A Women's Safe House organized a public discussion “The (Not) Efficient Protection of Women Victims of Violence” on the 29th of November in the PR Center regarding the start of the campaign “Let’s go together”. The public discussion was held with the support of the Antidiscrimination and gender equality Program, implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, financed by the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro. On this event, the WSH invited all citizens, responsible politicians, diplomats, and ministers, representatives of institutions, representatives of NGOs and all advocates and of non-violence.

Introductory speeches were given by Fiona McCluney, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Montenegro; Hermann Spitz, Head of Cooperation Section in the EU Delegation, and Ljiljana Raičević, President of the Women's Safe House (WSH);

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Montenegro, Fiona McCluney, recalled that UNDP, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the EU Delegation, conducted a survey on violence against women that showed that every other woman was a victim violence at some point in her life, while in the last year alone, one in five women reported that she was a victim of violence. Mrs. McCluney’s speech can be found here

Head of Cooperation Section in the EU Delegation, Herman Spitz, pointed out that in order to end violence against women and domestic violence we need good laws. DEU wants to encourage close cooperation with civil society organizations when it comes to improvement, but also to call for urgent action regarding amendments to the Law on the protection of domestic violence in order to provide to provide appropriate punitive measures. Mr. Spitz’s speech can be found here.

President of the Women's Safe House, Ljiljana Raičević, appealed to women, abusers, and families of abusers, families of the victims, neighbors, police, lawmakers, courts and media in order to combat violence. In her speech, Ljiljana Raičević pointed out that there is no justification for violence and that every violence must be sanctioned. Mrs. Raičević’s speech can be found here.

After the introductory presentations, participants of the public discussion had the opportunity to see the video animation containing the data from the recent research “Domestic violence and violence against women”[1], which refers to perceptions, prevalence, price and multidisciplinary response to domestic violence and violence against women in Montenegro.
In the discussion, participated most those who are most affected by this topic – women who victims of domestic violence, who reported violence to the relevant institutions and who have experience of the (not) efficient system of protection of women victims of violence. Apart from the women victims of violence, the problems in the functioning of the protection system and the proposals for changes were presented by NGO representatives; representatives of political parties: Demos, Demokrate and DPS; an expert from Center for Social Welfare and several citizens.

Key problems in the functioning of the system for protection of women victims of domestic violence according to the participants of the public discussion are as follows:

• Traditional and retrograde attitudes of people, professionals, as well as a society that sends victims messages to be “silent and suffer” and thus remain in a vicious circle of violence
• Women victims of marginalized groups (lesbians, transgender persons, women from villages, women with disabilities) are double-discriminated and no one is dealing with their rights
• A woman who is a victim of violence should give statement on the violence several times (in the police 2-3 times, then in the prosecutor's office, the center for social work, and in the court)
• When giving a statement on surviving sexual violence, a woman victim was denied the opportunity to give a statement to a police officer of the same sex, although she insisted that the statement be given to an female inspector for blood and sexual delict
• An increasing number of counter-attacks (reports by the perpetrators), whereby both reports, report of the victim and report of the perpetrator are processed, which often as a result has that the primary victim (woman) is being punished in court. Such situation traumatizes the victim and discourages her from seeking help during a new violence.
• In the Centers for Social Work there is an SOS line, but the workers on duty refuse to respond to the needs of the victim of violence after the end of working hours
• Emplyees of the Center for Social Work show a lack of confidence in the victim's statements, question its the truthfulness and minimize the level of violence
• The Center for Social Work employees force the victims to provide conditions forseeing children with violent parents
• During the testimony judges often interrupted victim, not allowing her to present the overall context of violence in which she lives, insist upon the description of the last incident and based decision i.e. sentence only onthatincident, which is usually followed by a number of significantly more serious incidents
• Judges often refer perpetrators on the law provisions that they also can report violence by a partner
• The police and the courts do not impose the order / measure of removing the perpetrators from the apartment, so the victim, together with children, is forced to leave her home and seek shelter in Women's Safe House
• Judges do not have information on cases of prior reporting of perpetrator, even when there is a final convicting verdict for domestic violence.
• Mild penalty policy – judges render conditional sentence and fines
• Different approach of employees in institutions when a victim comes accompanied by a confidential person from the Women's Safe House or other women's NGOs, in comparison to the aproach of employees in institutions when the victim comes alone
• Institutions of the system of victim protection often insist on mediation and reconciliation of victims and perpetrators

Key suggestions for improving the current situation in practice are as follows:

• Conduct long-term and well-designed campaigns to raise public awareness on gender equality and gender-based violence
• Implement campaigns targeting women from marginalized groups
• The state should provide adequate, human, financial and administrative resources for the implementation of the legislation
• Train the police to identify the primary aggressor in order to avoid the manipulation of the perpetrator through protection system
• Ensure the right of women victims of sexual violence to be heard in the police and the proceedings to be conducted by the judge as well as the state prosecutor of the same sex
• Limit the hearing of the victim to a maximum of two times, and more only if it is necessary to achieve the purpose of the criminal proceedings
• In the Centers for Social Work, actively ensure 24-hour duty, so that women victims of violence can receive help and support after the working hours of institutions
• Actively collect information on the history of violence in all cases of domestic violence, on previous reports and verdicts
• Avoid conditional sentences that put the victims at risk from further violence, as well as fines that economically endanger victims who share common financial resources with offenders in cases of domestic violence. Judges should give priority to prison sentences that should be stricter in cases of repeated violence.
• Strengthen the connection between the institutions of the system, especially in the part of the information exchange
• There is a need for clear guidance and training for all representatives of institutions involved in the system of victim protection, avoiding any form of sexism and discrimination, or any act that leads to secondary victimization and introduce a rapid and effective system of sanctions for this type of crime.
• Publicly publish the names and surnames of the employees from institutions of the system protection in case they do not provide assistance and support in accordance with the law
• Amend the Criminal Code in a way to prescribe the obligation to respect the standard of due diligence in cases of domestic violence and violence against women and appropriate sanctions in case of non-compliance in accordance with this standard.

At the public discussion it was concluded that an effective system for the protection of women victims of violence has not yet been established in Montenegro, and that a mild punishment policy questions the purpose of reporting violence and preventing perpetrators from repeating the crime. Participants in the public discussion regretted that in public events where violence against women was discussed, key stakeholders and decision-makers leave after introductory speeches, and the problem inadequate functioning of the protection system in their opinion remains ghettoized in the narrow circles of women's non-governmental organizations.

Women's Safe House requires from all system protection institutions to ensure that the interests and rights of victims be at the center of all measures.

In the next seven months, a Women's Safe House will realize the campaign Let’s go together, aimed at raising public awareness on the right of women on a life without violence and the right of victims to an effective coordinated protection system.

[1]   The research was carried out within the Program “Support to anti-discrimination and gender equality policies”, financed by the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, and implemented by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Montenegro in cooperation with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights..