March 8 Protest in Skopje: ‘Femicide begins long before the final blow’

Alongside calls for justice, the protest highlighted record domestic violence reports and the lack of strong protection mechanisms for women

Originally published on Global Voices

This article is based on coverage by Meta.mk News Agency published on March 8, 2026.  An edited version is republished here under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation. 

Hundreds of citizens joined the March 8 protest march in Skopje under the slogan “We Will Not Disappear.” According to the organizers, this year’s event was the largest held so far to mark International Women’s Day. Participants carried banners calling for accountability and institutional responsibility.

The march began with a minute of silence for Ivana and Katja Jovanovski, a mother and daughter who recently died after suffering prolonged domestic violence at the hands of the husband and father, with speakers stressing that femicide begins much earlier than the final act of violence — “long before the last blow.” Urging that the issue of domestic violence must be a priority, they added, “[W]e often hear perpetrators say with a smile, ‘She asked for it herself.’ How can institutions ask women to report violence if they later withdraw complaints or fail to act?”

In between speeches, participants repeatedly called for justice for the Jovanovski femicide victims, as well as for Rosica Koceva and Ramajana Asan, both murdered by their partners. They booed Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski for not doing enough to prevent and sanction femicide, and for their statements appealing to women to report violence and to not retract the reports made to police.

The issue of women retracting police reports is now a moot point, however, since a new law obliges the police to act ex-officio in cases of violence, even if victim does not want to complain.

The march ended near the seat of government, at the pedestal of anti-fascist fighter Vera Jocić (1923–1944), whose statue was stolen in December 2025 and has not yet been replaced. Participants interpreted this as part of a broader pattern of institutional neglect and the marginalization of anti-fascist and women’s historical legacies.

In North Macedonia, women are too often left to seek protection on their own

The latest tragedy , in which a mother and her daughter were killed despite repeated reports of domestic violence, has once again highlighted systemic failures in protecting women in North Macedonia, showing that when institutions fail to act in time, violence can end in death.

Data from police and court records indicate that domestic violence remains widespread, with nearly three cases reported daily and thousands of incidents recorded in recent years. The vast majority of perpetrators are men, while victims are most often women, and dozens of killings have been linked to domestic violence over the past four years.

The latest tragedy focused the main message of the International Women's Day protest on the issue of lack of basic safety for women. Organizers highlighted that “competent institutions that have ignored, minimized, relativized, encouraged and allowed violence against women are guilty,” while any community that “chooses to believe the perpetrators instead of the victims is also to blame.” In an announcement shared by email before the march, organizers said women are “left alone to protect themselves and seek help in vain.”

A record 4,745 women reported domestic violence in 2025

According to figures from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) obtained by Meta.mk, which include crimes, misdemeanors and complaints of domestic violence, in North Macedonia a record 4,745 women reported instances of domestic violence in 2025. Looking at the figures and series of cases from the last five years, the situation is worrying. Wives are usually the most affected group, which raises the alarm for the introduction of enhanced measures for their protection and support.

Meta.mk wrote that violence against women in Macedonia is resurfacing, with a spate of cases reported in just one day, according to a recent MoI daily bulletin. In Skopje and Delchevo, several women reported physical attacks, threats and psychological abuse by their partners or former partners. The police have acted on several reports of gender-based violence, which is further evidence that many women are exposed to danger behind the closed doors of their homes.

Over the past five years, the MoI has recorded 26 femicides — four in 2021, two in 2022, and nine in 2023, including the murder of a 14-year-old girl. In 2024, five women were killed, including two-year-old girl, and six women were killed during 2025.

A lack of strong institutions to protect victims

Ana Avramoska Nushkova from the National Network to End Violence against Women and Domestic Violence said that although reporting has increased due to awareness campaigns, many women withdraw complaints, leaving cases without legal consequences. She pointed to economic dependence and social pressure as key barriers, stressing the need for stronger institutional support:

Многу пати, жените кога пријавуваат насилство знаеја и да се повлечат, поради економската зависност, заедничкото живеење, многу од нив живеат во семејни куќи со свекор, но и од останатите патријархални норми и родови стереотипи кои сè уште постојат во нашето општество и притисокот од првично најблиското семејство, па потоа од пошироката средина. За кривичното дело телесна повреда каде најчесто се случуваа овие повлекувања на жртвата сега со последните измени на Кривичниот законик при пријава на ова дело ЈО ќе го гони сторителот по службена должност. Но, многу е важно што ние како систем имаме да ѝ понудиме на жртвата за да ја заштитиме. Мора да е да имаме јаки институции и воспоставени, одржливи и географски соодветно распределени специјализирани сервиси, за да можеме соодветно да ја заштитиме жената-жртва која пријавила насилство.

In many cases, women withdraw their reports because of economic dependence, shared housing, as well as other patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes that still exist in our society,  including pressure from the immediate family. With the recent amendments to the Criminal Code, the Public Prosecutor’s Office now prosecutes bodily harm ex officio, even if the victim withdraws the complaint. But it is crucial what the system can offer to protect the victim. We must have strong institutions and established, sustainable and geographically appropriately distributed specialized services, so that we can adequately protect the women who report they are victoms of violence.

However, in the latest case of domestic violence that resulted in the death of the Jovanovskis, these legal amendments were not applied. Police reportedly stopped the procedure after the victim signed a statement claiming she had not been physically assaulted by her husband.

In such an environment, March 8 is a reminder that institutional impunity and social tolerance of violence create the conditions for new tragedies. Femicide, rape, threats and stalking are not isolated incidents, but the consequence of a system that has ignored warnings for years and left women alone to fight for their own safety.

Women’s struggle is collective

Marta Stevkovska, journalist, author, feminist and gender equality activist from the Stella network, said that the fight against gender-based violence is collective and requires active engagement from both institutions and society: “It is time for men to join the march, to also call for accountability, condemn violence and refuse to turn their heads away when violence happens […] It is time for the competent authorities to truly listen to us and protect us, to do their job as required by law. It is not enough to say ‘stop violence’ or to hold speeches encouraging reporting.”

Emphasizing that without accountability, women remain unprotected and marginalized, Stevkovska continued, “Institutions must provide real protection and support. The community also bears responsibility when it normalizes violence and blames women based on stereotypes and prejudices, making it even harder for victims to report abuse.”

Alongside institutional weaknesses, experts warn that gender-related disinformation further distorts public understanding of violence and reinforces harmful stereotypes. An analysis by the Media Diversity Institute and Metamorphosis Foundation on gendered disinformation in the Western Balkans highlights how such narratives increasingly target women in public life and undermine gender equality.

An earlier OSCE survey shows that many citizens still perceive domestic violence as a private matter, contributing to underreporting and limited institutional response. Together, these factors create an environment in which violence is normalized and more difficult to challenge.