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.
This call is published in the frame of Module 5 of the Project “Amplifying Voices of Women affected by war-related SGBV in the Western Balkans – For a culture of Recognition and Reconciliation” (June 2024 – August 2027). Aim of the project is to contribute to creating a culture of recognition and reconciliation in the Western Balkans, which enables women survivors of war related SGBV to live in dignity and free from violence. It is implemented by Medica Zenica and Vive Žene (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims and Medica Gjakova (Kosovo), Women in Black, Autonomous Women’s Centre and Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Serbia), together with medica mondiale e.V. (Germany).
An artistic performance at the N.EON gallery marked the launch of the campaign “Till Death Do Us Part” by the Autonomous Women’s Center, aimed at preventing femicide as one of the most serious social problems not only in Serbia, but across the region. The campaign was supported by renowned fashion designer Marija Tarlać, whose unique black wedding dress, as the central element of the performance, becomes a symbol of the fight against femicide.
Civil society organizations, including the Autonomous Women’s Center, welcome the 2025 European Commission Report on Serbia, which for the first time explicitly confirms what we already know — a serious backsliding in democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, as well as a prolonged stagnation in the country’s EU integration process.
At the beginning of September, the Ministry of Justice initiated a public debate process on the Draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code. The draft proposed the introduction of the criminal offense of Sexual Intercourse Without Consent, which would be considered a less severe crime compared to Rape. In response, the Autonomous Women's Center organized an ad-hoc campaign against this proposal, arguing that it is unnecessary to introduce a lesser offense and that the definition of the basic form of the criminal offense of rape should be amended so that it includes any non-consensual sexual intercourse, including cases where there was no physical resistance from the victim. This is also the only way for the Serbian Criminal Code to align with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention on sexual violence, which the country ratified back in 2013.
The Autonomous Women's Center submitted its comments and proposals on the Draft Program for the Control of Small and Light Weapons, Ammunition and Explosive Substances in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2025-2030 with the accompanying Action Plan.
As part of the public hearing on the Draft of the new Law on juvenile offenders and protection of juveniles in criminal proceedings, which was held as of September 10 until October 1, 2025, the AWC submitted its comments and proposals to the Ministry of Justice, the most important of which are those concerning opposition to the provisions of the proposed new Law, which reduce the level of protection achieved by minor victims.
The Autonomous Women’s Center is among the signatories of the position paper that civil society organizations are addressing to the public and Serbian institutions regarding the announced amendments to the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Law on Juvenile Offenders. The signatories warn that, in the context of a deep political and social crisis, the Government lacks the legitimacy to implement comprehensive changes to key criminal laws, especially with a minimal deadline of 20 days and a non-transparent consultation format (submitting comments via email without a public presentation of the proposals).
