Joint statement of women-human rights activists from the Balkan region toward gender-based violence on the Internet

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