The OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in the period 2017-2019 conducted a survey on the well-being and safety of women in partnership with the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the UN Development Program. The main objective of the survey was to provide comparative data about different forms of violence experienced by women in childhood and in different stages of life. Besides North Macedonia, the survey covered Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova.
On 15 May 2019, OSCE presented the findings from the survey conducted in North Macedonia. The main findings showed that.
- Violence against women is widely accepted as normal and underreported
Nearly half of women believe that domestic violence is a private matter, and three in ten believe that victims exaggerate claims of abuse or rape. Very few women have reported violence, identifying shame, financial reasons, lack of information and mistrust of services, fear and lack of recognition of what counts as violence. Intimate partner violence has been experienced by 45% of women, 9% have experienced physical violence at the hands of a partner and 44% have experienced psychological violence. Nearly half (48%) of the women surveyed agree that domestic violence is a private matter, and almost three out of ten (28%) believe that violence is often provoked by the victim.
- Lack of shelters and sustainability of existing services
The greatest unmet needs women identified were the lack of financial aid and long-term shelters. Women and key experts agreed that there are not enough shelters, that they do not have sustainable funding and that there are barriers to accessing existing shelters.
- Need for more support and targeted action to help women from minority groups and from rural areas
The attitudes and norms among Albanian-speaking and Roma women were more traditional than in the general population. The acceptance of VAW and treatment of violence as a private matter could prevent these groups of women from accessing help. Women from rural areas are at increased risk due to their distance from support services and lack of financial independence. 57% of Albanian speaking women think their friends would agree that a good wife obeys her husband even if she disagrees. That domestic violence is a private matter is a more commonly held belief among Albanian speaking women (67%) than among Macedonian-speaking women (42%).
You can read the full Report on North Macedonia on the following link:
https://www.osce.org/mk/secretariat/424409?download=true
You can read the complete results of the survey on the following link:
