Đulija Bulajić from Herceg Novi says that for three years she suffered violence from her now ex-husband and his family, and that she received no support from the institutions to which she reported the violence.
"If it hadn't been for the Nikšić SOS line, I think I would still be staying in that community that was bad for me. I suffered both physical and mental violence from my ex-husband, his entire family. That person, as he is, managed without any legal basis to take my minor child and keep him with him. And that's where the institutions failed and that's why I don't have any communication with the child", said Bulajić at the panel discussion "Nistesame" organized by the Nikšić Municipal Assembly on the occasion of November 25, the International Day against Violence.
The goal of the discussion was to unite as many socio-political factors as possible in order to prevent and fight against violence against women in order to send a message to all victims of violence, as well as to all women, that they are not alone in the fight against abusers.
According to Dragoljub Peković, head of the Nikšić Security Center, police statistics show that when it comes to domestic violence, Nikšić is right after Podgorica.
"In ten months of this year, a total of 24 criminal charges were filed, which is the most so far, and it's not even the end of the year yet. Due to violence in the family and family union, there are 20 reports, three for non-payment of maintenance and one for taking away a minor child (the father took the child away from the mother)", said Peković.
He pointed out that this year they had by far the most misdemeanor reports, a total of 306 in ten months: 244 reports were against men and 62 against women.
"Since the beginning of the year, 19 orders have been issued for removal from an apartment or other residential space, 118 protective measures have been issued at our suggestion to other authorities. "During this year, 21 victims of domestic violence were placed in the SOS shelter, eight women and 13 children," said Peković.
According to him, when it comes to violence, the legal regulations are not good, nor are there adequate punishments for the perpetrators.
"In order to suppress something and reduce the crime rate, we must have good laws and legal regulations," Peković said.
For 11 years, the Nikšić Security Center has had a Department for domestic violence and juvenile delinquency, and since this year, a room for women and children victims of violence to stay until they go to the SOS shelter, which was donated by the British Embassy.
The President of the SO Nemanja Vuković reminded that in 1999, the United Nations passed a resolution that November 25 is marked as the International Day of Combating Violence Against Women.
"It is up to us to do everything so that that date is not just a 'dead letter' on paper, an occasion for one-day educational workshops, round tables, empty reviews with a few polite words... all without any concrete result. The fairer sex on all meridians, including in Montenegro and Nikšić, is exposed to violence every day. Therefore, our fight must be determined, persistent and, most importantly, everyday", said Vuković and emphasized the willingness of local authorities to get involved in finding the best models of fighting and supporting victims of violence.
As he pointed out, the consequences of violence are far-reaching and reflect on the overall health of women, in all phases of their lives, and it is everyone's obligation to publicly advocate the policy of suppressing violence and discrimination and to promote tolerance.
"The OSCE data on violence against women in Montenegro show that almost every fifth woman, or 19 percent of them, experienced violence after the age of 15. Three out of ten women reported experiencing some form of physical violence by an adult before the age of 15. Of particular concern is the fact that as many as one-third of the surveyed citizens believe that women and girls make false claims about psychological violence just to draw attention to themselves, which to some extent explains the claim - that violence is rarely talked about and rarely reported," he said. is Vuković.
Nataša Međedović, executive coordinator of SOS phone Nikšić, Ksenija Milović, deputy president of the Council for Gender Equality and Dejan Ivanović spoke at the panel discussion, which was also attended by the president of the Municipality of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević and his colleagues, as well as the heads of municipal secretariats, institutions and companies. , secretary of the Secretariat for Culture, Sports, Youth and Social Welfare.
Kovačević recalled Tolstoy's quote, "All happy families resemble each other, and each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" and said that the difference between sacrificing for the family and assuming the role of a victim is often not understood. He said that the Municipality will always be there to help victims of violence and contribute to preserving the dignity of women
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