DAY OF FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE INFLICTED ON WOMEN

26. November 2014.

In early November, a case of domestic violence committed in the Pcinj district resulted in one killed woman. Since the beginning of the year, twenty-three women and twenty-four children have been cared for at the reception point in Vranje. On the International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women, representatives of the SOS help-line, the Center for Social Work and the police talked in Bujanovac about the prevention of violence.

Women from this region suffer violence for years before reporting it. Most often they don’t have a safe place to go to, so that they find shelter at the reception point in Vranje.

“I’ve been mentally bullied. I used to suffer physical violence as well, but lately only psychological one”, says a victim of violence.

The reception point in Vranje is part of the Centre for the Development of Local Social Welfare Services where from 50 to 60 victims of domestic violence are annually cared for. Although intended as temporary accommodation, many victims remain there for several months, and even years. The victims of violence often return to their abusers. Partnership violence prevails, and in addition to physical and mental violence, women suffer economic violence, too.

“We help them by providing support through talking to them, we give them information about which institutions they could further turn to, while sometimes we contact those institutions for them”, said Una Mladenovic from the SOS help-line in Vranje.

The Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence started to be implemented in Serbia this August. Compliance with the provisions of the Convention means non- tolerating various forms of violence in society.

The most important thing is that all institutions, such as the police, centers for social work and the prosecution, should be networked to share information and to work together to protect women from violence”, said Daniela Pesic from the Autonomous Women's Center in Belgrade.

“The victim's safety is of paramount importance, as well as the safety and welfare of the child, while the perpetrator of violence is solely blamed for committing violence, which wasn’t the practice in the past”, said Sasa Stamenkovic from the Police Department in Vranje.

Around 150 women use the SOS help-line in Vranje per year, while in 95 percent of the cases violence lasts from the beginning of cohabitation.

Source: Serbian Broadcasting Corporation and Coordination Body