Population of women: 1,021,600/2,040,000 Life expectancy of women (at birth): 77 yrs School life expectancy for women: 12 yrs
Adult illiteracy for women: 95% Unemployment of women: 38% Adult economic activity rate: 41%
Source: U.N. Statistics Division, Social Indicators, updated July 2008 (Some statistics provided may be from previous years and other sources as cited by the U.N. Statistics Division)
last updated 24 November 2008
Gender Discrimination
In recent years Macedonia has enacted legislation with aims of ending gender-based discrimination. To this end, in 2006, Macedonia passed the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which prohibits gender-based discrimination in the fields of employment, education, social security, culture, and sports. Additionally, the Labor Relations Act protects women from employment discrimination and the Constitution now mandates equal pay for men and women.
In furtherance of its goal to end gender-based discrimination, Macedonia ratified without reservation the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”) and its Optional Protocol in 1994. Thereafter, Macedonia amended legislation to ensure representation of both sexes by requiring that at least 30 per cent of the nominated candidates for elections to the Parliament, the municipal councils, and the Council of the City of Skopje must be from one gender. As of the 2006 elections, there were 37 women in the 120-member parliament and three women in the 23-member Council of Ministers. Moreover, Macedonia quickly responded to concerns of the CEDAW Committee by providing definitions for discrimination, direct discrimination, and indirect discrimination in its national laws. Such definitions should facilitate better enforcement measures by providing clear statutory bases in both the criminal code and family law.
However, according to civil and criminal judges, almost no one is taking advantage of the anti-discrimination provisions in Macedonian law. Reasons for this include the difficulty in proving discrimination and the lack of clarity in the laws about what entails discrimination. In fact, as of May 2008, only one case was brought under the Constitution’s gender discrimination provisions, and this was by a man arguing that pension law favors women by granting them retirement at age 62 and men at age 64.
The CEDAW Committee recommended that Macedonia implement awareness-raising campaigns to educate men, women, boys and girls about gender equality. The Committee also recommended that the media reforms its portrayal of women. The goal would be to eliminate gender stereotyping that is predominant in traditional roles in the family and society.
Domestic Violence
The 2004 amendments to the Penal Code provide new tools to address domestic violence. The Penal Code now specifically addresses domestic violence by increasing the punishment for crimes committed during “family violence.” As defined in Article 122(19), family violence covers a wide spectrum of conduct that causes insecurity or fear and is directed against a family member. Family members include children, parents, spouses and former spouses, those with a common child, and others who have close personal relations. The broad definition is justified on the basis that 50% of women report psychological violence consisting of insulting, embarrassing, and accusatory interrogations.
Furthermore, in 2006 the Law on Family was amended to give competency to state institutions in charge of enforcement. The government created a rule book for courts. Finally, the Law on Family “expanded the definition of ‘family violence’ to include those close to the family, extended family members, or those who had been in prior partnership relations with those accused of carrying out violent acts.” (Cited in: Human Rights Committee Raises Concerns about Gaps in Anti-Corruption Programmes, Violence, Discrimination in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Human Rights Committee, Ninety-second Session, 2523rd & 2524th Meetings (26 March 2008).)
Although Macedonia has made significant progress in enacting anti-domestic violence legislation, domestic violence continues to be an issue. It apparently continues to be under-reported and under-enforced because of cultural norms against reporting such abuse and inadequate police training programs. In 2006, the police registered 2,650 domestic violence complaints, down from 3,750 in 2005. The Centres for Social Work, which works with domestic violence victims, processed approximately 100 family violence cases in 2008. According to a Macedonian delegate to the UN Human Rights Committee, 132 people were indicted in 2006, 89 were convicted under the criminal code, and 16 people went to prison.
In fact, underreporting by victims is common, and accurate statistics are not always available from police, prosecutors, judges or other service providers. The most common type of domestic violence is psychological, which comprised 56.4 percent of reported domestic violence in 2006. Perpetrators most often commit this type of violence by controlling the movement and contacts of women. In 2006, 18.6 percent of victims reported physical domestic violence, and over ten percent reported sexual violence. In a 2004 study, one out of four women were victims of domestic violence. Finally, a 2000 ESE study found that 61.5 percent of women were victims of psychological violence (50% for Roma women) and 23.9 percent were victims of physical violence.
