Overall assessment

• Author: Vesna Simovic-Zvicer
• Pages: 84-86

84

12Overall assessment

The following specific transposition problems were mentioned in this report:

1.Statistical evidence has not been used to establish a presumption of indirect sex

discrimination.

2.Only a small number of women participate in the legislative and executive authorities

in Montenegro.

3.Harassment and sexual harassment, although regulated by the Labour Law, are

difficult to prove in practice.

4.The unemployment rate among women in the north is seven times higher than in

the south and three times higher than in the central region. More than half of

unemployed women in rural areas have never tried to find a job.

5.In Montenegro, there are many difficulties in relation to women’s access to work,

vocational training, employment, working conditions, etc. Especially in the private

sector, women are very much discriminated against concerning access to work if

they are planning a family and motherhood.

6.Occupational social security schemes have not yet been recognised in Montenegro.

There are only provisions in the Labour Law on the prohibition of discrimination in

relation to professional social security systems.

In 2019, the anti-discrimination legislative framework of Montenegro is very much in

accordance with the EU gender equality acquis. However, there are still aspects that need

to be fully harmonised with the acquis and improved.

Positive measures are defined very extensively in many laws, as explained above. Some

legislative solutions are more favourable for female workers, such as the duration of

maternity and paternity leave and leave for childcare and caring for a child with a disability.

On the other hand, the living standard and salaries are low, so fewer and fewer women

use the full legal duration of their maternity leave. Also, it is not possible to use the

maternity leave in a piecemeal fashion or part time.

Although Montenegro has demonstrated a degree of success in harmonising its law with

the EU standards, there are still some gaps in the existing legislation. For example, there

are no relevant provisions in some important areas, such as self-employment, occupational

social security, etc. In addition, surrogacy is still not defined or allowed in Montenegro.

The aforementioned acts, specially the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, together with

the Law on Gender Equality, supported the significant improvement of the normative

framework in the field of gender equality, as well as its harmonisation with international

standards. However, in spite of the establishment of an acceptable legislative and

institutional framework, the position of women in Montenegro is still unsatisfactory, as

indicated by the number of cases of gender-based violence, the overall economic power

of women, and their underrepresentation in governing posts, representative bodies and

other areas where policies are created and implemented.

On the other hand, there is a gap between the legislative framework and the

implementation of the legislation. Bearing in mind the modest number of cases reported

to the Ombudsman concerning gender equality rights, as well as the fact that no single

case on multiple discrimination or indirect discrimination has been reported or ruled on so

far, it is to be concluded that there is a lot to be done to secure actual progress in gender

equality in Montenegro. Furthermore, only cases of gender violence and, rarely, mobbing

are subject to court rulings, most of them in connection with misdemeanours. Given that

the mechanism of the shifting of the burden of proof has not been adequately and equally

applied in civil proceedings, as well as the fact that the notion of victimisation is still new,

even for law enforcement officers, it can be concluded that gender equality awareness