During the public consultations, the Autonomous Women's Center submitted comments and proposals regarding the Baseline for the Drafting of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. It was proposed, among other things, to standardize the used terms, harmonize the proposed amendments with the relevant EU Directives, that the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality have a deputy, as well as to specify the meaning of the procedure before the court "on the same matter", i.e., to clearly state that it is a discrimination proceeding, and not any court proceeding.
During the public consultations, the Autonomous Women's Center submitted comments and proposals regarding the Baseline for the Draft Law on Gender Equality. It has been proposed, among other things, to harmonize the use of terms, define new terms more precisely, supplement the articles regulating specialized services for victims of gender-based violence, including proposing a model for financing these services, specifying the competent ministries for law enforcement in certain areas, disciplinary responsibility for public officials who violate / do not implement the provisions of the Law, as well as the need to regulate the supervision over the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality.
In its new annual Reform Agenda the prEUgovor coalition provides a short overview and recommendations in regard to key issues to be addressed in 2021 in the EU accession process of Serbia.
The Autonomous Women's Center addressed the Protector of Citizens, as well as the Ministers in charge of Family Care and Demography, Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Issues, regarding statements in the media stating that "no one in Serbia has been deprived of a child due to poverty." Recalling that the official data on the work of centers for social work in Serbia for 2011 and 2012 contained such data - which AWC informed about and requested to act ex officio the then Ministry of Social Welfare, the Protector of Citizens, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, as well as the Republic Institute for Social Protection.
The Autonomous Women's Center appeals to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade to grant all witnesses and victims who have survived sexual violence by the suspect Miroslav Aleksić, ex officio, the status of particularly sensitive witnesses in accordance with Art. 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Autonomous Women's Center participated, at the invitation of A11 - Initiative for Economic and Social Rights, in the online panel "Towards the new Law on Social Card", and within the framework of marking the Privacy Week. The panel also included representatives of A11, the Commissioner for Access to Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection and the Team for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction, while the line Ministry, although invited, did not have a representative.
The Autonomous Women's Center participated, at the invitation of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, in the first meeting for the establishment of social dialogue on the state of gender equality in the Republic of Serbia. AWC representative, Tanja Ignjatović, presented general proposals regarding the work on amendments to laws and strategies in this area.
The Autonomous Women's Center is proud of the young women who have empowered themselves and reported the rape and sexual abuse that happened to them by a person in whom they had absolute confidence, who was there to teach and support them.
The Autonomous Women's Center addressed the UN agencies in Serbia, pointing out that their participation in supporting the development of a new strategic document for preventing and combating violence against women in Serbia does not correspond to key international agreements, assessments, concluding observations and recommendations received by the Republic of Serbia.
The AWC addressed the competent government bodies and ministries with a proposal to return them to public debate and / or start drafting amendments to draft laws and strategies (including action plans) that have not been finalized (and should have been) in the period from 2017 –2020.
