OSCE organizes a workshop on prevention of early forced marriages for multi-disciplinary teams from Montenegrin municipalities

Tivat, Montenegro, 29 September 2017 - A workshop on the prevention of early forced marriages, organized by The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, was conducted in Tivat, Montenegro, on 29 September 2017. The event was organized for members of multi-disciplinary teams for protection from domestic violence and violence against children from the municipalities of Budva, Kotor and Tivat as part of a joint project of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the French Permanent Mission to the OSCE. Previously, similar events were organized  for multi-disciplinary teams from other municipalities, specifically Berane, Bijelo Polje, Cetinje, Nikšić, Pljevlja and Podgorica. 

The event in Tivat brought together 18 professionals from centres for social care, health and education institutions, the police, municipalities and the NGO sector. 

Emphasizing the need for a multi-disciplinary approach, one of the experts, Aleksandra Radoman Kovačević, presented the main findings of a mapping analysis conducted in the first phase of the aforementioned project on prevention of early forced marriages among vulnerable groups. 

"The very complex issue of early forced marriages needs to be addressed on many levels. The analysis has once again proved that the system needs to do more to overcome the existing challenges, especially to overcome stereotypes and strengthen co-operation between institutions," Radoman Kovačević said.

During the discussion, participants expressed their views and opinions on the legislative framework, the responsibilities and protocols within different institutions and possible ways to strengthen the co-operation at both the local and national levels. Education, adequate health care and raising awareness were identified as crucial for addressing the issue of early forced marriages.