THE NATIONAL LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROTECTION AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The fundamental value of gender equality in the RNM is the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, which is embedded in numerous legal and by-laws, acts, government strategies, institutional action plans. Equal rights are of high priority for the state in order to improve the lives of women, men, girls and boys, thus contributing to a democratic and balanced society. The focus of this research is how RNM deals with gender-based violence, through which instruments it comes to punish the perpetrators, support the survivors and strengthen the existing frameworks for the protection of women from gender-based violence. Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been recognized as a social problem. In 2004, for the first time, domestic violence was included in the Criminal Code in RNM, which abandoned the understanding that it is not only a private problem, but began to be taken into account not only as a threat to individual victims, but also as a threat to the entire society.Since the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence or the "Istanbul Convention", within the framework of its harmonization with domestic legislation, the Law on Prevention and Protection against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence was adopted in 2021 and its full implementation, prompted changes in many laws, including the Criminal Code. In the Criminal Code in RNM, a recent intervention has been carried out due to the use of sensitive vocabulary, as opposed to gender neutrality, to ensure that gender dimensions are taken into account: the definition of criminal acts and the procedures for the implementation of this code. In line with the harmonization of domestic legislation with the Istanbul Convention, these changes were made in that recent intervention of the CC in RNM - criminalization of stalking and sexual harassment as new crimes, with provisions that will be foreseen and sanctioned against the perpetrators and protection of the victims.