Access to Justice for Victims of Domestic Violence (MK0163)

Which public problem is addressed by the commitment? Lack of transparency and accountability among competent institutions involved in the system on protection against gender-based violence against women and domestic violence, which contributes to ineffective protection of women who suffered domestic violence for longer period of time. Absence of separate and adequate record keeping on gender-based violence against women and domestic violence is a systemic problem that prevents monitoring of actual state-of-affairs, detection of trends and adequate planning of laws and policies for prevention and protection of women who suffered domestic violence. This prevents identification of specific problems faced by women who suffered domestic violence in respect to access to justice, resulting in adoption and implementation of laws and policies that do not ensure effective protection against domestic violence. While domestic violence is regulated by law adopted in 2004 and competent institutions are legally obliged to keep separate records on domestic violence cases, in the practice there are no separate records and public information about the state-of-affairs on domestic violence. Chapter IV, Art.28 of the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence stipulates an obligation for establishment of separate records on gender-based violence against women and domestic violence by relevant ministries, institutions and LSGUs. Moreover, the law anticipates an obligation for MLSP to stipulate the form and content for the template on data collection among competent institutions, in agreement with the Minister of Interior, Minister of Justice and Minister of Health. In spite of these legal obligations, the practice shows absence of adequate system for data collection and regular publication of data by above-named institutions. Courts and public prosecution offices do not keep separate records on civil and criminal cases related to gender-based violence against women and domestic violence within the existing system (ACMIS) and do not engage in regular publication of data and actions taken by judges. Different practices are in place for record keeping at courts in respect to civil proceedings for issuance of temporary protection measures. Under ACMIS, assignment of domestic violence cases to particular judge does not allow the same to be informed about other court proceedings led for the same case (which is necessary for adoption of adequate verdict). At the same time, there is no possibility for browsing court verdicts in domestic violence cases on the judicial portal (sud.mk). The new law5 does not anticipate an obligation for courts and prosecution offices to keep separate records on gender-based violence against women and domestic violence that could be facilitated by previously designed template developed and approved by the Ministry of Justice. MoI does not publish data on domestic violence cases registered as criminal acts, complaints and misdemeanours. It is important to note that, 10 years ago, MoI had positive practice for publishing quarterly data on domestic violence at the level of sectors for internal affairs. Moreover, there is no register of domestic violence perpetrators that would inform expert staff at institutions competent to take action in cases of gender-based violence against women and domestic violence. SWCs do not have adequate system for data collection and publication. MLSP website provides only information on cases reported in the months of May and June 2020, but these are rather general and do not allow more detailed overview of state-of-affairs in respect to domestic violence in the state and actions taken by SWCs to protect women who suffered domestic violence. Moreover, the last reports on performance of social work centres published by the Bureau of Social Work concern the year 2015. Even the Bureau has established that SWCs do not keep adequate records on domestic violence cases, i.e. there is discrepancy in data obtained from LIRIKUS database and data collected by questionnaires distributed to SWCs. 5 Articles 29 and 30 of the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Official Gazette no. 08-524 /1 from 27.01.2021) 93 In addition, the public does not have access to information on issued and enforced temporary measures for protection against domestic violence, which serves as prevention mechanism that directly affects decreased rate of domestic violence in the society. On the account of these problems, it is necessary to improve transparency and accountability of competent institutions by establishing adequate system for data collection, data exchange among experts and regular dissemination of public information on state-of-affairs and trends related to gender-based violence against women and domestic violence.

