site.btaRally against Domestic Violence Held for Third Year Running in Skopje

For the third year running, diplomats, NGO representatives and members of the public came out in Skopje's central square to join an initiative of Bilyana Angelova, wife of the Bulgarian Ambassador to North Macedonia Angel Angelov, against domestic violence. This year the slogan of the campaign is "Victims are not to blame!" and the focus is domestic violence against children.

Data from 2022 show that there are 1,543 registered victims of domestic violence in North Macedonia, including 227 children.

Angelova said, "The aim is to raise awareness about the problems related to domestic violence, to overcome them and to offer support. This year the focus is on children because a child who grows up in an abusive home assumes that violence is normal. We can tackle the problem only when we are aware that it exists, when we confront it and actively work to prevent it."

According to one survey, 40% of women think it is a family matter and 60% think domestic violence is normal, so we need to speak out more and break this perception, said Imrane Morina, a PhD in political science and women's rights activist who is supporting Bilyana Angelova's campaign for the second year.  

The ambassadors of the EU, Czechia, Slovenia, Romania, as well as representatives of the diplomatic missions of Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria came to Macedonia Square in Skopje as a sign of support for the victims of domestic violence.