Gender-based violence (GBV) is a gross violation of the human rights of girls and women in general. In state of emergency, such as the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of violence increases manifold. At the same time, the national systems, especially the health system, the justice system, as well as the social support system, are weakened.
This leads to obstacles in accessing social and health services, including access to sexual and reproductive health services, as well as access to legal services. All of this can contribute to a state of impunity for the perpetrators and risk of repetition of violence in all its forms, as well as the continuation of harmful traditional practices.
Gender-based violence, as well as domestic violence, cause long-term consequences for the health of women and girls, their psycho-social condition, as well as economic independence and stability.
In our country, according to data published by the Ministry of Interior (MoI), over 90% of the perpetrators of domestic violence are men, and over 80% of the victims are women. Therefore, the country’s efforts to enact legal regulations and strategic documents in order to achieve gender equality are important.
In 2018, following the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, an Action Plan was adopted for the implementation of the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, whose main objective is to create, implement and coordinate a comprehensive national policy for the prevention and elimination of violence against women.
HERA produced a report containing the main findings and recommendations based on the conducted monitoring of the activities implemented to date that are part of the Action Plan for the Istanbul Convention as of 2023.
The complete implementation of the Action Plan is of particular importance, especially if we take into account the alarming fact which confirms that violence against women in North Macedonia often goes unreported because it is not recognised as such.
Striking 48% of women believe that it is a private matter, and 28% believe that violence is frequently instigated by the victim. Only 2% of intimate partner violence survivors and 21% of ex-partner violence survivors reported it to the police. The reasons are either shame from the environment, or distrust in the institutions where the personnel must be trained on the topics of GBV.
Victims of violence on the territory of RNM have access to 16 services within the social services centres in seven planning regions: Polog, Southwest, East, Northeast, Vardar, Pelagonija and Skopje regions. In addition to them, there are another 8 services run by civil society organisations partially financed by state budget funds, 7 of which are in Skopje. Regarding the type of specialized service for victims of GBV, a total of 9 shelters for victims of GBV have been established.
There are still no shelters for victims of GBV in the Polog and Northeast regions.