Main objective of the commitment The commitment’s main objective is to establish separate records on domestic violence cases by competent ministries and institutions involved in the protection system. In addition to improving transparency and accountability of institutions, this commitment will also contribute to better access to justice for women who suffered domestic violence, having in mind that continuous collection of unified data would allow establishment of specific legal needs of victims, i.e. would serve as baseline for future planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, laws and practices. In that, it is important to note that proposals to improve the system of data collection and publication on domestic violence are developed on the basis of relevant experiences of women who suffered domestic violence, as well experiences of practitioners from competent institutions. Below is the elaboration of activities and expected results. 1. ACMIS system at courts is enhanced with introduction of separate records on domestic violence case with desegregated data on victims of domestic violence for the purpose of: • regular publication of data on the number and type of cases, data on victims per region (urban/rural), ethnic community; • inform judges about different court verdicts related to the same case of domestic violence that have been or are still led before competent court (e.g., judge acting in civil proceedings for issuance of temporary protection measures should receive information about parallel initiation of criminal proceedings in the same case); • assign all civil proceedings related to domestic violence to same judge, for example, proceedings for divorce of marriage, custody rights over children and issuance of temporary protection measures; • regular publication of criminal and civil verdicts on domestic violence protection and introduction of browsing function per key word “domestic violence”; • regular publication of publicly available data on the number and type of motions for exemption from payment of court fees and taxes, number and type of approved motions, amount of court fees and taxes exempted; 2. Increased openness of the court by appointment of on-duty judge (and stenographer) for issuance of temporary protection measures during weekends and holidays. 94 3. Promoted system for data collection on domestic violence at SWCs and the police, with desegregated statistics on victims and regular publication of publicly available information on domestic violence. 4. MoI should review and improve existing templates (criminal offences, misdemeanours and complaints) in order to collect more detailed data on domestic violence related to: number of criminal offences, misdemeanours and complaints; basic information on victims (place of residence urban/rural; education background; employment status; ethnic community); basic information on domestic violence perpetrators, in order to introduce separate records and publish data on trends in respect to motions for criminal charges related to “bodily injury” from Article 130, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code that have been withdrawn and resubmitted. Also, introduce separate record keeping and publish data on the number of urgent protection measures taken by the police and related to “removal of violent perpetrators from the home and issuance of restraining orders”. • introduce a register of domestic violence perpetrators in order to inform experts from institutions who take actions in domestic violence cases; • quarterly publication of data by SWCs on domestic violence cases with desegregated data on victims, number and type of measures per region (urban/rural) and ethnic community; • SWCs to introduce separate records on cases that require issuance of temporary protection measures and to regularly publish data on the number of such cases, number of motions made to the court and issued temporary measures, to issue documents confirming that temporary measures are in place for victims to be able to submit motions before the court on their own. 5. Electronic system is established for data collection and exchange between SWCs, courts, the police and health institutions, in respect to issued, revoked, altered or motioned temporary protection measures against domestic violence.

How will the commitment contribute to addressing the public problem? Establishment of separate records on domestic violence cases at all competent institutions will directly contribute to increased transparency and accountability of institutions. The established system for data collection will enable regular monitoring of state-of-affairs, adequate management of victim’s needs and evidence-based planning of state policies and laws.

How is the commitment relevant to OGP values? COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR TRANSPARENCY because it allows access to new and more information, improves quality of information, improves access to public information, i.e. facilitates the right to information. COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR CIVIL PARTICIPATION because it improves possibilities and conditions for public participation and impact in decision-making, creates or improves the enabling environment for civil society. COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY because it creates or improves accountability rules, regulations and mechanisms for public officials.

Additional information Required/secured budget for implementation of the commitment It is important to note that implementation of the proposed commitment does not require budget funds. Namely, upgrades to the existing system for data collection at SWCs (activities 1, 3 and 4) require initiation of internal processes at competent ministries, i.e. definition of templates and their use in the practice. Implementation of activity 2, i.e. appointment of on-duty judge to take action in domestic violence cases during weekends and public holidays is already established practice at number of basic courts and the same should be replicated by other courts. Link to other governmental programs, national development plan or other sector/local plans Commitment is fully aligned with national strategies and programs that govern gender equality at international and regional level. It is also aligned with the action plan for implementation of the ratified Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). Link to UN Sustainable Development Goals SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions SDG target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at national and international level and ensure equal access to justice for all Link to the Anticorruption Strategy, UN Sustainable Development Goals, etc. Keeping separate records and regular publication of data on domestic violence directly contributes to implementation of SDG target 16.3: Promote the rule of law and equal accessto justice for all. In particular, implementation of this sustainable development goal in the state necessitates regular data on the situation in respect to vulnerable categories of citizens, including women who suffered domestic violence. Such data should serve as baseline for development of national plan for implementation of SDG16.3., i.e. plan for promotion of access to justice for vulnerable groups of citizens. In the last years, Association ESE and Coalition Margins, with the support from the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia (FOSM), have worked on accelerating the process for implementation of SDG 16.3 by the government. In that regard, advocacy efforts are aimed at establishment of data collection system about the situation in respect to vulnerable groups of citizens.

