Victims are more willing to report violence, institutions must become more effective

„Husband threatened to kill his wife and children“, „Son attacked his mother and sister“, „Woman abused her husband with a disability“, „Hit his wife with a glass“ - these are just some of the headlines about domestic violence that we have read in recent days. The frequency of violence is confirmed by data from the Basic Court in Podgorica and the Misdemeanor Court in Podgorica with departments in Nikšić, Danilovgrad and Cetinje.

Speaking to ETV Portal, independent public relations adviser at the Basic Court in Podgorica Nađa Pešić stated that from January 1st to November 30th that court issued 173 verdicts for domestic violence or violence within a family community under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.

SENTENCES

In some cases, defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 92 days to three and a half years, while in other cases house arrest was imposed for periods of four to six months. Sentences of community service were also imposed (120 hours over four months).

Alarming data on domestic violence are also recorded by the Misdemeanor Court in Podgorica with departments in Nikšić, Danilovgrad, and Cetinje. From January 1st to September 30th of 2025, there were 916 domestic violence cases under consideration before this court. These data were provided to our news outlet by Judge and spokesperson of the Misdemeanor Court in Podgorica Ana Bokan.

- Three hundred and fifty-four cases were concluded. Fines were imposed in 93 cases, prison sentences in 11, suspended sentences in 71, warnings in ten cases, two requests to initiate misdemeanor proceedings were dismissed, and proceedings were terminated due to the statute of limitations in 49 cases. Proceedings were discontinued for other reasons in 63 cases, acquittals were issued in 53 cases, while protective measures were imposed independently in two cases - Bokan explained.

She added that sanctions or warning measures were imposed in 112 cases - restraining orders were issued in 44 cases, eviction from the home in 11 cases, mandatory treatment in a healthcare institution in six cases, bans on harassment and stalking in 37 cases, and mandatory outpatient treatment for addiction (alcohol or drugs) in 14 cases.

Bokan also noted that in the previous year, 2024, there were 1.141 domestic violence cases under consideration. The perpetrators, as she explained, were current and former marital and non-marital partners, as well as parents and children.

Data from the Basic Court on 176 verdicts and nearly one thousand misdemeanor cases in less than a year, according to social worker and gender equality expert, MSc Ivana Raščanin Radičević, show that domestic violence is a serious, widespread, and deeply rooted social problem.

ABOUT THE LAWS

She points out that among reported cases, the most frequent victims are women, confirming that violence is largely gender-based and disproportionately affects women compared to men.

- These data indicate not only a large number of domestic violence cases, but also that victims today are somewhat more willing to report violence than before, despite research still showing that women typically report violence only after years of suffering - on average after seven years - said Raščanin Radičević.

The problem, she explained, is not the laws themselves, as Montenegro has a relatively well-regulated system of protection, encompassing laws and by-laws, international standards, and formal procedures. The essential problem lies in inconsistent implementation, slow and often inadequate responses, uneven court practice, and insufficiently thorough risk assessment, especially in situations where there is a likelihood of repeated violence or escalation to femicide.

- We must not ignore the gender dimension, because a large number of cases of violence against women stem from deeply rooted gender stereotypes and socially accepted gender roles that „grant“ men the right to control women, their lives, and their bodies. This leads us to the conclusion that this is not only a legal issue, but above all a social and cultural one. Therefore, law alone is not sufficient, a change in behavior patterns and power relations in society is necessary - Raščanin Radičević stated.

CHANGING PATTERNS

She also believes that suspended sentences and financial penalties are imposed too often, and that a large number of cases continue to be treated as misdemeanors, even though their intensity and consequences meet the criteria of criminal offenses. Protective measures, she explained, are insufficiently used or not monitored in a way that guarantees victim safety, while repeat offenders often do not receive stricter penalties that would prevent them from reoffending.

- Sanctions, therefore, should not be merely repressive, but must have a clear function of protecting the victim and preventing repeat violence. This implies mandatory and high-quality individual risk assessments for each victim, mandatory and professionally guided psychosocial treatment for perpetrators, as well as consistent monitoring of the implementation of protective measures, especially restraining orders and eviction of perpetrators from the home. Without this, punishment remains only a formal act, while essential protection and victim safety are absent - Raščanin Radičević emphasized.

When asked what institutions should do to reduce violence, she stressed that they must act faster, in a more coordinated and responsible manner, especially when there are indicators of high risk, and that the protection system must be based on real, not merely formal, assessments of threats to the life and safety of victims.

She emphasized that psychosocial treatment of perpetrators must cease to be merely a line in a verdict and become a real obligation that is implemented, monitored, measured, and evaluated based on its effects.

- Parallel to this, society must work on dismantling gender stereotypes that normalize male dominance, justify violence as a „private matter“, and impose on women the obligation to remain silent and endure „for the sake of the children“, „for the sake of the family“ or „to avoid shame“. Until these patterns begin to change, violence will continue regardless of the laws - Raščanin Radičević believes.

She added that functional systems respond in time, before any form of violence occurs, while inefficient ones react only after violence has already happened.

- The moment justice arrives only after a woman’s death, it ceases to be justice and becomes proof of institutional failure - our interlocutor is clear.

Cases of violence and femicide remain in the public spotlight only briefly because, as she explained, part of society still views them as a „family tragedy“, an individual misfortune, rather than the final act of systemic failure and prolonged institutional silence.

- The media often act sensationalistically, institutions respond temporarily, and then silence follows, while violence continues in the same patterns. We must be aware that today, according to research, nearly 10.500 women in Montenegro suffer violence, and that since 2017 there have been 22 femicides. What we need is not necessarily a completely new law, but the consistent application of existing mechanisms in line with European standards and practice - Raščanin Radičević concluded.