The painful topic of systemic failures in the protection of women-victims of violence in North Macedonia, has once again been opened by the latest tragedy in which a mother and daughter lost their lives, after several reports of domestic violence by a violent and abusive husband. Despite the mother’s cries for help, the case remained without an appropriate institutional response. The death of the young mother and her daughter once again exposed the reality – when institutions do not react in time, violence ends in death.
In recent years, the statistics have become increasingly alarming. Femicides, rapes, attacks, threats, hatred, retaliation, stalking, blackmail, misogyny and sexism – are not isolated incidents, but the result of a way of life that dehumanizes women.
The latest tragedy, in which a mother and her 6-year-old daughter died as a result of domestic violence, occurred on the eve of March 8, International Women’s Day. The main message of the march which traditionally organized to mark the occasion is that women are not safe anywhere and that the fight for rights and the fight against femicide and violence against women must not remain merely symbolic.
“We exist on the margins of society and history. At constant risk of being erased, forgotten, killed. We do not remain silent, we do not accept, we do not reconcile. How many more women will disappear while institutions are silent supporters and instigators of violence? All competent institutions that have ignored, minimized, relativized, encouraged and allowed violence against women for years are guilty. The community that chooses to believe the perpetrators instead of the victims is also to blame. In this society, women are left alone to prove themselves, to protect themselves and run away and to seek help in vain. In this society, women are most unsafe precisely where they belong – at home. This society teaches men that they have supremacy, that women are their property and that they have the right to own, control and even take our lives. For years, we have been marching and fighting for dignity, freedom, security, prevention, protection and for a life without fear. This year too, we will march and, in defiance of the culture of violence, we will say – We will dissapear! There is no justification, no evasion, no forgetting. Let’s stand together against the bullies, the thugs, the murderers and the institutions,” the organizers of the march said.
A record 4,745 women reported domestic violence in 2025
A record 4,745 women reported domestic violence in 2025 in North Macedonia, according to figures from the Ministry of Interior (MoI), which include crimes, misdemeanors and complaints of domestic violence. Looking at the figures from the last five years, the situation is worrying. Wives are usually the most affected group, which raises the alarm for the introduction of enhanced measures for their protection and support.
Meta.mk recently wrote that violence against women in Macedonia is resurfacing with a series of worrying cases in just one day, reported a recent MoI daily bulletin. In Skopje and Delchevo, several women reported physical attacks, threats and psychological abuse by their partners or former partners. The police have acted on several reports of gender-based violence, which is further evidence that many women are exposed to danger behind the closed doors of their homes.
According to the Ministry of Interior, in a period of five years, as many as 26 femicide cases were recorded. In 2021, four criminal acts of “murder” were registered, in which the victims were four women. In 2022, two criminal acts of “murder” were registered, in which the victims were two women. The following year, this number was 9, including a murder of 14-year-old girl. In 2024, five women were killed, one of whom was a two-year-old girl, and last year, 6 women were killed.
We don’t have strong institutions to protect women victims
Ana Avramoska Nushkova from the National Network to End Violence against Women and Domestic Violence believes that the increased number of reports to the Ministry of Interior from female victims is due to the fact that this topic is increasingly being discussed publicly. Campaigns and more active media coverage mean that women now have better access to information about where to report violence and what their rights are.
However, she says that in practice women who report violence often withdraw their complaints, and those cases end up without legal consequences.
“In many cases, women withdraw their reports because of economic dependence, shared housing, as well as other patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes that still exist in our society, including pressure from the immediate family. With the recent amendments to the Criminal Code, the Public Prosecutor’s Office now prosecutes bodily harm ex officio, even if the victim withdraws the complaint. But it is crucial what the system can offer to protect the victim. We must have strong institutions and established, sustainable and geographically appropriately distributed specialized services, so that we can adequately protect the women who report they are victoms of violence,” she said.
However, in the latest case of domestic violence that resulted in the deaths of Ivana and Katja, these legal amendments were not applied. Police reportedly stopped the procedure after the victim signed a statement claiming she had not been physically assaulted by her husband.
In such an environment, March 8 is a reminder that institutional impunity and social tolerance of violence create the conditions for new tragedies. Femicide, rape, threats and stalking are not isolated incidents, but the consequence of a system that has ignored warnings for years and left women alone to fight for their own safety.
Women’s struggle is collective and men in this society must understand that
Marta Stevkovska, journalist, author, feminist and gender equality activist from the Stella network, says the women’s struggle is a collective one and that men must understand this as well.
“It is time for men to join the march, to also call for accountability, condemn violence and refuse to turn their heads away when violence happens. For me, March 8 is a day when we continue the struggle of the women before us, because we owe them the rights we have today. Unfortunately, the system forgets them and pushes them to the margins. Our duty is to celebrate them, march for our survival, and continue the fight. The latest tragedy in which a mother and child were ‘killed’ once again exposed the violent system that remains silent before abusers and criminals and fails to protect women,” she said.
She added that hope for women in this society exists only if people act collectively and in solidarity, clearly stating that women must not be left marginalized and unprotected.