No. Milestone Indicators Activity holder Start date End date 4.3.1 Organize work meetings to complement the court rules of procedures by MoJ 1. Number of additions to the court rules of procedures 2. Number of additions to ACMIS MoJ October 2021 December 2021 96 4.3.2 Separate records and quarterly publication of data on domestic violence court cases 1. Number of criminal and civil cases 2. Number and type of court verdicts MoJ/Basic Courts June 2022 August 2023 4.3.3 Appointment of onduty judges at all basic courts 1. Number of onduty judges appointed Basic Courts October 2021 December 2022 4.3.4 Establishment of working group and organization of work meetings to review and amend relevant templates (criminal offences, misdemeanours and complaints) used for data collection by the police 1. Number of revised templates for data collection on domestic violence used by the police MoI (Sector for Analytics) October 2021 March 2022 4.3.5 Separate records and data publication on motions for criminal offence – bodily injuries (Art.130, para.2 of the Criminal Code) submitted and withdrawn; Separate records and publication of data on protection measure “removal of perpetrator from the home and restraining order” issued and enforced 1. Number of criminal offences, misdemeanours and complaints 2. Number of motions for criminal offence – bodily injury (Art.130, para.2 of the Criminal Code) published 3. Number of issued and enforced urgent protection measures “removal of perpetrator from the home and restraining orders” MoI (Sector for Analytics) June 2022 August 2023 97 4.3.6 Organization of work meetings and coordination with MoI, MoJ and MoH for development of data collection template and quarterly reporting on domestic violence by SWCs, including detailed information about the number of cases where temporary protection measures were needed, motioned, altered, revoked or extended 1.Number of work meeting held for development of template 2. Number of stakeholders involved in the process for development of data collection template MLSP (Bureau of Social Work) October 2021 March 2022 4.3.7 Separate records and quarterly reporting on the number of domestic violence cases, and detailed information on number of motions for issuance, alteration or revoking of temporary protection measures 1. Number of domestic violence cases reported 2. Number of cases that included issuance, alteration or revoking of temporary protection measures MLSP, SWCs (Bureau of Social Work) October 2021 August 2023 4.3.8 Adoption of guidelines on mandatory regular publication of data on domestic violence by the police and SWCs 1. Number of meetings held and guidelines on regular reporting on domestic violence cases adopted 2. Number of experts involved in the process for adoption of guidelines MoI (Sector for Analytics) MLSP (Bureau of Social Work) March 2022 May 2022 4.3.9 Creation of electronic system for data collection and exchange among SWCs, courts, the police and health institutions in respect to temporary protection measures 1. Number of tests 2. Number of technical changes and additions 3. Number of cases in which temporary protection measures were MLSP, MoI, MoJ March 2022 August 2022 98 against domestic violence issued, altered or revoked

Action Plan Review

Commitment 4.3: Access to justice for women who suffered domestic violence

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

[Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Interior, Basic Courts Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women, social welfare centres]

For a complete description of the commitment, see Commitment 4.3 in the action plan here.

Context and objectives:

This commitment improves access to justice for female victims of domestic violence. It will achieve this primarily through improving the data collection and publication practices of public institutions (ministries, courts, and the Public Prosecutor's Office) and the police on cases and victims of domestic violence. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will will adopt by-laws prescribed by law and introduce separate records on domestic violence cases with desegregated data on victims of domestic violence in the courts and in the Public Prosecutor's Office and courts and public prosecutors will collect and make the data publicly available. This will involve publishing data on the number and type of cases, data on victims per region, and ethnic community. Courts and the Public Prosecutor’s Office will also publish criminal and civil verdicts on domestic violence protection and publish data on motions for exemption from payment of court fees and taxes, approved motions, amount of court fees, and taxes exempted. Social welfare centres (SWCs) will introduce separate records on cases that require issuance of temporary protection measures and publish data on such cases.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) will review existing templates used for data collection by the police (criminal offences, misdemeanours, and complaints) and will broaden the scope of collected data. The MoI will also introduce separate records on motions for the criminal offence of “bodily injury” and introduce separate records on protection measures that are issued and enforced. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) will create an electronic system for data collection and exchange among SWCs, courts, the police, and health institutions in respect to temporary protection measures. MLSP and the MoI will adopt guidelines on mandatory regular publication of data on domestic violence by the police and SWCs. Lastly, courts will appoint judges to issue temporary protection measures during weekends and holidays.

