We, the women from the Balkans stand together in solidarity with all women victims of gender-based violence and ask our competent institutions to thoroughly and promptly investigate the case with the groups on the Telegram platform (such as: Balkan Room, Public Room, Gevgelija Hub, Serbian Room, Smokva, etc.), in order to sanction the perpetrators and to protect the victims from their further victimization.
Exactly one year after the appearance of such a group on the Telegram Network in Macedonia, which is used for sexual harassment of girls and women by posting photos of them without their consent and in a pornographic context, as well as personal data about the victims, we witness new cases of this kind of abuse not only in this country, but on a regional level. Although the administrators and the creators of two of these groups have been arrested, we believe this is only the first step in accessing justice that we must provide to all victims of this type of crime. The institutional silence that we face sends a clear message that violence against women is tolerated, that is not punishable, that perpetrators are encouraged to continue their behaviour and that victims are left to remain intimidated, ashamed and muted. The abovementioned cases in Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia have shown that only a small number of perpetrators are prosecuted and that the those that are prosecuted are pursued for the crime of “production and distribution of child pornography”, which prevents the protection of the adult victims.
Women from the former Yugoslavia countries, to whom we have provided free legal aid and other services for years, have experiences that testify to numerous shortcomings in the conduct of proceedings. Women have no trust in the police and consider reporting to be in vain, due to the practices of inaction, disbelief and relativization of the victims’ experiences. Imposing misdemeanour sanctions and warnings on perpetrators instead of documented and reasoned criminal charges, as well as inadequate enforcement of prohibitions on approaching and contracting victims, results in continued and intensified violence, often followed by serious consequences for the victims’ health, which in some cases can even cause death.
Regarding the public prosecution offices, we constantly notice an untimely initiation of indictments, inefficient or negligent management of pre-investigation and investigative procedures that resulted in untimely or in no provision of relevant evidence, as well as failure to take measures against the perpetrators to prevent continued violence against the victims. All of these institutional oversights have become even more visible with the emergence of sexual violence and harassment of women in the digital sphere, which, although is massively occurring and is numbering thousands of female victims in the Balkans, does not receive an adequate institutional response or an appropriate public support. On the contrary, discrediting experiences, blaming, embarrassing and double victimizing are the dominant narratives that women face. It is obvious that the silent institutions are additionally encouraging the functioning and the maintenance of such groups in the digital space, while the girls continue to face danger for their personal safety and have a violated dignity and health. Unfortunately, the easiest way to humiliate a woman is to portray her in a sexual scenario, which only speaks about the insurmountable stigma that still marks female sexuality as shameful and indecent, and labels victims in this context not as victims, but as women who “sought this for themselves”.
Thus, the stolen photographs, combined with the misogynist, the sexist and the violent comments, and the treatment of women as objects without integrity, feelings, desires and traumas, speak of serious, deep-rooted misogyny values in our region that must be comprehensively and radically addressed. But, in order to begin solving the problem, we must first name it. This is not a problem of personal data abuse and it cannot be solved with such a limited approach. This is a problem of gender-based violence, with the purpose of humiliating, blackmailing, silencing and oppressing girls and women, and if it is not treated as such, the perpetrators will succeed in this goal.
Today we are aware that there is a regional network of harassers, i.e. opening and administrating of Balkan groups whose aims is to humiliate and sexually harass women. Unfortunately, what we do not see is the possibility of networking, connecting and cooperating with the intent to clear these groups between the institutions and the system.
This case is a chance for the institutions from all over the region to show that they stand for women’s rights and protection against gender-based violence, not just declaratively, but in practice! Hence, we ask the Public Prosecutor’s Offices in the region to immediately and thoroughly clear the cases with the Telegram groups that are acts of crime. We ask the Ministries of Interior Affairs to continuously undertake preventive activities and to put a stop to the existence of these groups. We must not allow to maintain a situation in which the victims are multiplying and the institutions are quiet and are failing to perform their given functions.
Jointly and in solidarity!
