CEMI - Centar za monitoring i istraživanje

Improve judicial mechanisms to ensure more effective and decisive protection of gender-based violence victims

12. Nov. 2024. in news

Criminal law protection of victims of gender-based violence is not effective enough, which is why it is necessary to improve the legal framework and mechanisms, but also to strengthen institutions so that victims gain confidence and a sense of security when reporting violence. 

This was announced at the round table "Towards a more effective judicial response: Criminal legal protection of victims of gender-based violence", which we organized as part of the project "Enhancing Judicial Mechanisms for the Fight against Gender-Based Violence", which CeMI implements with the Institute for Legal Studies, and which was financially supported by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights. 

Teodora Gilić, Program Director at CeMI, pointed out that violence against women is one of the most serious violations of basic human rights, and statistics show that it is on the rise. 

"We believe that the number of committed acts of violence is much higher than the number of reported and prosecuted." The reasons for under-reporting of violence are often deep-rooted and complex, from personal feelings towards the perpetrator, fear of existence to a lack of trust in judicial institutions. It is important that the judicial mechanisms are improved and adapted for more effective and decisive protection of the victim," said Gilić. 

The goal, as she added, is to contribute to the development of a more efficient and responsible judicial system, which will enable victims to gain trust in institutions and a sense of security when reporting violence. 

Biljana Pejović, head of the Department for Gender Equality in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, agrees that many victims do not report violence due to fear, stigmatization, and a lack of trust in the institutions that should provide them with protection. 

"Each institution can and must do more in the fight against gender-based violence." I am convinced that the recommendations will be an important step towards improving the transparency and efficiency of the system, as well as adequate protection of victims. The goal must be to establish a sustainable system of protection and support through mutual cooperation and commitment. Only together can we ensure that every victim of violence receives the necessary support," said Pejović. 

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, as she emphasized, remains committed to supporting projects and initiatives that strengthen the institutional system and promote, above all, women's human rights. 

Presenting the Analysis of the actions of courts in proceedings regarding violence against women and gender-based violence, the trial monitor at CeMI, Gordana Mitrović, said that the largest number of victims were wives and common-law wives, while the least number of ex-wives and former common-law wives were among them. 

Mitrović concluded that the public's perception is that the penal policy is too lenient and that the impression after the conducted research and this analysis is that way, but that this does not always have to be the case in every individual case. 

"The attitude of the public is often strict, because the public does not have all the facts in front of it, as a judge does." However, the data that we have obtained supports the fact that the penalties are too light. Imprisonment for up to six months before basic courts was imposed in 68 cases out of a total of 154 that we observed. Therefore, in 45.95 percent of the cases, a prison sentence of up to six months was imposed," Mitrović said. 

"The longest sentences we have recorded before the basic courts are for two years, one for violence in the family or a family union, and the other for illicit sexual acts in connection with sexual intercourse with a child, with an extended duration," Mitrović said. 

According to her, the most acts of violence in the family or in the family community, i.e. 96 out of 154 were observed, followed by stalking, endangering safety and minor bodily injury. 

"The sentence of imprisonment by the second-instance judgment was changed to a sentence of imprisonment with a longer duration in only two cases. We also listed two examples of reclassification of the criminal offense to a lesser one. And both cases were conducted before higher courts. "It happens that with the passage of time, the impression of the gravity of the act, the brutality, the manner in which the act was carried out weakens and becomes milder," said Mitrović.  

The main recommendations, as she said, are that more work must be done on adhering to international standards, harmonizing judicial practice, strengthening institutions, but above all on strengthening awareness of the need for zero tolerance for any, and therefore gender-based, violence, as well as on the economic empowerment of women. 

"It is necessary to improve the legal framework and tighten the penal policy." In order to achieve everything, valid statistical data is necessary, so monitoring and analysis of court practice are important factors. It is also important to strengthen institutions, as well as to raise awareness among citizens themselves, to minimize prejudices and stereotypes, to empower women both economically and to direct them to report any violence and to have zero tolerance for violence. It is recommended to carry out more detailed research on the factors that cause victims not to report violence, why they give up prosecution, as well as to investigate in more detail the question of their trust in institutions," said Mitrović. 

The president of the Basic Court of Bar, Tamara Spasojević, believes that the penal policy is not mild, at least when it comes to the court that she represents. 

"Since January, 20 domestic violence cases have been filed in our court. In terms of criminal cases, there are also 20 pending domestic violence cases from January to this date. In almost every case, custody was ordered for domestic violence," said Spasojević. 

She believes that judges are under attack from the public and that this disturbs them in their work. 

"It does not affect us when tomorrow, the newspaper call us out and say that we didn't have enough hearing, and we had hearing and evaluated everything, but simply all cases are different, not every case is for a detention order, just as not every case is for a high prison sentence." Anyone who is in the courtroom knows what we all go through and what we face. Believe that the injured parties sometimes create a bigger problem for us in the case than the defendants and tie our hands in many situations", concluded Spasojević. 

She explained that it is not possible to equate situations where a woman was beaten or was a victim of verbal violence. 

Tamara Pavićević, Chief Police Inspector in the Department for Coordination of Police and Related Affairs, believes that gender inequality is the cause and consequence of gender-based violence. 

"Violence is less often reported by the victim and is reported after repeated acts of violence in smaller communities." We know from practice that violence generally does not happen once, and if it has happened, there are high chances that it will happen again. It’s mostly about the fact that violence is reported for the first time, but that it happened continuously. "The key is how to empower the victim to report the violence," Pavićević pointed out. 

The fact that the largest number of sentences imposed is up to six months in prison should be analyzed in detail, that is, it should be determined whether this is a sufficient punishment for the crime committed. 

"I think that everyone in the system, as much as we are able and as much as the law allows us, should work on empowering the victim, not only on her protection, but on empowering the victim to report violence as soon as possible, not when it happens who knows what time and that after the report the victim is protected in every way." We need to return to the causes of violence, that is, to gender inequality, and see where we should start with education," Pavićević believes. 

She believes that the police make maximum efforts in solving every reported violence and the role of a multidisciplinary team is very important in order to analyze the actions of all actors, ensure justice for the victim, an adequate punishment for the perpetrator and so that the violence does not happen again. 

"The point of everything is urgent action and action in accordance with the rules in order to protect the victim, to provide her with everything she needs and to respond adequately," said Pavićević. 

Assistant of Executive Director of SOS Podgorica, Martina Vučelić, emphasized that 17 women have been murdered in Montenegro in the last seven years and, as she added, we owe it to them that we must not say that not every threat can be taken seriously and that not every threat can be subject to detention or high sentences. 

"On average, it takes a woman seven years to report domestic violence." During those seven years, she experienced various forms of violence. None of us mentioned the psychological state of the woman and the trauma she experienced for all those years. "When a woman reports violence, she is not ready to persist in the process, especially considering the relationship between the institutions and the lack of understanding of the concept of victim," Vučelić said. 

She believes that a serious reform of the approach to the victim is necessary and that long-lasting court processes exhaust women who have experienced violence. 

"The analysis showed that there is a small number of ex-wives and common-law wives who reported violence, but we must not forget that among the murdered women there is a high percentage of those who were ex-partners," Vučelić said. 

When a woman leaves a marriage or an emotional union in which she was a victim of violence, it takes five years of recovery, as she pointed out. 

Vučelić considers that the victim's failure to join the criminal prosecution should not be interpreted as a mitigating circumstance but should be an alarm to everyone in the institutions and a sign that the victim needs additional support. 

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