fYR Macedonia commits to provide equal opportunities to men and women, step up measures to prevent and address domestic violence

The Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia highlights the priorities of equal opportunities for men and women included in the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2013-2020, and commits to the following measures to Step It Up for Gender Equality. The Government is committed to continue its effort for prevention and protection against domestic violence via effective implementation of the National Strategy for Prevention and Protection against Domestic Violence, and via effective implementation of the new law for prevention and protection of family violence. In the year 2015, the efforts of the Government of fYR Macedonia will focus on enhancing legal and institutional frameworks for countering all types of domestic violence, by strengthening the rule of law, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the capacities of judges and public prosecutors for identifying and working on cases of domestic violence. The government will continue to enhance the quality and access for support to domestic violence victims, by strengthening the capacities of service providers and expanding the scope of the services. The Government will continue to conduct activities for the prevention of domestic violence among parents and children, as well as to provide support to those who have directly or indirectly witnessed violence. It will promote the implementation of the Law on Equal Opportunities of Women and Men, for greater and more efficient protection of women and improvement of the position of women in all spheres of social life. The local self-government units and state government bodies will be required to comply with the Law on Equal Opportunities of Women and Men for job positions. The Government commits to incorporate a gender perspective into policies, budgets and programmes of the state government bodies and the local self-government units. The Government further commits to the establishment of inter-ministerial cooperation, support and coordination between the institutional mechanisms for gender equality at the local and national level; and provision of increased financial assets within the state bodies and the local self-government units to support activities towards promotion of gender equality. Efforts will also be made for harmonized approach to the collection of data by sex, and to establish a harmonized system of indicators. [ Commitment Statement ]