SIGNATURES
- NVO ASTRA
- Alternativni centar za devojke
- Autonomni ženski centar, Beograd
- NVO ATINA
- Ženska pomoć sada – SOS telefon za žene i djecu žrtve nasilja
- Kolektiv mladih žena FEMIX
- Udruženje građana “Žene za mir”
- Udruženje “Žene juga” Pirot
- BeFem feministički kulturni centar
- Žene u crnom
- ROZA Udruženje za radna prava žena
- Rekonstrukcija Ženski fond
- Ženergija Hub
- Impuls Tutin
- Centar za ženske studije, Beograd
- Incest Trauma Centar – Beograd
- Kulturni centar DamaD
- Centar za podršku ženama, Kikinda
- UŽ TEUTA-TIM, Trstenik
- Udruženje građanki FemPlatz
- Ženski centar Šabac
- Fondacija CURE- Sarajevo
- Ženska soba – centar za seksualna prava
- Romski centar za žene i decu DAJE
- Centar za žene žrtve rata – ROSA
- B.a.B.e. Budi aktivna. Budi emancipiran.
- Ženska udruga IZVOR
- Udruženje Romkinja Osvit – Niš
- Udruga žena Romkinja u Hrvatskoj “”Bolja budućnost”
- Udruga žena Vukovar
- Ženska grupa Karlovac “Korak”
- Centar za devojke
- Sigurna ženska kuća
- Centar za razvoj zajednice LINK
- Udruga za ljudska prava i građansku participaciju PaRiter
- Udruženje žena Peščanik
- UG “ Romani cikna” Kruševac
- …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA, Novi Sad
- SOS za žene i decu žrtve nasilja, Vlasotince
- Labris – organizacija za lezbejska ljudska prava
- PAOR- Panonska Antifašistička organizacija
- Centar za podršku i razvoj civilnog društva “DELFIN”
- Ženski centar Užice
- Inicijativa Verujem ti
- Bibija Romski ženski centar
- Inicijativa Nećemo Prećutati
- Centar za ženske studije, Zagreb
- Forum žena Prijepolja
- SOS Rijeka – centar za nenaslje i ljudska prava
- Udruga žena Nit
- Sigurna ženska kuća
- Udruga ”HERA” Križevci za zaštitu i promicanje ljudskih prava
- Ženska mreža BiH
- UŽ “SEKA” Goražde
- Fondacija “Lara”
- IN fondacija
- Inicijativa Građanke za ustavne promjene
- Centar ženskih prava
- Inicijativa građanki/na Mostar
- Helsinški parlament građana Banjaluka
- Fondacija Udružene Žene Banja luka
- Udruženje žena “Priroda” Bratunac
- NVO “SPES”
- Udruzenje žena Romkinja”Bolja buducnost” Tuzla
- Ženska romska mreža ”Uspjeh” Bosna i Hercegovina
- UG ToPeeR Doboj, Republika Srpska, BiH
- Udruženje “Uspešne žene Kostolca “ Republika Srbija
- Udruženje žena Fenomena
- Women’s Rights Center (Centar za ženska prava)
- Human Right Action (Akcija za ljudska prava)
- ANIMA- Center for Peace Education (ANIMA – Centar za mirovno obrazovanje)
- SOS Hotline Berane (SOS Telefon Berane)
- SOS Hotline Podgorica (SOS Hotline Podgorica)
- Women’s Safe House (Sigurna ženska kuća)
- Association of Youth with Disabilities (Udruženje mladih s hendikepom)
- NGO Juventas (NVO Juventas)
- NVO Spektra
- Центар за младински активизам ЦМА КРИК
- Здружение за дислексија АЈНШТАЈН
- Здружение за одржлив развој СФЕРА Интернешнал Битола
- Здружение на граѓани – Младите можат
- Центар за едукација и развој – ЦЕД
- Европско здружение на студенти по право – ЕЛСА Македонија
- Здружение за мултикултурна интеграција Инклузија
- Здружение на правници ЛЕГАЛ Тинк
- Регионална ромска образовна младинска асоцијација
- Здружение СВТ Алумни Скопје
- Центар за интеркултурен дијалог
- Фондација за интернет и општество Метаморфозис
- Здружение на граѓани – Ромаверзитас
- Лидери за едукација, активизам и развој
- Креактив
- Секција на млади на Сојуз на синдикати на Македонија
