Murder of former professor Durija Pojatic in Podgorica staggered Montenegrin public and while some wonder whether it could have been prevented, the others are trying to figure out who’s guilty: the institutions or women unwilling to report violence.
Durija Pojatic denied to report harassment by her nephew Emir Servan she had been subjected to for several years. In the end he killed her. She had contacted neither the Safe Women’s House nor the SOS line (it provides help to women subjected to violence).
Despite this, the Safe Women’s House recently organized the protest, claiming that her murder could have been prevented and blaming police for the committed offence.
“I consider police responsible since it didn’t apply any of five main principles. They should have talked to the nephew of the victim and warn him of his behavior“, head of the Safe Women’s House Ljiljana Raicevic told for CdM.
Coordinator of SOS line for victims of domestic violence Ivana Pejovic also blames institutions. In her opinion, Durija Pojatic maybe didn’t know which services to use to get help and that’s the failure of police.
Nevertheless, the fact is that domestic violence is becoming increasingly frequent. For the last 6 years, 22 people were killed in our country while 9 victims were killed by their partners in the last two years. Unfortunately, only few women were brave enough to report violence.
Durija Pojatic was NOT harassed by Emir SARVAN for several years. His aggressive behavior started a couple of months of at which time she did call the authorities to remove him from her property, however did not wish to press charges. The police did everything they were supposed to, and the only person responsible for this tragedy is Emir Sarvan.