On December 2nd , at the Hotel Merkur in Tetovo, the National Network team together with the local women’s partner organization Cortex – Psychotherapy and counseling held a joint work meeting with the councilors from the municipality of Tetovo.
In the first part of the meeting, the situation with violence against women and domestic violence in the Polog region was presented, that is, the findings of the analysis conducted by CSO Cortex, which was promoted in May 2022.
After the presentation, a discussion was opened about the possibilities for ensuring the sustainability of the Counseling Center for help and support of women and children victims of gender-based and family violence – Women’s Support Center Tetovo, which was opened in December 2021 with the financial support of the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the Royal Embassy of Norway in Belgrade, as well as the Slovak Embassy in Skopje. Namely, the Women’s Support Center in Tetovo is the first specialized service of this type in the Polog region, which provides services for women and children victims of gender-based and domestic violence.
Additionally, during the discussion, the councilors were introduced to the legal possibilities and obligations of the local self-government in terms of establishing and ensuring the sustainability of specialized services to help and support victims of gender-based and domestic violence. It was jointly agreed that the first step is the inclusion of this vulnerable category in the social protection programs of the municipalities.
The financial resources needed to ensure the sustainability of a counseling center for a duration of one year were also presented at the meetings.