Presently, data on domestic violence cases is not available in a unified format nor published on a regular basis, even though some institutions maintain the information internally. Although courts collect data, there is no systematised practice in collecting evidence of family violence and there are no records for such cases. This makes it difficult for courts to search for information on these cases. ^[142] The public information from this commitment will include gender, age, education, nationality, employment, place of residence (city or village), and relationship with the offender. Each institution will gather data in line with the type of work they do. For example, courts will gather data on number of cases, verdicts, and temporary protection measures by adding supplementary notes signifying domestic violence cases. Data from all institutions will be updated quarterly. ^[143]

According to the law on the prevention and protection from violence against women and domestic violence, ^[144] the MLSP will take responsibility over relevant data from institutions involved in protecting victims of domestic violence using the national platform for interoperability—Macedonian Information Highway—for analysis and statistical processing. Courts and prosecutorial bodies are responsible for keeping separate records on cases of gender-based violence against women and victims of domestic violence.

The commitment was proposed by ESE. While there were active discussions with the MoI, MoJ, and the MLSP over its scope, the commitment was accepted into the action plan as proposed. ^[145] The commitment is relevant to the OGP value of transparency, as it will improve the government’s data publication practices related to domestic violence cases. The milestones are verifiable, and the commitment provides details on what data will be published.

Potential for results: Substantial

This commitment will provide public institutions and the justice sector with a more complete picture about the legal and administrative procedures that victims use when seeking protection. The complete synchronisation of data will help public institutions, courts, and the police identify trends and improve how they handle these cases and how they provide legal protections for victims. Thus, this commitment will provide courts with better insight into whether there are multiple cases taking place concurrently for victims of domestic violence (criminal and civil). ^[146] Courts will exchange information within the system and be aware if there are multiple cases for the same victim, such as a criminal case against the perpetrator, a divorce case, a restraining order case, or a custody case. This can significantly improve case processing. For example, if a restraining order is requested and the court sees that there is a pending criminal case involving the same parties, the court can issue the order more quickly. The data will also help the police monitor cases where the victim withdraws charges, and ultimately reduce the discrepancy between the number of initiated cases and the number of completed cases. In addition, the identification of specific problems faced by victims with respect to access to justice could result in policies that better ensure effective protection against domestic violence.

Until now, there has been little information on the overall effectiveness of existing legal measures in North Macedonia regarding domestic violence cases. Civil society will, for the first time, have access to more complete and current information on the nature of cases, the demographics of victims, and the preventive measures taken by public institutions and the justice sector. ^[147] This will allow civil society to better follow the actions taken by all institutions involved and better understand the challenges that domestic violence victims face in seeking legal protection. For SWCs, a systemised data system will help to issue temporary protective measures more efficiently and more effectively monitor the execution of these measures in practice. Finally, better record keeping and data collection by MLSP, courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the police could facilitate faster and more efficient handling of cases, and ultimately protect victims from further harm. Thus, this commitment also benefits domestic violence victims.

Other activities under this commitment could be important as well. While some courts have on-duty judges, this is voluntary; there is a need for this to become an official requirement for each court. Having an on-duty judge for domestic violence cases in each court (including during evenings and weekends) will provide faster and more efficient protection for victims. The police will establish the register for domestic violence perpetrators, as the purpose is for institutions and courts to use it for reaching decisions to protect the victims faster and across different court procedures.

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

An ESE representative is confident that this commitment will be implemented successfully, provided there is sufficient financing. ^[148] Civil society’s support during implementation will be important to ensure strong results. The planned working group to develop reporting templates will consist of representatives from the MoJ (coordinator), MoI, MLSP, and ESE, and other CSOs will be consulted during implementation. There is room to improve the balance of members, as there may be too many members from the MLSP, which may affect the group’s productivity. ^[149] There may also be other challenges, particularly regarding a lack of education among police, SWCs, courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and other involved institutions. ESE will work with these institutions through trainings and workshops.

