Conference held for the purpose of presenting the results of the project “Strengthening the Capacities for the Implementation of Gender Equality Policies”
The highest achievement in the field of gender equality we measure related to the activities of organizations and institutions that protect women’s rights.
This was announced at the press conference of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) on the occasion of the presentation of the results of the project entitled “Strengthening the Capacities for the Implementation of Gender Equality Policies“, which CEDEM is implementing with the support of the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights.
CEDEM Director Milena Bešić emphasized that the results of the CEDEM Democracy Index for 2020 indicate a negative trend in the level of gender equality compared not only to the latest results from 2016, but also to the results of the first measurement of this type from 2007. “We record the most pronounced negative trend in relation to hate speech against women and LGBTI people, while the level of gender equality remains at the same place when it comes to equal participation of women in social life, discrimination in the employment process, and discrimination within companies and institutions,” Bešić said.
Bešić also stated that “We measure the highest achievement in the field of gender equality when it comes to the activities of organizations and institutions that protect women’s rights. Somewhat lower, at very close level of values, we measure: discrimination against women in institutions and organizations, equal participation of women in social life, discrimination against women in employment, inexistence of hate speech, and equal participation of women in government. The data indicates, and this is a significant finding, that the biggest problem when it comes to gender equality is discrimination against women in the family.”
In addition, Bešić referred to the research “Patterns and the Degree of Discrimination in Montenegro” from November 2020, saying that “Within this research, in which we measured the degree of discrimination in certain areas and in relation to certain categories of the population, the data indicates that the overall level of discrimination is lower than in 2010. However, we record the lowest decline in the level of discrimination in relation to sex/gender discrimination, in the amount of only 1.3%, while in the case of discrimination based on sexual orientation we record a negative trend with an increase of 2.6%,”concluded Bešić.
CEDEM Project Coordinator, Matija Miljanić, stated that the project included the School of Gender Equality, the National Forum “Multisectoral Approach to Gender Equality“, and a workshop for representatives of NGOs and the judiciary from Podgorica, Bijelo Polje and Berane entitled “Gender-Based Violence-Challenges and Future Perspectives“, as well as a media campaign on the elimination of gender stereotypes and principles of gender equality with the aim of raising awareness of the general public about the need to eliminate gender stereotypes.
“I am glad that this year we have realized the now traditional activity of CEDEM, the School of Gender Equality, which we have been implementing for four years in a row. In addition, CEDEM recognized modern trends and themes but also problems that directly affect gender equality in Montenegro and the world, so for this iteration of School of Gender Equality it managed to expand the network of experts with whom it cooperates and prepare the most innovative topics for participants such as: “Art and film as a way of breaking gender stereotypes“, “How does language affect the creation of gender stereotypes? – Sapir-Whorf’s hypothesis“, “Gender roles are learned – an example of fairy tales” etc.” stated Miljanić.
Miljanić also noted that “CEDEM, by realizing a workshop for representatives of NGOs and the judiciary from Podgorica, Bijelo Polje and Berane entitled “Gender-Based Violence-Challenges and Future Perspectives” contributes to meeting the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which, in one of the concluding observations of the Second Periodic Report on Montenegro, recommends that the Member State should improve its capacity-building programs for judges, prosecutors, law enforcement staff, and lawyers, in order to enable them to directly apply or invoke the Convention provisions in judicial or administrative proceedings and to interpret domestic laws accordingly.
At the end of the press conference, Bešić and Miljanić concluded that CEDEM recognizes the importance of improving gender equality at all levels and that it will continue to implement projects related to this key area in the coming period.
