Half of the women in North Macedonia were victims of intimate partner violence. One in seven women is a victim of physical or sexual violence, and 60,000 women have been stalked. According to statistical data from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as well as the latest OSCE survey on the “Well-being and safety of women in the RNM” conducted in 2019, perpetrators of violence are mostly current or former partners. In addition, according to the same research, women who are victims of gender-based and family violence report these incidents to competent police stations in a very small percentage.
Urgent amendments to the Criminal Code are also needed to regulate several criminal acts, namely: Rape, Stalking, Psychological violence, Sexual harassment, including sexual harassment in the online space. The crime of murder and the recognition of femicide as one of the most severe forms of violence against women is another crime that should be recognized as a separate crime. The analysis of murders of women in the Republic of Macedonia, published in 2018, showed that a high percentage of over 60% of the murdered women in our country were killed by a current or former partner, married or extramarital.
By aligning the Criminal Code with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, a comprehensive protective legal response will be provided in cases of violence against women and girls, that is, appropriate punishments will be provided for the perpetrators.
With the campaign that we are starting, we appeal to the competent institutions and to all parliamentarians in the RNM Assembly to adopt the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code as soon as possible. Namely, we ask to expand the vocabulary in the CC and to regulate gender-based violence, as well as to recognize women and girls as the most affected by gender-based violence. We request the introduction of new crimes, namely: Mental Violence, Stalking, Female Genital Mutilation, Forced Sterilization, Sexual Harassment, and changes to the basic elements of the crime of Rape and the introduction of Consent as a basic element of the crime.
This activity is within the framework of the project “Advocacy and dialogue at the expert level with the government and parliament to amend the existing legislation in the area of gender-based violence and discrimination”, which is implemented in partnership with UN Vomen Skopje, and is financially supported by the European Union . The project is implemented by the Center for Research and Policy Making and the National Network Against Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.
