Authorities say they are responding faster to domestic violence reports – but a series of recent deaths or murders of women suggests the gap between promises and meaningful change remains wide.
Sinisa Jakov Marusic
The murder of 31-year-old Ajnet Vejsel, a mother of four, in the city of Bitola in mid-May, was the fifth such case this year in which the public heard about a woman dying as a consequence of domestic violence.
She was stabbed to death by her estranged partner in the Bair neighbourhood of Bitola on May 14. Both authorities and NGOs have described the case as femicide. The suspect was arrested.
On March 2, in another case that shocked the public, a young mother, Ivana, and her daughter, Katja, jumped off a balcony to their deaths in the capital, Skopje, after suffering years of violence from the husband and father.
A speedy first-instance verdict in May sentenced Stojanche Jovanovski to 12 years in prison for bodily harm committed as a continuation of domestic violence, endangering safety, and incitement and aiding and abetting suicide.
