Republic of North Macedonia made an important step in implementing the Istanbul Convention by preparation of the new Law on prevention and protection from violence against women and domestic violence. The law is expected to be adopted in January 2021, and it will be the first law to address all forms of violence against women, including gender-based violence and domestic violence.
This law is also the first law to regulate Reintegration of women victims of violence. Namely in Article 99. Reintegration of women victims it proposes a Program on reintegration where the following services shall be provided: temporary housing, psychological counseling with mentoring, various types of financial assistance specifically intended for women victims of violence, opportunities for education and training in various fields, as well as employment measures established by law. According to Article 99, the competent institutions will be obliged to recognize the victims of violence as a special vulnerable category and to develop programs and measures in accordance with the specific needs of women victims of violence.
However, adopting the law is only one step of many to be implemented in the next period. Of particular importance is development of a Program for Reintegration of women victims of violence that will be applicable and achievable at the local level, as well as the allocation of sustainable funding for this purpose.
This policy brief states the necessary action to be undertaken in the next 6 months after the adoption of the law for successful implementation of the processes related to reintegration and rehabilitation of women victims of violence and domestic violence.
The document is available on this link.
This document was created in the framework of the project “Institutionalizing Quality Rehabilitation and Integration Services for Violence Survivors” funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation.