“It is time for the competent authorities to truly listen to us and protect us, to do their job as required by law. It is not enough to say ‘stop violence’ or to hold speeches encouraging reporting. Institutions must act and provide real support and assistance to victims. The community also bears responsibility when it normalizes violence and blames women based on stereotypes and prejudices, making it even harder for victims to report abuse,” Stevkovska said.
Gender disinformation causes significant harm
Alongside institutional weaknesses, the public space is increasingly flooded with gender-related disinformation that relativizes violence, fuels growing polarization between men and women, and distorts the concept of gender equality.
Recently, the Association for the Advancement of Journalistic Practices “Innovative Media” and the Media Diversity Institute – Western Balkans published an analysis titled “Mapping Gendered Disinformation in the Western Balkans.” The author is Despina Kovachevska, a media monitoring expert at the Metamorphosis Foundation. The spread of gender-related disinformation contributes to the broader problem of misinformation by distorting public understanding of gender equality and reinforcing harmful stereotypes.
“In 2021 and 2022, especially during the pandemic, disinformation campaigns were largely focused on pregnant women, spreading false claims that the COVID-19 vaccines would cause severe harm to their unborn children. This misinformation fueled fear and uncertainty, undermining public health efforts aimed at protecting both mothers and babies. After the pandemic, disinformation shifted towards anti-vaccination narratives, with claims that vaccines cause infertility in women.
In 2023 and 2024, the number of disinformation instances doubled, with a noticeable shift in the narrative aimed at discrediting women in politics. This trend became more prominent due to increasing attacks on female politicians, often focusing on their gender and perpetuating harmful stereotypes to undermine their credibility and leadership,” the analysis states.
Meanwhile, data from an OSCE-led survey on violence against women, conducted in 2019, point to a complex environment in which patriarchal norms remain strong and a significant portion of the population views domestic violence as a private family matter. This creates barriers for victims seeking help. Regarding perceptions of violence, 60 percent of women in North Macedonia believe that violence against women is “very” or “fairly” common in the country. According to the survey results, 13 percent of women aged 18 to 74 experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence from a current or former partner within a single year.
The report also identifies specific barriers in North Macedonia that prevent women from leaving abusive situations or reporting them. Women expressed deep distrust toward social services and the police, fearing that their private information could leak into the community. One participant stated:
“There is nowhere you can hide. You go to the social services, and the officials there will gossip about you, and the whole town will find out about you. They will tell a friend, that friend will tell another friend, that friend will tell your husband, and he will come and beat you up”
Patriarchy as Tradition
If one looks at the participants in the March 8 protests over the years, as the organizers point out, the presence of women is drastically higher than that of men. According to them, this is not without reason. The most common reaction to these marches is the claim that “women already have all the same rights as men, so why are they protesting,” or that women gaining rights somehow means men are losing theirs.
Patriarchy, as a social system, grants certain privileges to men as a group while at the same time imposing and defining rigid gender norms on masculinity, how men should look and behave.
“It is important to note that acknowledging that men enjoy certain privileges should not be seen as a problem. At the same time, this does not mean that men do not face difficulties that society must also address. However, the feminist struggle — which should not be limited to a single date such as March 8 — works not toward individual solutions, but toward overcoming problems affecting society as a whole, including men. Through marches like these, the goal is to reject systems of domination based on gender, class, sexuality, disability and other marginalized identities. Because patriarchy is kept ‘alive’ through social structures and everyday behaviors in which men often hold greater power, men have not only the capacity but also the responsibility to oppose these systems. Their participation signals that gender equality is not a women’s issue, but a social and collective one,” activists say.
According to them, the presence of men at such events should encourage other men — those who are indifferent or openly antagonistic toward feminist movements — to understand, at the very least for personal reasons, that they too stand to benefit from joining the struggle.
“By opposing patriarchy, men also challenge the harmful behavioral patterns imposed on them and help ensure that aggressive behavior is condemned rather than ignored, or even worse, supported and defended,” they say, adding that joining the feminist movement is not an act of charity toward women, but a commitment to collective liberation.
Part of the History of the Struggle for Women’s Rights – Finland a Leader in Europe
International Women’s Day began to be widely celebrated or observed on March 8 from 1975, after the United Nations marked that year as International Women’s Year. Two years later, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring March 8 the International Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.
The foundations for this within the UN date back to the establishment of the Commission on the Status of Women in 1946, and for the first time in human history, women were recognized as equal to men in terms of fundamental human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948.
However, the history of women’s struggle for equality with men is much older and can be traced back to the French Revolution and its principles, as well as to the socialist movements that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States and Europe, which demanded equal workers’ rights, the right to vote, and other forms of equality.
Among the most prominent women who shaped the early history of the struggle for women’s rights are Theresa Malkiel (USA), Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zetkin, and many others.
The Grand Duchy of Finland became the first European country to grant women the right to vote in 1906, and by 1907 the Finnish parliament already included 17 women. Germany allowed women to vote in 1918, while several other European countries introduced women’s suffrage much later in the 20th century.
In ASNOM-era Macedonia, women’s voting rights and other rights were equalized immediately after World War II, when Macedonia became a constituent member of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia and later a member of the United Nations.
Written by: Antonija Popovska and Matej Trojachanec