Roma women are especially vulnerable to domestic violence. According to a study by the Roma Centre of Skopje, 70 percent of Roma women consider themselves victims of domestic violence. Roma women often do not take their cases outside of the traditional community and instead try to resolve conflict within the family. Roma women tend not to seek assistance after suffering violence because of a fear of discrimination and disbelief that authorities can improve the situation.
The government issued only 11 civil restraining orders for domestic violence in 2005, even though there were 130 calls per month to the national help line. (The number of monthly calls in 2007 rose to 150.) To address the apparent disparity in reporting, the June 2005 National Campaign to Confront Domestic Violence encouraged victims of domestic violence to actively seek help. And in November 2007, UNIFEM sponsored the 16 Days National Campaign against Violence against Women to encourage victims to ask for an improved domestic violence response system in Macedonia. Part of that campaign involved the media through leaflets and television advertisements in helping to get out the message that domestic violence is a problem that must be addressed
Another problem is a lack of temporary protection measures, such as counseling and mandatory medical treatment of the offender, confusion over the procedures for ordering such measures, and a lack of follow-up after they are issued.
NGOs run a national hotline, supported by international donors and the national government.
In order to continue these efforts, Macedonia has affirmed that it will carry out a national campaign to combat domestic violence every year. NGOs recommend that prosecution and punishment must continue to be carried out effectively, more shelters must be built and maintained, and education must increase in the areas of law enforcement, the judiciary, healthcare, social work, and the community.
Trafficking in Persons
Trafficking in persons continues to be an area of concern within Macedonia, which is rated by the U.S. State Department as a Tier 1 (lowest level) country. The government has taken significant steps to combat trafficking, including signing an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (“IOM”) in 2000. Under this agreement, Macedonia will pre-screen female undocumented migrants to better identify victims of trafficking.
Macedonia ratified the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children in 2005. The Convention is the main international treaty aimed at combating worldwide organized crime. The treaty includes provisions for creating domestic criminal sanctions, extradition measures, legal assistance and law enforcement, and technical assistance. The Protocol was the first international legally binding document with an agreed upon definition of human trafficking.
The Penal Code broadly defines a human trafficker. Under the definition, a trafficker can employ various methods beyond just force for an act to be considered trafficking such as an act “serious threats, delusions or other forms of coercion, by kidnapping, by deceit and abuse of his/her own position.” A trafficker can also abuse a victim’s pregnancy, “weakness”, or “physical or mental disability.” A trafficker is also defined by “giving or receiving money or other benefits in order to obtain agreement” of someone who controls the victim.
Acts that a trafficker may employ including recruiting, transportation, transfer, buying, selling, harboring, accepting a person “for the purpose of exploitation” through prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, pornography, forced labor or servitude, slavery, forced marriages, forced fertilization, unlawful adoption, or similar relationship it or illicit transplantation of human organs.”
The Code stipulates harsher punishments for persons found guilty of trafficking children.
Articles 418 through 418-c of the Penal Code proscribe transporting slaves, trafficking humans, and smuggling migrants. The Code allows for sentences ranging from one to ten years for placing someone into slavery (at least five years if the victim is a juvenile), six months to five years for transporting someone in slavery (at least five years if the victim is a juvenile), at least four years for sexual trafficking (at least eight years if the victim is a juvenile), at least four years for taking away a trafficked victim’s identification, and at least eight years for organizing a group to commit the crime of human trafficking.
Even with stronger efforts at the borders, police raids on nightclubs and bars that force women into prostitution remain the leading source of uncovering trafficked persons. Since 2001, the Reception and Transit Center, with the IOM’s help, has sought to repatriate trafficked women.
