The law students involved in the human rights legal clinic in Montenegro participated on 29 April 2021 in the workshop on “Domestic violence in the LGBTIQ context” organised in co-operation with the NGO Juventas.

The students had a chance to get acquainted with the needs of the LGBTIQ population that is at heightened risks of violence, due to prejudice based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. When speaking about domestic violence, the focus is usually on heterosexual relationships, where women are the vast majority of victims, and thus the members of LGBTIQ community are usually left out and faced with victimising legal responses. Moreover, the members of the LGBTIQ community, and youth in particular, are exposed to domestic violence and rejection from member of their families precisely due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.   

It is of essential importance to raise the awareness, primarily among the young generations, that violence, including sexual, can happen in any family and within any type of relationship or intimate partnership, and that adequate legal and institutional response is required to supress the violence and protect the victims. Working with the colleagues who have extensive experience in supporting LGBTIQ victims of violence enabled students to gain first-hand experience on how to approach victims and provide comprehensive legal and psychological support to them.  

The action "Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro" is a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.