In the first six months of last year there have been two mass murders where more than ten children, eight youths and adults have been murdered, and where at least 17 women, two girls and two boys have been murdered in a family-partner context, but the government has not found it fitting to support any projects aimed at providing free legal aid, and support to victims of criminal offences. The government gave out half a billion dinars of money gathered through fees collected from those paying for the principle of opportunity (delay of filing criminal charges).
Namely, the institute of the principle of opportunity entails the possibility that a person suspected of criminal offence which carries a fine or prison sentence not exceeding 5 years may pay a certain amount of money for humanitarian causes or fulfil some other responsibilities he/she takes on in agreement with the prosecution, and in turn the prosecutor drops criminal charges. In such cases the prosecution is not obligated to ask the victim’s opinion before deciding on applying this provision. The money is then given out by a commission of the Ministry of Justice on public calls for projects of public benefit.
However, as in previous years, last year again the Ministry didn’t give out a single dinar from the 500 000 000 dinars to improving the status of victims or protecting victims of criminal offences, who are essentially the reason these funds have been collected. Therefore, the victims have once again been denied free legal aid, peer or psychological support (for example), because most of the funds were directed towards equipping or renovating state institutions such as health, educational, social welfare and cultural institutions. That is, most of the money was directed towards activities that should anyway be financed from the budget. Out of the 180 projects selected just 5% were projects proposed by citizens’ associations, but among them none were intended to provide support to victims of criminal offences.
We are not against the aforementioned institutions receiving funds, however, it is devastating that for the sixth year in a row not a single dinar was given out of the half a billion dinars to projects aimed at helping victims, even though the government had obligated itself to provide funds for assistance and support to victims with their National Strategy for Rights of Victims and Witnesses of Criminal Offences for the period from 2020 – 2025.
This government decision confirms that violence prevention, assistance and support to victims are not priorities of the Serbian government even after all of the tragic events that have happened.
Signatories of the Press Release:
- Autonomous Women’s Center
- Civic Initiatives
- A 11 – Initiative for Social And Economic Rights
- “Live Upright” Center
- Association Fenomena
- Network of Women against Violence
- Olivera Ilkic, activist for the rights of women with disabilities who have survived violence
- SOS Women’s Center
- NGO Praxis
- Association “Da se zna!”
- FemPlatz
- Association of women Sandglass
- Team 42
- Association Independent Cultural Scene
- Victimology Society of Serbia
- Res Republica Kragujevac
- Center for Human Rights Nis
- Association Rainbow Sabac
- Association Women for Peace
- Initiative for Development and Cooperation
