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.

Although violence in the education system is increasingly being addressed, sexual harassment in secondary vocational education remains insufficiently visible, especially in segments where the educational process takes place outside of school – during vocational training and learning through work with employers within the dual education model – where the spheres of education and labour intersect.

The activities are implemented within AWC’s preventive programme and the project Secondary Vocational Education Free of Sexual Harassment, supported by the European Union. The project aims to contribute to the development of a comprehensive and effective system of prevention and protection, in line with international standards and existing legislation, by empowering students as well as education professionals to recognise, report, and adequately respond to sexual harassment.

So far, research has been conducted within the project involving 410 students and 122 staff members from 10 secondary vocational schools across seven cities and towns in Serbia. The research was preceded by a gender-sensitive analysis of the relevant normative framework, as well as focus groups with representatives of school administrations, vocational schools, the Chamber of Commerce, and employers involved in the dual education system. The findings confirm a gap between young people’s experiences and the perceptions of school staff, particularly when harassment occurs in workplace settings. This gap further highlights the need for clear messaging, consistent responses, and visible protection mechanisms.

The results of the work conducted so far will be consolidated and soon published in the study The Problem of Sexual Harassment of Young People in Secondary Vocational Schools, which provides an analysis of the prevalence of the phenomenon, dominant attitudes and experiences of young people and staff, as well as a critical overview of existing institutional capacities and gaps in the protection system.