The opening session focused on a question that shapes every woman's experience of gender-based violence: What does her journey through the system look like?

Through an interactive discussion, participants examined each stage of that journey from the perspective of different institutions—from the first report of violence and evidence collection to inter-institutional cooperation—identifying both the points where the system can provide protection and those where it can unintentionally deepen trauma.

The discussion underscored a clear message: the quality of forensic evidence is just as important as the way institutions communicate, exchange information, and interact with survivors. Only a coordinated, gender-responsive, and survivor-centred approach can strengthen trust in institutions, reduce secondary victimisation, and improve access to justice.

This event is part of the project “Enhancing the Forensic Capacities of the Police Administration of Montenegro for the Prosecution of Firearms- and Explosives-Related Criminal Offences,” funded by the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, the United Kingdom and Norway, as well as the European Union, through the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF). The project supports sustainable solutions to combat the illicit possession, misuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition in the Western Balkans.

The event also forms part of a broader series of discussions on gender equality under the project “Gender Equality and Justice in Montenegro”, implemented within the framework of the global Gender Justice Platform, with the aim of promoting justice and equality by strengthening institutional mechanisms for preventing and addressing gender-based violence.