For the eighth year in a row, the Autonomous Women's Center is preparing a review of the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence. In 2024, 27,211 incidents of domestic violence were registered, which is 4.2% less than in the previous year. This should not be interpreted as a decrease in the incidence of domestic violence in Serbia, because no such trend can be seen. Men were the most frequent perpetrators of domestic violence (82.6%), while the majority of victims were women (71.6%). Violence in a partner relationship is the most common form of domestic violence (54%).

The thirteenth report on the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence covers the period from January to December 2024. It was prepared on the basis of monthly reports submitted to the Autonomous Women's Center by the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as on the basis of publicly available reports on the work of state bodies and institutions.

Year after year, we repeat that since the beginning of the application of the Law, no central record of cases of domestic violence has been established (according to Article 32, Paragraph 9 of the Law), which would greatly facilitate the review and monitoring of data originating from different sources (Police, Prosecutor's Office, courts and social welfare centers). Accordingly, there is no publicly available report on the implementation of the Law that consolidates the data of all relevant authorities and institutions.

The decrease in the number of registered incidents of domestic violence resulted in a decrease in the number of incidents involving risk, the number of police orders for emergency protection measures, as well as the number of pronounced emergency and extended emergency measures. However, in 2024, compared to the previous year, there was a significant increase in lawsuits for protection measures against domestic violence filed by prosecutors ex officio (under the Family Law), by as much as 2.5 times, but their number remains insufficient, especially considering the large number of perpetrators who repeat violence.

As for the age structure of perpetrators of domestic violence, the most common age group is 31-50 (51.8%). The number of minor victims is still extremely low (9.3%), which is inappropriate in relation to the actual number of children who are victims or witnesses of domestic violence. In a partner relationship, 88% of violence is committed by men. Men are the most frequent perpetrators of violence against women (90.1%), most often their partners (67%) and other male relatives (23%). Men are most often the perpetrators of violence against men who are victims of violence (62.1%, while women do it against men in 37.9%).

In 2024, a smaller number of persons were recorded in connection with the criminal acts of stalking and sexual harassment, and the number of convicted persons is still disproportionately low compared to the number of reports and the number of investigations conducted. The number of minor victims of the criminal offense of sexual harassment (55.4%), of which a significant number (21.1%) are children under 14, is a serious concern. Even in 2024, there were no reports for the criminal offense of forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Based on the analyzed data, conclusions were drawn.

You can read the report (key findings and recommendations) on monitoring the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Family Violence in 2024 HERE.

You can view the infographic HERE.

You can view reports from previous years HERE.