Regarding the proposed amendments to the Family Law, following the public consultation process, the Autonomous Women’s Center once again appeals on the Working Group to reconsider certain provisions that could have serious consequences for the safety of children and victims of domestic violence.
Regarding the latest version of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Family Law, which was publicly released after reviewing proposed solutions and comments submitted during the public consultation process, the Autonomous Women’s Center has addressed the Working Group, urging it to reconsider certain legal provisions of critical importance for protecting the best interests of the child, ensuring the safety of victims of domestic violence, and aligning the proposed provisions with Serbia’s domestic legal framework and international obligations.
In its comment on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs, the Autonomous Women’s Center recalled that the Government of the Republic of Serbia committed, through measures in the Reform Agenda, to regulate the issue of police independence from the Ministry of the Interior during the pre-investigation and investigation phases, and noted that the Draft does not do so to a sufficient extent. Although the Draft formally prescribes the operational independence of the Police, its further provisions retain broad powers for the Minister regarding the organisation of work, direction, reporting, proposing and dismissal of the Director of Police, as well as regulating certain issues relevant to the operational functioning of the Police.
The Autonomous Women’s Center agrees with most of the provisions proposed in the draft of the new Law on Weapons and Ammunition. However, AWC considers that certain provisions should be regulated more precisely or differently, in order to avoid varying interpretations and to ensure more efficient exchange of information among institutions.
The Autonomous Women’s Center submitted comments and proposals to the Ministry for Family Care and Demography regarding the Draft Law on Amendments to the Family Law. It was noted that efforts to align the amendments with the Istanbul Convention and the EU Directive 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence are not fully harmonised. This is particularly evident in relation to recognising children who witness domestic violence as victims, as well as in the implementation of Article 31 of the Istanbul Convention, highlighted in the recommendations of both GREVIO reports for Serbia (2020 and 2025).
On the occasion of April 14, the Memorial Day for Survivors of Sexual Violence during the Kosovo War, Women in Black, the Autonomous Women’s Center, and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights are organizing a street action on April 14, 2026, at 12:00 at Republic Square in Belgrade.
The Autonomous Women’s Center, in partnership with the Alternative Girls’ Centre from Kruševac, Women’s Center Užice, Association for Women’s Labour Rights – ROZA from Zrenjanin, and KOKORO Association from Bor, has launched activities aimed at preventing sexual harassment of young people in both school and work environments. The objective of this action is to call for a systematic response to the insufficiently researched and often overlooked issue of sexual harassment of young people in educational contexts, particularly in cases where perpetrators are adults in positions of authority.
During the public debate on the Draft Law on amendments to the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, which was held from November 12th till December 2nd, 2025, without public presentation on proposed amendments, Autonomous Women’s Center submitted comments and suggestions to the draft law.
Members of the prEUgovor coalition, including AWC, concluded at the presentation of the new ALARM report that the ruling party is the main anti-systemic actor undermining Serbia’s constitutional order. It has no intention of improving the electoral process or discontinuing harmful practices. Amendments to criminal legislation cause more harm than good, the judiciary is under clear pressure, and operational autonomy of the police can no longer be claimed. Civil society is subject to attacks and obstruction, even in the area of victim support.
The Republic Institute for Social Protection – Department for Professional Supervision proposed amendments to the Expert-Methodological Guidelines regulating the exercise of personal relations between a child and a parent and relatives in supervised conditions (adopted in 2021). These Guidelines were the only document introducing the pseudoscientific “parental alienation” concept into professional use. The Autonomous Women's Center made a significant contribution to this revision, which was also supported by the recently published recommendations of the Council of Europe's GREVIO expert group.
