Country Profile North Macedonia

General Country Information

Summary

There are three national women’s helplines in North Macedonia operating 24/7, while one of them also operates free of charge and offers multilingual support, although with limited availability. There are 14 women-only shelters with a total of 67 beds, as well as two other shelters. In North Macedonia, there are 11 women’s centres and three Sexual Violence Referral Centres. Public authorities collect data on primary prevention as part of a broader gender-based violence monitoring system, but there is no specific budget allocated for it. The state collects data only on support services that are licensed by the Ministry of Social Policy, Demographics and Youth, therefore excluding many women’s specialist services which are run by women’s organisations.

Women’s Specialist Services

There are three national women’s helplines in North Macedonia. The Free SOS Mobile National Helpline (бесплатна СОС мобилна национална линија, tel.: +389 141700) is run by the National Council for Gender Equality. It operates free of charge and is available 24/7; therefore, it meets the standards of the Istanbul Convention for the provision of a helpline. It offers support in Macedonian, Albanian, Roma and Turkish, although multilingual support is not available 24/7, but only when an operator who speaks one of these languages is on duty. The helpline supports survivors of various forms of violence against women, including domestic and intimate partner violence, sexualised violence, psychological, emotional and economic abuse, as well as stalking and cyberstalking. Main funding sources are the state and donations. In 2024, 760 calls by 360 callers have been registered, and the most common forms of violence reported were domestic, psychological and economic violence. The other two national women’s helpline are the National SOS Line – Telephone of Trust (Национална СОС линија – Телефон на доверба, tel.: +389 15315), which is run by the Crisis Centre Hope, and the National SOS Line 15 700 (Национална СОС линија 15 700, tel.: +389 (02)15700), which is run by the Women’s organisation of the city of Skopje. These helplines provide 24/7 support to survivors of domestic violence but do not operate free of charge.

There are 14 women-only shelters in North Macedonia, providing 67 beds. All shelters can be accessed 24/7 through police assistance or SOS helplines. Only 11 crisis centres offer 24/7 access, and women can find accommodation only if they report the violence to a centre for social welfare. Accommodation is free of charge for women survivors of violence. The permitted length of stay depends on the type of shelter. In crisis centres, women may stay up to 72 hours, while in long-term shelters, the standard period is three to six months, with the possibility of extension up to one year. In practice, most women stay for around three months. Women-only shelters most often provide casework, counselling and psychological support, referrals and collaboration with other services, as well as practical advice.

Women’s shelters in North Macedonia are not intended to accommodate homeless women, who can be hosted in a specific shelter managed by the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth, with the support of the Red Cross of Skopje. However, if a homeless woman is also a survivor of gender-based violence, she can be accommodated in a women’s shelter upon reporting to the competent institution. Most shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with physical disabilities and women with children with disabilities. Some shelters are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, as well as refugee women. There are still no shelters equipped to support women with cognitive and/or sensory disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, transgender women and women with older sons. The shelter for survivors of trafficking in human beings also accommodates survivors of sexualised violence.

Women-only shelters are funded by the state, donations and international funding. Three shelters are run by women’s NGOs with a gender-specific approach, while the others are run by the state and other NGOs. Shelters are located only in major cities of North Macedonia, and not every region provides such services. If shelters had to decline referrals, the main reasons were the lack of space and capacity to support survivors, or the shelters not being accessible due to, for instance, technical issues like flooding. The most common forms of violence reported were domestic, physical and psychological violence. In 2024, approximately 60 to 70 women and children were accommodated in shelters. Additionally, there are two other shelters accessible to women in the country: one supporting survivors of trafficking and one for LGBTQI+ people. The safe house for LGBTQI+ people was closed between February and September 2025 due to cuts in USAID funding.

There are eleven women’s centres in North Macedonia, with five being only for women survivors of violence against women and the others for all survivors of gender-based violence, including women. Women’s centres in North Macedonia primarily provide counselling and psychological support, as well as referrals to other services. Most of the centres operated by the State are not fully functional, due to a lack of human resources. State-run centres do not directly provide legal assistance; instead, women are referred to the system of free legal aid, in line with the Law on Free Legal Aid. Representation at courts, police and social services is carried out only by NGO-run women’s centres, which also provide specialist psychological care and legal advice for survivors of sexualised violence. State-run centres rarely provide psychotherapeutic services. Such services can primarily be accessed in counselling centres run by women’s NGOs, where survivors receive accompaniment by a social worker, longer-term psychotherapeutic support, legal aid and the possibility of legal representation by a lawyer.

There are no specialised women’s centres in North Macedonia dedicated exclusively to older women or to girls under 18. Some centres can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, refugee women, women with physical disabilities and transgender women. There are no centres equipped to support women with cognitive disabilities.

The main funding sources are the state, donations and international funding. Women’s centres are located in major cities in the country, and in 2024, approximately 750 women were supported by all women’s centres. Additionally, there is another centre in North Macedonia that provides support both to survivors and to perpetrators of gender-based violence. Supported housing for women survivors of violence is offered in Skopje, Tetovo and Bitola through the Women Support Centres in these cities, all run by the National Network to End Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. The centre in Bitola is fully supported by the local municipality, the centre in Tetovo receives a combination of funds from the local municipality and the Ministry for Social Policy, Demographics and Youth, and the centre in Skopje is supported by the Ministry for Social Policy, Demographics and Youth.

North Macedonia has three sexual violence referral centres, located in Skopje, Tetovo, and Kumanovo, all of which are situated within healthcare facilities. The centres provide specialist forensic and medical care, psychosocial support, and needs assessments. They also offer legal advice, though free legal aid is limited. Survivors are entitled to free healthcare and psychosocial care upon arrival. However, healthcare access may be jeopardised for survivors without health insurance, as the Ministry of Health has not allocated specific funds for this purpose. Forensic evidence is collected by a forensic medical specialist within the centres, but only after an order is issued by the prosecutor. This requirement often leads to inconsistencies, delays, and re-victimisation, which in turn contribute to survivors withdrawing from proceedings. Centres are also required to notify the police, prosecutor’s office, and social welfare services when the case involves minors or for specific types of violence.

The sexual violence referral centres operate within the general healthcare system and lack dedicated state funding. The prosecution office usually covers the costs of evidence collection through the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Overall functioning is hindered by the absence of allocated funds for these services. Geographically, the centres are only available in the capital and two major cities. Survivors from rural areas are usually referred to Skopje. The centres provide support both to adult women and to girls under 18.

Public authorities collect data on primary prevention as part of a broader gender-based violence monitoring system. North Macedonia does not currently have an official document dedicated to primary prevention. The previous National Action Plan (2018–2023) included a goal on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence and defined prevention, though not primary prevention. A new eight-year National Strategy for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention is under preparation. There is no specific budget allocated to primary prevention in the country. Preventive activities are scattered across state and local budgets within broader programmes, such as those on social protection, equal opportunities, or local economic development. Available activities include empowerment programmes for girls and women, school-based programmes, and awareness-raising campaigns. An evaluation of the 2018–2023 National Action Plan was conducted by the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth, and monitoring was also carried out by the National Network to End Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. These evaluations were conducted at the national level.

1. Numbers of calls and callers refer to the Free SOS Mobile National Helpline. ↩︎
2. Number of beds in the women-only shelters. ↩︎