Today, in the Media Center, the first baseline report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Serbia has been presented. Although GREVIO welcomes the state’s commitment to eliminating gender-based violence against women, as well as legislative changes taken in this direction, there are a number of areas that need urgent response and improvement, such as a small number of underfunded specialized services for women with experience of violence, mainly provided by NGOs. The urgency of establishing a consultative dialogue with women’s organizations is also emphasized, as well as the need to ensure adequate and long-term financing for the specialized services they provide.

Autonomous Women’s Center, which has submitted the alternative report on the implementation of the Convention to the GREVIO Group, is satisfied with the largest number of presented findings and recommendations. It remains to be seen whether and how many recommendations will be included in the new strategic document on preventing violence against women.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection issued a warning to the Center for Protection of Infants, Children and Youth because of irregularities in the processing of personal data, as the Center recorded telephone calls within the counseling services, without the legal authorization or consent of the person who’s data was recorded on all three lines - SOS Helpline for women with experience of violence, SOS Helpline for children and Parents Helpline.

In order to monitor the measurable effects of the reforms in the European integration process of the Republic of Serbia, members of the prEUgovor coalition drafted the second edition of the Institutional Barometer, which analyzes the work of six selected institutions with the competences in the areas of Chapter 23 (Justice and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security). Autonomous Women’s Center applied the created methodology to the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality.