Reports of domestic violence rise in North Macedonia, with dozens of victims over the years

Cases of domestic violence continue to feature in the daily police bulletins in North Macedonia. During the first five months of this year, the number of reports increased.

Among the published notices were the following cases: “Seven people arrested for domestic violence within 24 hours,” “He tried to set the house on fire – threatened his wife and daughter,” “1.70 blood alcohol level – attacked his wife,” and “He rammed the door with a car, smashed the window and attacked his wife.”

These are just some of the thousands of reported cases. In some of them, alcohol consumption is cited as one of the factors preceding the violence. However, behind every figure and headline are the concrete stories of families, women and children, as well as victims who have often lived under threat and fear for a long time.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs show that 768 criminal offenses related to domestic violence were recorded during the first five months of the year. Compared with the same period last year, this figure represents a 67 percent increase.

Elena Dimushevska, from the National Network for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, attributes the increase in reports to the encouragement of women to report violence.

“Domestic violence has always existed in our country, but as laws improve and campaigns are conducted to educate people and raise awareness that violence should not remain within the home and that the state has a responsibility to protect the victim and the children, it is beginning to be accepted as a new standard in our society, and for this reason the number of reports is increasing,” said Elena Dimushevska, director of the National Network for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.

Minister of Internal Affairs Panche Toshkovski has announced that specialized teams equipped with body cameras will be assigned to handle domestic violence cases. According to Dimushevska, this measure could have a positive impact.

“What could be positive is that police officers themselves will focus on a professional approach, since we often receive complaints from women who have called the police and, if it is not something serious—obvious physical violence—the police may assume the role of mediator and calm the situation. Although this now happens rarely, it still happens,” said Elena Dimushevska, director of the National Network for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 2018 to 2025, North Macedonia recorded 42 murders, 24 attempted murders and 192 cases of serious bodily injury related to domestic violence.

Meanwhile, in the first six months of this year alone, four murders, one attempted murder and seven cases of serious bodily injury linked to domestic violence were reported, the minister of internal affairs announced. /Alsat.mk