis shows that in the period from 2013-2019 progress was made in the introduction of gender equality in the security sector. However, although a comparative analysis shows an increase in the representation of women in almost all institutions of the security sector, on the other hand, this is not the case in all positions and in all lines of work," said Bešić.
She pointed out that the largest percentage of women are still engaged in the jobs of civilians in the military service and civil servants at the lower and middle levels.
"Women continue to face challenges in terms of access to command and leadership positions, as well as operational and police jobs, primarily due to difficulties in harmonizing professional and private life," said Bešić.
She said that CEDEM conducted research on the socio-economic position of women victims of violence, assessing that Montenegro has recognized the problem of violence and that it faces and deals with it daily, through the work of its institutions.
"However, despite the fact that there is a system for fighting violence and that every institution and all its employees are trying to do their job correctly and to the end, it seems that a lot more needs to be done in order to win this difficult battle . Dealing exclusively with the crime committed by the abuser, the state unfairly puts the abuser in the center of attention, while leaving the victim herself on the sidelines, without much-needed support and protection, at least during the time until the verdict is issued, and very often later, because the punishments are too light and they don't achieve the goal", Bešić pointed out.
She believes that it is necessary to establish a complete system of support for victims of violence as soon as possible, establish a crisis center and shelters, work on mutual connection and cooperation of all institutions that participate in the fight against violence, but also on prevention, education and specialization.
Bešić said that four public forums on gender-based violence were held as part of the project - in Podgorica, Mojkovac, Kolašin and Bijelo Polje, as well as that a Gender and Safety school was organized for one month.
Coordinator for gender equality in the Police Directorate, Biljana Dulović, said at the first session "Participation of women in the security sector" that 11 percent of women are employed in that institution.
"Why are there so few of us in the security sector, I mean the army and the police? I assume that the reasons are stereotypes and prejudices, i.e. understanding that these are jobs that require exceptional physical strength, which is less in women than in men," said Dulović.
She said that there are almost no women in leadership positions, assessing that if a woman does not perform police duties, she cannot be expected to be in a leadership position.
Nikoleta Đukanović, Professor of Humanities Studies at the University of Donja Gorica, believes that in Montenegro there is a big discrepancy between the social role and the actual social position of women.
"Although women have recorded great success in recent years in terms of education, employment and skills at work, I think they remain underrepresented in social life, despite the legislative framework, gender inequality is still significantly present in almost all areas of life. So there is an obvious gap between the normative and the real environment in which we live," Đukanović pointed out.
She pointed out that more significant functions in the state and society remain inaccessible to women, while less influential, administrative functions remain available to them.
The representative of the National Security Agency, Sanja Raičević, recalled that this institution, in a normative sense, established certain by-laws regulating the issue of gender equality.
"Currently, 38 percent of the total number of employees in the Agency are women. From the percentage of women in management positions that we had in 2006 in the percentage amount of two percent, now we have 39 percent of women in management positions," said Raičević.
She believes that it is necessary to increase the awareness of women, stating that every woman who wants to be employed in the security sector must be aware "that she must have a certain degree of self-confidence, that she can fight for certain things on her own, she must have a lot of initiative, and that she has support not only men but also women, society and family".
The Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, Siniša Bjeković, said at the second session "Role of Institutions in the implementation of gender policy and the fight against gender-based violence" that 66,6 percent of women are employed in that institution.
He said that he would make a division into formal and factual equality, explaining that the formal is reflected in the law itself and judicial practice, and that the factual is a broader category, and "is reflected through the social power of women".
Bjeković said that an important indicator is the economic power of women, stating that there are objective obstacles to the advancement of women's human rights and freedoms.
"There are several categories in the field of work, employment, in the business sector and the realization of property rights. This is a cancer of the wound of the entire system in Montenegro, considering that the largest number of complaints and indicators from which this inequality can be derived are based in those areas," said Bjeković.
The judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Rade Ćetković, said that in the Montenegrin judiciary, women occupy the majority of employees, stating that women are in a leadership position, at the head of the judiciary.
"During her management of the Montenegrin judiciary, statistical data show that the results are extremely good, so the role of a woman in a leadership position, if we look at the example of the Montenegrin judiciary, should encourage all female members to give maximum effort and their capacities," he said. is Ćetković.
The representative of the Center for Social Work Podgorica, Katarina Bijelić, said that she does not support the legislative and strategic framework in the sense that it has been fully implemented and accepted in all segments.
"Awareness in our society is not sufficiently developed, we are still in a patriarchal concept. It is an ingrained concept that a woman must bear everything, endure everything and be silent. This is what we recognize every day at the Center for Social Work in working with women," said Bijelić.
She believes that without the cooperation of all institutions, and a multi-sector approach and response to what concerns gender equality, as well as relying on only one segment, "I'm afraid we won't get out of the current situation so quickly."
Vesna Ratković, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of the Mediterranean, presented, at the third session "Mechanisms for combating gender-based violence and domestic violence", in brief the Istanbul Convention, which Montenegro signed at the beginning of 2011, and pointed out the fact that Montenegro Gora also received a GREVIO report in which the recommendations are listed, assessing that much more needs to be invested in implementation.
The executive director of the Safe Women's House, Ljiljana Raičević, cited key examples from the long-term practice of working with victims of violence, assessing that there is positive progress in the work of the institutions, "but that there is still a lot to be done on a multi-sector approach, as well as raising the awareness of the entire society in general.
Nada Koprivica, representative of the SOS telephone for women and children, victims of violence in Nikšić, listed specific indicators that derive from the Istanbul Convention, which Montenegro has not yet achieved.
The project "Initiative for the empowerment of women: through education for gender equality!" was implemented by CEDEM in cooperation with the Montenegrin Women's Lobby, with the support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.
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