Accomplices to Crime? North Macedonia’s Domestic Violence Victims Feel Betrayed by Institutions

Almost half of the victims said they reported the violence they suffered to the police. Of the 27 women who shared their experiences in the questionnaire, 44 per cent said the instructions they received from competent institutions after reporting were unclear. A larger percentage of respondents, over 56 per cent, complained about the Centres for Social Work. Thirty per cent complained about the unprofessionalism of the police.

Silence; mockery and callousness from the institutions. This is what victims often say they encounter when they report the crime. Illustration by Pixabay

Mocked instead of helped

Silence; mockery and callousness from the institutions; police officers protecting perpetrators; double victimization; delayed institutional reaction; threats that if they reported the violence again, they themselves could be punished. These were just some of the barriers reported by women who decided to report domestic violence.

"The Ministry of Interior only called him in for a conversation, even though I was injured, with reports from several specialists. They neither removed the abuser from the home, nor did they put a restraining order on him, even though our child was also a victim. The responsible case worker from the Center for Social Work even said: 'It's no big deal, every parent sometimes beats their child.'"

The experience of this woman highlights the dysfunctionality of the system in North Macedonia and its inability to deal with domestic violence. Sluggishness and inadequate reactions to complaints leave women alone and demoralized.

"When waiting too long for institutions to solve the problem, cases can often end with murder, and some even with the suicide of the victim," one of...