During the public hearing on the Action Plan Proposal for the period 2024-2026 for the implementation of the Strategy for the creation of a stimulating environment for the development of the civil sector in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2022-2030, on behalf of women's organizations, the Network of Women Against Violence sent an Open Letter to the Minister, to the Sector for Cooperation with Civil Society and to the Council for the Creation of an Encouraging Environment for the Development of Civil Society. The immediate reason for this is serious security threats to women from organizations in the south of Serbia.
Seven years after the start of the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, a central data record has not yet been established, nor is there a publicly available report that integrates data from different sources. The Autonomous Women's Center has been collecting data and preparing reports since the beginning of the implementation of the Law. In 2023, 28,413 incidents of domestic violence were registered, the most in the period 2018-2022. Men were the most frequent perpetrators of domestic violence (82.8%), and among the victims, women were dominantly represented (71.8%).
Every third resident of Serbia has significant mental disorders, but despite this, Serbia does not have enough resources for adequate care of the nation's mental health. The number of children and young people with behavioral problems is increasing, but the capacity of the social protection system to respond to this problem is decreasing. There are not enough psychologists or social workers, it is necessary to reorganize the health and social protection system, if society intends to really oppose the growing violence.
The period covered by this Report – from November 2023 to April 2024 – was marked by the extraordinary parliamentary and local elections, which caused the Government to spend this entire time in a technical mandate. As Serbia had three parliamentary elections in the last five years, such a situation didn’t seem unusual.
From May 24 to 26, the Autonomous Women's Center (AWC) held a seminar on the topic of Global challenges of applying the concept of "parental alienation" in divorce proceedings, decisions on custody, and contact of the child with the parent in the case of violence against women and children. The seminar was held in Belgrade and was attended by 18 representatives of women's organizations from Serbia, who had the opportunity to learn about the topic through presentations and exchange of experiences with lecturers and prosecutors of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.
On the occasion of May 18, the Day of Remembrance of Women Victims of Violence, the Autonomous Women's Center presented the Femicide Memorial platform, after which the Autonomous Women's Center, Women in Black, and Women's Solidarity held a joint street action #Remember murdered women! in front of the National Assembly. Both events were organized to remember the 406 women and girls who were killed in Serbia in the period from 2011 to 2023 in the context of family-partner or sexual violence.
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, draw attention to the inadmissible violation of the human rights of all citizens of Serbia in the entire electoral process carried out in Serbia, from the moment of the announcement of extraordinary parliamentary and local elections on November 1, 2023, through the electoral actions of the Republic Electoral Board and the City Electoral Board for the city of Belgrade that followed and culminated in the very election day of December 17, 2023.
In cooperation with organizations from the Network of Women Against Violence and the Network for the European Women's Lobby in Serbia, the Autonomous Women's Center conducted a campaign on social networks with the slogan #missedopportunities. The goal of the campaign was to point out what the previous Government and the National Assembly could have done, but failed to do, in order to ensure better support and protection for women who have experienced violence, but also for children who have witnessed violence. Women's organizations called on the incoming Government and the new MPs to provide sufficient resources, appropriate laws and policies for the support and protection of women and children from violence, to which they are entitled in accordance with the international standards adopted by Serbia.
As one of the organizations supported by the Swedish Foundation Kvinna till Kvinna in Serbia, the Autonomous Women's Center participated in the annual presentation of activities within the project "Participation and Democracy in Serbia - Women's Rights in Practice". The event was organized by ROZA from Zrenjanin in Kaštel Ečka, and the main topic was women's economic and labor rights.
On the occasion of International Human Rights Day and marking 30 years of activities of the Autonomous Women's Center in Belgrade, an expert meeting was held with representatives of organizations from the Women Against Violence Network and the European Women's Lobby Network in Serbia. The meeting discussed the new Directive on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence, as well as the amendments to Directive 2012/29/EU on minimum standards for victims of crimes. Representatives of the Center for Women's Rights from Podgorica also participated in the meeting.