The Human Rights Watch World Report for 2003 for Macedonia also noted that the Ministry of the Interior opened a shelter for trafficked women and girls. During 2007, the government identified and offered assistance in the form of shelter, legal assistance, health care, job training, and witness protection services to 249 trafficked persons (including 152 foreign nationals), a vast improvement over the 17 victims assisted just one year earlier. However, less than a third of these potential victims accepted the services.
In 2007, Macedonia prosecuted 55 trafficking cases and convicted 70 traffickers relating to 30 cases. However, 39 of the convicted traffickers were convicted under smuggling charges. (In 2006, only 54 convictions in 18 cases occurred.)
In 2001, Macedonia established the National Commission for Combating Trading in Human beings and Illegal Migration in order to monitor state actions and coordinate the activities of the responsible state institutions. Although still a problem, trafficking numbers have declined since 2006 when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, thereby forcing traffickers to find other routes across Europe. As a result, Albania and Serbia have replaced Romania and Bulgaria as the most common origins of trafficked persons entering Macedonia.
The Macedonian government is working diligently to provide education to patrons of trafficked persons, police officers, troops abroad, and government officials at all levels. Since 2005, the Ministry of Social Policy has helped coordinate 35 trainings in different areas of the government, and more than 1,000 officers have been trained. The government also created a national database on trafficking crimes. The IOM helped 778 victims of trafficking between 2000 and 2007, and organized over 30 anti-trafficking projects.
The increased penalties for knowing patrons of trafficked persons also seeks to lower demand. Nonetheless, more must be done to end trafficking. Laws must be implemented and enforced, especially through the prosecution of traffickers. Efforts to prevent trafficking also must be taken.
Rape
The Penal Code explicitly addresses rape. Rape is punishable under Article 186 of the Penal Code for a period of one to ten years. The Code defines rape as, “the use of force or threat to directly attack upon the life or body of another or upon the life or body of someone close to that person, [and] forces him [or her] to intercourse.” The Code calls for harsher punishments of at least four years imprisonment for those guilty of severe physical injury or death during rape, “especially cruel or degrading” rape, and for gang rape. The Code does not, however, directly address spousal rape.
Although rape laws are in place, their actual effectiveness suffers because of strict requirements of proof of penetration and active resistance. Incidences of spousal rape, like domestic violence, are under-reported because of societal stigmas that attach to victims. Moreover, police and judicial officers are reluctant to prosecute when victims do come forward.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is addressed under 2004 amendments to Article 189 of the Penal Code. The law provides for punishment of three months to three years for, “[a] person who by misusing his position induces another, who is subordinated or dependent or with the same objective abuses, intimidates or acts in a way that humiliated the human dignity and the human person in relation to him, to intercourse or to some other sexual act…”
Sexual harassment in the workplace can be prosecuted under antidiscrimination laws. However, as of 2007 there were no prosecutions for sexual harassment in the workplace. In fact, the government has conducted no studies in this area as of March 2008 and only a few NGOs and academics have delved into this area.
Sexual harassment is also incorporated into the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which defines sexual harassment as, “every verbal, nonverbal or physical behavior of sexual character, that represents… damage to personal dignity, especially when it causes intimidation, repulsiveness, degradation, humiliation or offensive behavior.”
Institutions
Macedonia established the Unit for Promotion of Gender Equality as part of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in January 1997. The main purpose of this department is to aid in the advancement of women's status in Macedonia in accordance with international conventions and treaties ratified by Macedonia.
Also in 1997, Macedonia created a national Ombudsman office, which monitors the human rights situation in the country, including women’s human rights. The Ombudsman’s office helped prepare the National Action Plan for Gender Equality. This Plan is a government tool designed to determine what actions must be taken to achieve gender equality, and to inform citizens about gender equality initiatives.
Additionally, several nongovernmental organizations work for women’s rights in Macedonia. For example, the Association of Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women monitors and advocates for women’s rights. Moreover, the Gender Task Force, which began in 1999, works to increase women’s societal participation throughout south-eastern Europe. In March 2000, the Gender Task Force created the Macedonia Women’s Lobby, which consists of women from both the nongovernmental and governmental sectors. The Lobby promotes greater representation of women in society as well as the improvement of women's status through legislation.
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