This commitment addresses an important topic at the intersection of gender and justice, one that is rarely seen in OGP action plans, but which has become even more salient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, a key challenge, better data management, is only a first step toward ensuring access to justice for victims. This requires stakeholders to proactively design justice mechanisms in a way that reaches and works for victims and their circumstances. It is also important to ensure that the data collected is used when determining the justice services needed for victims of domestic violence. Such people-centred approaches to designing justice services are impactful for opening government.

The IRM recommends the following next steps:

● Formalise the work of stakeholders around data collection and synchronisation. The next step for this commitment is to collect the relevant data and exchange information between institutions. This commitment will require close coordination and communication between ministries, courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the police, SWCs, and CSOs around data collection and quarterly reporting. Thus, it may be beneficial for these stakeholders to formalise their work and establish a single committee that will oversee the implementation of the commitment. For example, in Uruguay’s 2018–2020 action plan, the government and civil society established an observatory to document how public resources are being used on gender-based violence and streamline standards for agencies that work in this area. [150]

● Implement high standards for managing data, including addressing potential data privacy concerns. High standards for managing these data are necessary and protecting the privacy of individuals is of utmost concern. Protocols must be in place to safeguard the privacy of victims and those reporting cases so that there is no information that could reveal the identity of individuals involved. All staff handling these data should be properly trained on these protocols. Finally, stakeholders could coordinate their efforts with those involved in Commitment 3.6 (human trafficking). There may be overlap between the domestic violence and human trafficking cases, particularly regarding children victims, which could assist the authorities to investigate them.

● Move beyond transparency and data management by enhancing victims’ access to justice mechanisms. While transparency and management of domestic violence cases is critical, North Macedonia could incorporate mechanisms to improve public accountability in these cases. As an example, Serbia is creating a platform in its 2020–2022 action plan for individuals to report domestic violence involving children, which authorities are required to address and report on their progress. [151] Furthermore, during implementation, stakeholders could join women’s groups, justice groups, and relevant government actors to review the justice sector’s performance on domestic violence cases (such as the rate prosecutions and unresolved cases).

● Consider using specialised courts and police units for prosecuting domestic violence. Domestic violence often involves an intersectionality with gender, age, disability, location, income, and minority status. This can become a cumulative disadvantage in accessing justice. For example, women with disabilities and from the Roma community could have less access to social services and support systems than an individual who is singularly only female, disabled, or Roma.

● Develop and encourage alternative processes to resolve domestic violence cases more expeditiously and fairly. Even where specialised courts exist, access can be difficult or undesirable for victims either because of cost (if they rely on their partner for financial support), fear of retribution, or fear of delays. North Macedonia could consider adopting alternative justice mechanisms such as community paralegal programs or dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve domestic violence cases. As an example, Argentina created the Gender Violence Victims Attorneys Corps to promote better responses at the national level. It provides timely access to free and quality legal advice and support, and connects victims with a group of specialised, gender-sensitive, and knowledgeable lawyers. The Corps is a joint effort by the government, professional associations, and civil society. [152] In its 2014–2016 action plan, Ireland committed to encouraging alternative dispute resolution to speed up the process of resolving legal problems. [153] In addition, OGP’s Support Unit can connect stakeholders in North Macedonia to organisations like the International Development Law Organization to discuss more examples of alternative resolution mechanisms.

● Explore how the COVID-19 pandemic and other social phenomena impact domestic violence. Certain social phenomena and events (such as sporting events) can increase domestic violence. The global demand for justice assistance by victims of domestic violence has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. [154] Civil society and SWCs in North Macedonia could use the data from this commitment to investigate how social events impact domestic violence and remedies that have arisen. North Macedonia could also explore ways to reach victims during pandemics. In Croatia, the Ministry of the Interior and the Zagreb Child and Youth Protection Center launched a campaign to encourage reporting of the rising number of domestic violence cases during the pandemic. [155]