The conference "How to protect the family from domestic violence" was organised on 10 December by the traditional partners in marking the International Human Rights Day - the Ombudsperson’s Institution, NGO Civic Alliance, Council of Europe and the EU Delegation to Montenegro, and was supported by the joint action of the European Union and Council of Europe “Improving procedural rights in the judicial proceedings in Montenegro”.

Ombudsperson Siniša Bjeković stated that a family in which women and children are victims of domestic violence cannot be sacred. He stressed the disproportion when it comes to gender equality in Montenegro, and warned about the great number of unreported cases. According to numerous indicators, only about a fifth of cases get registered in the formal sense. In the first half of this year, there were more than 1.3 thousand cases of domestic violence before Montenegrin misdemeanour courts.

“Children, as direct or indirect victims of violence, are essentially in a doubly subordinate position and at risk. Violence leaves psychological, sometimes also physical consequences. In such traumatic situations, children acquire a matrix of behaviour for their future gender role, which is contrary to the key civilisation legacy”, said Bjeković. He stated that the institutional basis for protection against domestic violence in Montenegro is indeed in place, “while on the other hand, when dealing with individual cases, we reach the point where someone fails to perform their function”.

The Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Branka Bošnjak said that victims are reluctant in deciding to report violence, and that the system must not let them down when they take such a step. “Responsibility in the work on the cases of domestic violence needs to be addressed and taken. The state must not be weaker than villains”, she said while highlighting the importance of a consistent enforcement of the legislation in force, honouring the role of civic sector in this area.

The Head of Operations of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica, Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, stressed that domestic violence should not be treated as a private issue and a matter of one family only; rather, it concerns the society as a whole. “For an adequate systemic response, it is necessary to apply effective sanctions. In Montenegro, it is often the case that domestic violence is reduced to the level of misdemeanour responsibility, where sanctions are lower”, she said.

The Council of Europe Head of Operations pointed to the necessity to raise public awareness on the unacceptability of such occurrences, and the importance of reporting violence. On that note, she reminded of the campaign “Tell the whole story” launched recently by the European Union and the Council of Europe, the aim of which is to invite the victims of domestic violence to seek the qualified legal aid to which they are entitled regardless of their financial situation.

Riccardo Serri, Head of the European integration, political, press and information section of the EU Delegation to Montenegro said that in Europe one out of three women aged over 15 has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence. “Domestic violence was a “shadow pandemic” even before the outbreak of COVID-19. However, as we all know, during the pandemic, cases of domestic violence increased dramatically, revealing the alarming reality that for many people, especially women and girls, home is not a safe place”, he said.

The EU is helping Montenegrin society, through project activities in several municipalities, to fight this phenomenon more efficiently, and it is a phenomenon that European Union societies are facing as well.

The programme director of the Civic Alliance, Milan Radović, stated that the phenomenon of domestic violence is pronounced in Montenegro. During the last year, we saw an increase in the number of reports of domestic violence by 30 percent, while the number of criminal acts and misdemeanours from that segment increased. “There is no adequate response from state institutions. Unfortunately, we had a case that vividly describes what it looks like in practice when this important problem is ignored”, concluded Radović.

During the working panel, relevant participants presented their experiences, recommendations and observations of institutions and organisations working on this issue.

Participants in this panel were Snežana Mijušković (Deputy Protector for Children's Rights, Youth and Social Protection), Jovana Radifković (Advisor in the Directorate for Social Welfare and Child Protection), Snežana Vujović (Head of the Group for the Suppression of Juvenile Delinquency and Domestic Violence, Police Administration), Kaća Đuričković (UNDP), Maja Raičević (Executive Director of the Women’s Rights Centre), and Rajka Perović (Director of the Children’s Rights Centre). Nerma Dobardžić, Deputy Protector for Protection against Discrimination, Minority Rights and Gender Equality, was moderating this session.

This conference was a part of the overall programme to mark Human Rights Day, which included a series of activities over the course of last week (Online game “Human Rights on the palm of your hand”; TV debate; Open door day of the Information and Documentation Centre; interactive lectures at the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Political Science; humanitarian soccer game).