Since its establishment 12 years ago, the register of persons who have been legally convicted of criminal offenses against sexual freedom to the detriment of minors and pedophilia in North Macedonia has been public, and during that time, as the Ministry of Social Welfare, Demography and Youth in Macedonia told "Vijesta" To the government, there were no negative experiences or reactions.
Worldwide, according to a 2022 analysis by the United States Department of Justice (USA), such registries exist in 54 countries, but, except for North Macedonia and some US states, the data are not accessible, not available to the general public or, as in the case of Nigeria, getting more specific information pays off.
The experience of North Macedonia
The Macedonian register of pedophiles and persons convicted of crimes against sexual freedom to the detriment of minors is located at the web address registrarnapedofili.mk and is available free of charge, without restrictions, to users both in the home country and abroad.
"The special register of persons convicted by a final court judgment for criminal offenses of sexual abuse of minors and pedophilia was established on June 1, 2012, in accordance with the Law on the Special Register of Persons Convicted by a final court judgment for criminal offenses of sexual abuse of minors and pedophilia and the Rulebook on the manner of entering data in The special register... and the method of mutual notification and cooperation, which was adopted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (now the Ministry of Social Welfare, Demography and Youth, ed. new)", told "Vijesta" from the department of the Government of North Macedonia, which leads Fatmir Limani.
As they added, the registry is managed by the Public Institution Institute for Social Activities - Skopje, as the competent institution for monitoring and studying social phenomena and improving social activities. At the same time, the Institute publishes data on the website registrarnapedofili.mk.
"With the introduction of the Special Register, a unique record was established and a database of relevant information was created. This information can be used to monitor problems and compare data, as a basis for improving relevant legislation, as well as for work in the field of prevention of sexual abuse of children. This is a positive security measure, primarily for all children, bearing in mind their right to a safe and secure childhood, with the aim of sensitizing the wider public to this phenomenon and raising the cultural, social and educational level of citizens so that they can recognize it," they said. News" from the department of social welfare of North Macedonia.
In this way, as they added, "primary prevention is achieved by strengthening the public's awareness of possible consequences and sanctions and by preventing the actions of potential perpetrators."
According to them, the register has been public and available to all citizens since its creation.
"Which means that by searching the registry, information can be obtained about people who live in their environment and who have been convicted of crimes related to sexual abuse of minors and pedophilia. The public is aware of the existence of this register, judging by the number of visits and searches performed, as well as by the interest of experts who are investigating this phenomenon and looking for relevant information, and of course also by the interest of the media, who often ask questions", they told "Vijesti".
The register, they add, is used, among others, by educational and other institutions that employ people to work with children, when appointing guardians or foster families for children...
The Macedonian Department of Social Care, Demography and Youth also says that since the Registry was created, they have not had any negative experiences or reactions:
"It is important to emphasize that the register only contains information about persons convicted by a final court verdict for criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual morality committed against children and does not contain any information about the victims, which protects their identity. The special register contains only data on persons convicted by a final court verdict for 11 criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual morality committed against children".
Montenegro: No insight for the general public
In Montenegro, the Register of perpetrators of crimes against sexual freedom committed to the detriment of minors was recently created. On August 14, the Ministry of Justice announced that 98 legally convicted persons are currently recorded in the register, that the database contains personal data about the convicted person, information about employment, his criminal offense and the verdict. As they said, the data is kept permanently and cannot be deleted.
From the department he leads Bojan Božović they also said that information about registered pedophiles will be available to the court, the state prosecutor's office and the police in connection with criminal proceedings, but not to the general public.
The same day, Dragoslav Šcekić, the president of the Council for the Rights of the Child and the Minister of Sports and Youth, suggested that the possibility of making the register public should be considered, so that everyone could access it and so that parents could get information "whether any of the pedophiles are near their children". .
The Association "Parents" said that some countries, such as North Macedonia, have public registers, that this is also the case in some countries in the United States of America (USA), that earlier, in 2017, that non-governmental organization also suggested to the authorities that data to be public, but that such an initiative was rejected.
"With the explanation of the Ministry of Justice that this is not a practice in most countries, especially not the countries of the European Union, and that it is not possible to accept even stricter punishments," she told "Vijesta" Kristina Mihailović from that NGO.
From the Association "Parents", as she added, in connection with the register, they also suggested that there is an obligation for employers to request information on whether the persons they employ are in the register.
"So that situations do not happen where persons convicted of crimes against sexual freedom to the detriment of minors come into contact with children in this way," said Mihailović.
Practice in the world
In April 2022, the US Department of Justice published an analysis of the registers of persons convicted of crimes against sexual freedom, covering 83 countries of the world. According to the data from that document, registers exist in 54 countries included in the report, and only the register of North Macedonia can be accessed without restrictions. Some countries do not allow inspection of the register at all, for some it is stated that the data can be made available for inspection with the approval of the authorities.
In Nigeria, for example, the register is available to the public for search, but to obtain more specific reports it is necessary to pay a fee.
At the time of publication of the document, two years ago, the registers had not been formed in the following European countries: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Lithuania, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Montenegro was not included in the analysis of the US Department of Justice.
Along with the verdict, supervision is also mandatory
From the "Parents" Association, they also said that in the coming period they should insist on the implementation of the provisions of the Criminal Code, which, among other things, refer to the supervision of perpetrators.
According to Kristina Mihailović from that NGO, at the moment when the courts impose sentences, they should also decide that convicted persons can no longer go where children live, on playgrounds, near schools, that they must report to the police, to report where they work.
"This is of crucial importance, so that some situations could not be repeated, because it happens that a person gets out of prison, that after being criminally responsible for acts against sexual freedom, illicit sexual acts, he goes out and again commits some kind of sexual harassment, not only against girls, but also against women, to be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, because there was no information that the person had been previously convicted. In addition to all that, this person then moves around schools, that is, schoolyards, where children gather, and when it is noticed that he is behaving strangely, nothing can be done. This really has to be stopped," she said and added that these are steps that should put some kind of pressure on the perpetrators, when no one works with them in the institutions of the system.
The qualification of the act keeps the perpetrators free
Mihailović said that the problem with some behaviors is that they still do not qualify as criminal acts, but as misdemeanors.
"That's the biggest problem right now, among other things, because those people don't stay longer in prison, a maximum of two months. Harassing children on the street, anywhere, is interpreted as sexual harassment and it happens that, according to the Law on Misdemeanors, it qualifies as a disturbance of public order and peace, which avoids everything prescribed by the Criminal Code," she said.
According to the Law on Misdemeanors, a prison sentence cannot be prescribed for a duration shorter than ten nor longer than 60 days and can be prescribed only for those misdemeanors, the execution of which could create a danger to the life and health of people or seriously disturb public order and peace, as well as for misdemeanors of domestic violence.
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