- Здружение Станица П.Е.Т. Прилеп
- Македонско здружение на млади правници
- Опции за здрав живот – ХОПС / Healthy Options Project Skopje – HOPS
- Фондација Отворено општество – Македонија (ФООМ)
- СУБВЕРЗИВЕН ФРОНТ Скопје / Sexual and Gender Minorities Association SUBVERSIVE FRONT Skopje
- Младински образовен форум – МОФ / Youth Educational Forum – YEF
- Period. The Menstrual Movement Skopje
- Здружение на правници Роми
- Reporting Diversity Network 2.0
- Хелсиншки комитет за човекови права – Скопје / Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia
- Коалиција Маргини / Coalition Margins
- Здружение на граѓани за промоција на женската активност Тиииит! Инк. – Скопје / Tiiiit! Inc. – Skopje
- Здружение за локален и рурален развој / Association for Local and Rural Development
- ЛезФем / LezFem
- Организација на жените на општина Свети Николе / Organization of Women of the Municipality of Sveti Nikole
- Здружение за едукативен развој – Еквалис / Association for Educational Development – Ekvalis
- Хуманитарно Здружение „Мајка“, Куманово / Humanitarian association “Mother”, Kumanovo
- ТАКТ / TAKT – Together Advancing Common Trust
- Рурална коалиција / Rural Coalition
- Реактор – Истражување во акција / Reactor – Research in Action
- Национален совет за родова рамноправност (СОЖМ)
- Мрежа Стела / Stella Network
- ХЕРА / Health Education and Research Association, HERA
- Акција Здруженска / Akcija Zdruzenska
- Здружение на граѓани за еднакви можности „СЕМПЕР, Битола / “Association of equal opportunities “SEMPER”, Bitola
- Женски Форум Тетово / Women’s Forum Tetovo
- Женска граѓанска иницијатива АНТИКО / Women’s Civic Initiative – “ANTICO”
- Националната Мрежа против насилство врз жените и семејно насилство
- Здружение за локален развој – Камењане / Association for Local Rural Development – Kamenjane
- Здружение за промоција на статусот на жените во македонија „Женска акција“, Радивиш / Association for Promotion of the Status of Women in Macedonia “Women’s Action”, Radovish
- Здружение на граѓани „СУМНАЛ / “Association of Citizens “SUMNAL”
- Здружение на граѓани „Флоренс Најтингел“, Куманово/ Association of Citizens “Florence Nightingale”, Kumanovo
- Здружение на социјални работници на Град Скопје / Association of Social Workers of the City of Skopje
- Кризен центар „Надеж“ / Crisis Center “Hope”
- Здружение на турчинки во Македонија, „ДЕРЈА“ / Organization of Turkish Women in Macedonia,“DERJA”
- Организација на жени на Град Скопје, ОЖС / Organization of Women of the City of Skopje, OZS
- Организација на жени „Кумановка“, Куманово / Organization of Women “Kumanovka” , Kumanovo
- Организација на жени на Општина Велес / Organization of women from the municipality of Veles
- Женска граѓанска иницијатива „КЛЕА“, Битола / Women’s Civic Initiative “KLEA” – Bitola
- Младински центар за еднакви можности / Youth Center for Equal Opportunities
- „Една може“ Скопје / “One Can” Skopje
- Здружение за родова еднаквост „Визија“, Кавадарци / Association for Gender Equality „Vision“, Kavadarci
- Комора на психолози на Република Северна Македонија / Chamber of Psychologists in Republic of North Macedonia
- Здружение на жени ромки и млади „Лулуди“ / Roma Women and Youth Association “Luludi”
- Скај Плус Струмица / Sky Plus Strumica
- Медуза – феминистичка платформа / Meduza – Feminist platform