Transforming the Criminal Justice Chain to Address Violence Against Women and Girls
Addressing violence against women and girls requires an effective response across the entire criminal justice chain. This starts with the first encounter with the police, ensuring gender-sensitive policing and victim-centred investigations, and culminates in a fair judgment delivered by a court of law operating within a robust legal framework.
During the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the OSCE Mission to Skopje organized a roundtable with representatives from state institutions and civil society to discuss how to counter GBV in North Macedonia. The forum provided a platform for participants to address key issues, advocate for changes, and present actionable recommendations to make zero tolerance for violence a reality.
Prof. Elizabeta Gjorgievska, First Lady, emphasized the troubling escalation in feminicide cases and the need for a whole-of-society approach, including comprehensive education, public awareness, and behavioural changes.
Ms. Jovana Trenchevska, Minister of Labour and Social Policy, highlighted the complexity of GBV, emphasizing the necessity of education, combating stereotypes, and encouraging reporting.
Collaboration and coordination among institutions and civil society, particularly local women’s rights organizations, is crucial to enhancing efforts to counter GBV.
“The Mission is working alongside institutions to improve access to justice for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. And civil society remains our crucial partner in this fight,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Kilian Wahl.
There are currently eleven women shelters for victims/survivors in the country. Recognizing the importance of the international community's involvement at grassroots levels, Ami Larsson Jain, Ambassador of Sweden, emphasized the need to work together with NGOs to increase the focus on prevention efforts, the importance of consent, as well as challenging harmful norms at an early age.
A robust legal framework serves as the cornerstone in strengthening the fight against GBV. The Mission played a crucial role in the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and amendments to the Criminal Code, criminalizing various forms of GBV. The current focus of the Mission is on ensuring the rigorous and consistent implementation of these new provisions, further reforms to criminalize all forms of GBV and adoption of the new Law on Gender Equality.
Continuous training for police officers is essential, especially in identifying various forms of GBV recently criminalized by the amended Criminal Code.
Since 2018, the Mission has worked closely with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA) of North Macedonia to introduce gender-sensitive policing through a mentoring program. The Gender Mentoring Program fosters inclusivity and responsiveness when dealing with crime, especially related to GBV.
Ms. Biljana Jeremic, the Head of the Domestic Violence Unit at the MoI / SIA Skopje, stressed the need to improve risk assessment and provide adequate protection measures for victims. In tandem with the mentoring program, the Mission provides Advanced Interviewing Skills Training to police officers to enhance their ability to conduct better risk assessments and risk management in cases of GBV.
Shifts in the criminal justice chain are necessary to catalyse behavioural changes. “Equality between women and men decreases the prevalence of violence against women. It is critical that we continue supporting the creation of a more just and equal society,” emphasized Head of Mission, Ambassador Kilian Wahl.
Moving forward, the Mission will continue to focus on supporting actionable recommendations, sustainable solutions, and ongoing cooperation across societal sectors while fostering a culture of zero tolerance for violence.