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Joint statement of women-human rights activists from the Balkan region toward gender-based violence on the Internet
![](http://www.atina.org.rs/sites/default/files/TogetherAgainstGBV.png)
We, women human rights activists from the Balkans, stand together in solidarity with all women victims of digital gender-based violence, and demand from relevant institutions to act in accordance with their jurisdiction, thoroughly and promptly investigate the case of groups on the Telegram platform (such as: Balkan Room, Public Room, GevgelijaHub, Serbian Room, Smokva, etc.), in order to sanction the perpetrators and protect the victims from further victimization.
Exactly one year after the appearance of such a group on Telegram in North Macedonia, which was used for sexual harassment of girls and women by posting their photos as well as the victims’ personal data in a pornographic context without their consent, we witness new cases of this kind of abuse not only in North Macedonia, but in the entire region. Although the administrators and creators of two such groups have been arrested, we believe this is only the first step in accessing justice that must be guaranteed to all victims of this and similar criminal offenses.
We welcome the reaction of competent bodies to cases of online child abuse. However, the silence of institutions sends a clear message that violence against women is tolerated, that it is not punishable, which additionally encourages perpetrators to continue with this behavior, and leaves victims intimidated, ashamed and silenced.
The abovementioned cases in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia have shown that only a small number of perpetrators are prosecuted, and that they are charged with “production and distribution of child pornography”, which prevents the protection of adult victims.
Women from the countries of former Yugoslavia, whom we have been providing with free legal aid and other services for years, have experienced and testified to numerous shortcomings in such proceedings. Often, women who suffer sexual abuse online deal with inadequate response of institutions, do not trust the police, and feel that reporting abuse would be in vain due to practices of inaction, disbelief and relativization of the victims’ experiences.
Imposing misdemeanor sanctions and warnings, instead of documented and reasoned criminal charges, as well as inadequate enforcement of restraining orders, results in continuous and intensified violence, often followed by serious consequences for the victims’ health, which in some cases may even cause death.
Regarding the Public Prosecutors' Offices, we often notice postponed initiation of indictments, inefficient or negligent management of pre-investigation and investigative procedures that result in lack of, or untimely, provision of relevant evidence, as well as failure to take measures against the perpetrators to prevent continued violence against women. 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 it happens to thousands of female victims in the Balkans, does not receive an adequate institutional response, nor public support. On the contrary, dominant narratives women face today consist of discrediting their experiences, victim-blaming, humiliation, and revictimization. It is obvious that the silence of institutions additionally encourages functioning of such groups in the digital space, while girls and women are facing danger for their personal safety, which undermines their dignity and affects their health. Unfortunately, the easiest way to humiliate a woman is to portray her in a "sexual context", which only speaks of the insurmountable stigma that still marks female sexuality as shameful and indecent, and labels victims as "women who asked for IT themselves”.
In such a way, stolen photographs, combined with sexist and threatening comments, and the treatment of women as objects without integrity, feelings, desires and traumas, speak of serious, deeply rooted misogynistic values in our region that must be comprehensively and radically addressed. But, in order to begin solving the issue, we must name it first. This is not an issue of personal data abuse, and it cannot be solved with such a limited approach. This is an issue 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 reaching their goal.
Today we are aware that there is a regional network of harassers, i.e. an open group whose members and administrators are from all of the Balkan countries, and whose goal is to humiliate and sexually harass women. Therefore, we demand from competent institutions to seriously and responsibly approach this social phenomenon which affect at least half of the population. We demand institutional cross-border cooperation, thorough investigation, and prosecution of all involved offenders from the region.
This case is a chance for institutions from the entire region to show that they stand for women’s rights and protection against gender-based violence, not just declaratively, but in practice! We ask the states to improve their legal framework, so that cases of digital gender-based violence are properly incriminated and prosecuted ex officio, we ask Public Prosecutors' Offices in the region to immediately and thoroughly investigate the cases of groups and perpetrators of criminal offenses on the social network Telegram. We also ask the Ministries of the Interior to continuously undertake preventive activities and put a stop to the existence of these and similar groups.
Together and solidary!
Associations / NGOs that signed the statement:
- NGO ASTRA
- Alternativni centar za devojke
- Autonomni ženski centar, Beograd
- NGO 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
- 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
- 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
- BIRN – Balkanska istraživačka regionalna mreža
- AEPA Asocijacija pravnika Srbija
*The statement was initially signed by 139 organizations, but more organizations joined later on.