The Autonomous Women's Center reacted to the text "Increasingly frequent false reports - Abuse of domestic violence in Jagodina", published on January 22, 2025 in Večernje novosti. It was stated that incomplete and biased information on this topic is very harmful, and even more so when it comes from professionals. In this way, the general public does not receive accurate information, and such writing intimidates victims of domestic violence from contacting key institutions - the Police, the Prosecutor's Office and the Social Welfare Center - which should provide them with protection and support.
The Director of the City Social Welfare Center in Jagodina gave a short statement to Večernji novosti that last year there were 20 percent of false reports of domestic violence. According to her, alleged false reports are submitted in child custody disputes, because ex-spouses believe that in this way it will be easier to exercise parental rights to care for children. She also stated that the alleged false reports are submitted equally by men and women, and that it is mainly about verbal violence, "although there was no such thing either before the report or after". In addition, she pointed out that the analysis of the team consisting of representatives of the Police, Prosecutor's Office and the Social Welfare Center found such reports to be false and "then they are characterized as a low level of intensity of domestic violence". The Director ends her statement by stating that so far, false reports have not been sanctioned, "but if their number does not decrease or increases, they will start sanctioning".
The Autonomous Women's Center reacted to this statement, considering it harmful and dangerous, and Večernje Novosti published the reaction on February 10, 2025. It was indicated that the Director, as well as other experts participating in the procedure, should know why women do not report violence while living with an abusive partner, how the abusive partner abuses children in custody procedures, while mothers fail to protect them because experts prioritize contact with the parent over the safety of the victim and children. Also, experts are well aware that the perpetrators of violence do not admit responsibility for the violence, even when they were criminally responsible for it, that lying and manipulation are often used tactics against the victim, which confuses the system and delays the reaction, while exhausting the victim.
It was pointed out that "the fact that experts do not know how to evaluate violence that does not leave bruises, that they do not understand the dynamics of a violent relationship, do not distinguish a false report from a report that is not easy to document, does not give them the right to conclude that false reports of violence are common, and especially not that they are equally present in both partners, bearing in mind that neither the perpetrators nor the victims of domestic violence are in equal numbers of men and women."
A detailed explanation of the observed problem was also sent to the director of the City Social Welfare Center of Jagodina and the Group for Coordination and Cooperation, with the aim of making them see the inaccuracy of their positions, which can cause serious damage to the protection of victims of violence, including their children. Bearing in mind that Večernje novosti did not accurately paraphrase all parts of the short reaction of the Autonomous Women's Center, we are making all the mentioned documents available to the public.
You can see the statement "Increasingly frequent false reports - Abuse of domestic violence in Jagodina" HERE.
You can see the reaction of the "Autonomous Women's Center on data from Jagodina: Conclusions reached lightly" HERE.
You can see the reaction of the Autonomous Women's Center to Večernji novosti HERE.
You can see the letter sent to the director of the City Center for Social Work in Jagodina and the Group for Coordination and Cooperation HERE.
