Krizsan joined the Montenegro visit of the Council of Europe’s expert group as a specialist on violence against women

A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) was carrying out an evaluation visit to Montenegro from 6 to 9 November 2017. This visit follows GREVIO's review of Montenegro's state report and the state dialogue with the Montenegrin representatives held in Strasbourg on 10 October 2017. It is one of the steps in the procedure to monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention by Montenegro.

The Istanbul Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, is based on the understanding that states must fully address gender-based violence in all its forms and take measures to prevent such violence, protect the victims and prosecute the perpetrators. GREVIO has only recently launched its first (baseline) evaluation of the Convention and Montenegro is the sixth state party to undergo the procedure.

The GREVIO delegation is led by Marceline Naudi and Helena Leitao and supported by two specialists Andrea Krizsan and Sanja Elezovic. Two members of the Council of Europe Secretariat based in Strasbourg will also form part of the group.

Meetings were held with several ministries, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Justice, Interior, Education, Health, etc. Meetings with civil society and NGOs included representatives of specialist support services and lawyers practicing in the field.

Although no comment can be made on its findings yet, GREVIO plans to publish its evaluation report before the end of 2018.

(Source: Council of Europe Newsroom)