A representative of the NGO “Mladiinfo Montenegro” attended the final conference organised by CEDEM entitled “Together for Sustainable Results in Fighting Domestic Violence, Child Begging and Forced Marriages”, held on 31st October 2019. at the PR Centre in Podgorica.
This project was opened with a promotional video on the elimination of domestic violence and forced marriages.
CEDEM Director Milena Besic said the project was designed to contribute to the prevention and suppression of domestic violence, child begging and forced marriages among the RE population.
“Addressing these problems continues to be a challenge for police, social, health services, the judiciary and educational institutions”, she said.
They formed a network of local coordinators to fight domestic violence, child begging and forced marriages in Tivat, Podgorica and Berane, where two-day training sessions were also held. There are three basic forms of violence: emotional, sexual and physical, and the frightening fact is that victims are most often children.
This is also the final activity of this project, but these are still the topics of this event that they will deal with in the future, concluded Milena Besic.
Ramiz Sahman of the Ministry of Human Rights and Minorities said that when it comes to the Government’s cooperation with the civil sector, the normative framework has been strengthened, the financial support system has been strengthened and dialogue with institutions has been improved.
“Establishing a network from Tivat, Podgorica and Berane is very important for them to work together to fight domestic violence, child begging and forced marriages. The conclusion of this project will be beneficial and will accelerate progress as more people are involved in this project”, Sahman said in the end.
The representative of the NGO Centre for Affirmation of the RE Population, Nardi Ahmetovic, said that such projects are very important in our community and that 28.7 percent of women and 16.5 percent of men aged 15 to 19 were married or in concubinage among the RE community.
“Child marriages have great consequences for the psychophysical development of the child and are directly correlated with the occurrence of begging and neglect of children. Girls who marry earlier are much more vulnerable to domestic violence because of the vulnerability of their age and are more inclined to believe that domestic violence is justified”, explained Ahmetovic.
This project is a major challenge for the entire society, he concluded.
Dina Knezevic, Advisor to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, said that over the past few years, there has been a noticeable trend of complaints at the Institution of the Protector regarding gender-based violence.
According to the Misdemeanor Court, in Montenegro, in the first six months of last year, when it came to domestic violence, there were 1,117 misdemeanor proceedings, while in the same period this year there were 640 more misdemeanors.
She pointed out that the penal policy was too lenient, that the penalties themselves were not as effective and dissuasive as they should be, “but even somewhere supportive for the abusers themselves.”
Basic Court Judge Rade Cetkovic said that gender-based violence is taking on epidemiological proportions and as much as we organise trainings, we somehow cannot stop it, but we certainly will not give up.
“It’s not just a problem for the RE population, it’s a global phenomenon that has not come to light today. We encounter this phenomenon throughout history, but we are glad that human society is making every effort to overcome this negative phenomenon”, said Cetkovic.
He stressed that the Istanbul Convention recognised as relevant organisations the judiciary, prosecution, police, non-governmental sector, social institutions, but left room for all other relevant organisations to access these institutions.