In the period from 21st till 24th of November, in Kavadarci, Veles and Bitola, the National Network team together with local partner women’s organizations – Association for Gender Equality “Vizija” from Kavadarci, Women’s Organization of the Municipality of Veles and the Association for Equal Opportunities “Semper” from Bitola, held three working meetings with women councilors from the municipalities that are part of the Vardar and Pelagonia regions.
At the working meetings was discussed about the possibilities for ensuring the sustainability of the Women’s Support Centers in Kavadarci and Bitola, which were opened this year, with financial support from the municipalities. Namely, the Women’s Support Center in Kavadarci (link from FB) was opened on September 1st 2022, with financial support from 4 municipalities: Kavadarci, Negotino, Rosoman and Demir Kapija and is the first regional specialized service of this type in which services are provided for women and children victims of gender-based and domestic violence. The Women’s Support Center in Bitola is not officially open yet, but its opening is scheduled for December 9th, 2022.
At the meetings, the findings from the analyzes carried out at local level were presented and the women councilors were introduced to the situation with GBV and DV, number of reported victims in the recent years, number of existing and functional services for help and support of victims of violence. Furthermore, the legal possibilities and solutions that already exist in our legislation were presented, according to which local governments are one of the key stakeholders responsible for establishing and ensuring the sustainability of social services, including specialized services for victims of gender-based and domestic violence. The National Network team and the teams from the partner organizations also presented detailed budgets, i.e. the necessary financial resources for the sustainability of a counseling center for the duration of one year.
This activity is supported by the Swedish Foundation Kvinna til Kviinna within the project “On the road to EU: Ending violence against women in Republic of North Macedonia” implemented by the National Network against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
