During the period of November 29th and 30th, 2023, ESE organized the second consecutive training for police inspectors and uniformed police officers dealing with cases of domestic violence. The training was delivered by practitioners with years of experience in domestic violence and institutional procedures, including Cena Chalovska, former advisor for prevention at the Ministry of Interior, and Stojan Mihov, former criminal judge from the basic court. Twenty representatives from the uniformed police and police inspectors from seven Internal Affairs Sectors (IAS) attended the training: Bitola, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Ohrid, Strumica, Shtip, and Veles.
На 03 ноември, 2023 година како ко-претседавач со Советот, ЕСЕ учествуваше на седмата видео седница на Советот за координација и следење на процесот на Партнерството за отворена власт 2021-2023 година. На седницата активно учество земаа 10 членови и 2 заменици членови на Советот (претставници на органите на државната власт и граѓанските организации) и преставник од Мрежата на граѓански организации за Партнерство за отворена власт.
По усвојувањето на предлог-дневниот ред, беа презентирани измените во Временската рамка кои беа направени на состанокот на Работната група формирана од Советот за координација и следење на процесот на Партнерство за отворена власт 2021-2023 одржан на 26.10.2023 година и истите беа едногласно усвоени од сите членови на Советот присутни на седницата.
On October 17, 2023, in Prilep, we organized the third forum with practitioners from the Basic courts, Social Welfare Centers (SWCs), and CSOs, aiming to discuss the challenges and opportunities for improving civil legal protection for women who suffered domestic violence. The focus was placed on addressing the specific needs of women in each phase of the process for issuing temporary measures of protection (TMP) including proposing, issuing, executing, and monitoring TMPs in domestic violence cases.
Representatives from SWCs emphasized systemic issues and specific barriers that hinder the effective proposal and monitoring of IPMs, such as the lack of human resources and inadequate distribution of expertise, the absence of continuous education on dealing with these matters, delays in confirming victim status, lack of consent from victims to proceed with the process, delayed submission of case data by the police, and insufficient cooperation with the Public Prosecutor's Office responsible for processing cases where IPMs have been violated. Another highlighted problem was the inability to refer victims to NGOs that are not licensed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (due to guidelines received from the ministry), despite these NGOs effectively providing assistance and support to victims in their communities.
On July 7th, representatives of ESE participated in the public event "Partnership for Open Government - Dialogue for the National Action Plan 2024-2026" organized by the Ministry of Information Society and Administration. Subsequently, ESE became involved in the preparation process of the National Action Plan for OGP 2024-2026 as a co-coordinator of the working group tasked with developing priority goals in the area of Access to Justice, which will include representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and civil society organizations. Within this process, ESE advocates for the adoption of a specific goal to prevent domestic violence through the education of practitioners from institutions and the judiciary, as well as the implementation of a national campaign to improve public understanding of the nature of domestic violence and legal mechanisms for protection.
On June 30, 2023, ESE, in collaboration with the Human Rights Advisor to the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Tatjana Temelkoska, organized a forum for practitioners from institutions, the judiciary, and civil organizations from the municipality of Kumanovo. The aim was to discuss possibilities for improving conditions in two priority areas of our work: access to justice for women who have experienced domestic violence and access to primary healthcare for women and other vulnerable groups of citizens. Representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Basic Court, Social Welfare Center, healthcare institutions, and civil organizations from the municipality of Kumanovo participated in the forum. Additionally, the findings obtained from the practitioners regarding the challenges they face, as well as the possibilities for addressing the specific needs of women in these priority areas, will be utilized to complement the perspective of women within the written submission (Shadow Report) for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations. With this approach, we increase pressure on the state to take substantial measures to improve civil court procedures for protection against domestic violence and resolving related legal issues (temporary protection orders, divorce, custody, child support, compensation for damages, etc.), as well as overcoming barriers in access to primary health care for women, children, Roma, and rural populations.
