North Macedonia reports 67% surge in family violence and launches prevention programme

The interior minister, Pançe Toshovksi, announced that from 1 January to 28 May 2026, 768 criminal offences linked to family violence were recorded in North Macedonia, a 67 % increase over the same period last year’s 460 cases. He warned that domestic abuse must not spill over into schools and highlighted a simultaneous rise in peer‑violence incidents – 93 cases in 64 schools, up from 81 the previous year – and a six‑fold jump in sexual offences against children under 15 (from one case to six).

Alongside the interior ministry, education minister Vesna Janevska presented a national “Breaking the cycle of violence” project, aiming to transform the initiative into a permanent system within a year. The programme will train psychologists, teachers and social‑work staff in primary education to identify and intervene early with children exposed to domestic or peer violence. Experts stressed the need for coordinated information sharing among police, schools and social services to prevent the perpetuation of violence across generations.