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 Autonomous Women's Center addressed today four complaints to the Press Council against the daily newspapers Serbian Telegraph, Informer, Alo and Courier, regarding the reporting on the case of the abduction of minor Monica K. We remind that named daily newspapers published on the front pages in a sensational way the statements of the suspect Ninoslav Jovanovic, sharing details about the crime committed against Monica K.
The Autonomous Women's Center addressed today open letters to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection regarding the reporting of several daily newspapers on the case of the abduction of minor Monica K. and publishing leaking information from the investigation.
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.
With the action „Stop Killing Women!“ organized on December 6th it was marked the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, with about fifty activists from the Autonomous Women's Center, Women in Black from Belgrade, NENA - a group for peace and women's rights from Leskovac, Women's Association Anima from Djulic (Bosnia and Hercegovina), and the CURE Foundation from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Hercegovina). On this day, women around the world go to the streets to commemorate the murdered women and to remind the states that they are responsible for combating and preventing crimes against women.
The Swedish organization Kvinna till Kvinna (KtK), as part of its program with women's organizations in the Western Balkans, organized a week of consultative meetings with representatives of the European Commission (EC), Directorate General for European Neighborhood Policy and Negotiations on Enlargement (DG NEAR), European Parliament (EP), the Croatian Embassy in the EU, the European Women's Lobby and relevant non-governmental organizations.
The Autonomous Women's Center is launching a public call for the development of the concept and materials of an awareness-raising campaign to empower youth, especially girls, to stand up to cyber sexual and gender-based violence in youth intimate partner relationships.
In line with their efforts to establish an institutional system for the protection of children in Serbia that would be as adequate as possible, the Autonomous Women’s Center, ASTRA and Group 484 prepared the comments and proposals for amendments and supplements to the Draft Law on the Rights of the Child and the Protector of the Rights of the Child, submitted during the public debate to the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.
A general comment relating to the adoption of the Law on the Rights of the Child relates primarily to the question of whether such a single law is necessary in the first place, and whether it is possible to codify all norms concerning the rights of the child in a single law.
The prEUgovor coalition present its latest Alarm - report on Serbia’s progress in implementation of policies in the areas covered by chapters 23 (Judiciary & Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom & Security) of the EU accession negotiations.
The prEUgovor Alarm’s findings point to the fact that Serbia is not doing enough in order to make progress in priority areas. The lack of dialogue in democratic institutions, primarily in the National Assembly, in the media and society in general challenges the meaning of reform efforts. Therefore, the key question that will be addressed at the conference is what needs to be done in order to improve the Rule of Law in Serbia, especially when considering lack of positive impact of the ongoing reforms, as reported in prEUgovor Alarms.
