B92 Fund and UNDP Serbia call for urgent end to violence against women

B92 Fund and UNDP Serbia call for urgent end to violence against women

In the joint statement, the B92 Fund and UNDP Serbia call for urgent improvement of the work of state agencies, implementation of measures and activities that have already been agreed and defined in the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women in Family and Partner Relationships, and of protocols on cooperation and actions of institutions, bodies and organizations in the protection of women against violence, as well as the ratified Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

The increasing incidence of deadly outcomes in cases of domestic violence against women since the beginning of the year, as well as the latest unfortunate events involving a large number of deaths, have brought to the fore the issue of due care and responsibility of public authorities to purposefully and effectively implement the measures of protection and prevention provided in the current system to protect women from violence, as well as practices to combat violence against women and domestic violence.

The B92 Fund and UNDP Serbia/UN Women as carriers of the project "Integrated response to violence against women in Serbia" implemented jointly by UNDP/UN Women/UNICEF call on the state authorities to urgently start implementation of accepted obligations and necessary activities to end the wave of violence against women, domestic violence and prevent femicide.

In the framework of the joint project, UNDP, UN Women and UNICEF support the government of the Republic Serbia in the process of introducing systemic changes and the establishment of functional mechanisms for protection and prevention of violence against women. The B92 Fund has been involved for over a decade in media campaigns aimed against violence against women, advocacy, as well as construction of safe houses for temporary accommodation of victims.

Among the measures that need to be urgently implemented with continuous monitoring and reporting to the public, we single out:

1. Urgent harmonization of all legal acts and procedures with the standards of the Istanbul Convention on Violence, that entered into force on August 1, 2014, which Serbia made a commitment to consistently enforce. This applies particularly to criminalizing violence against women, effective prosecution and punishment of perpetrators.

Despite the clearly expressed will to accede to the Convention, its provisions have not yet been implemented in practice and not enough has been done to harmonize domestic legislation with the standards it imposes. We emphasize that this activity is not seen as a mere formality which is necessary to meet in the EU accession process, but as a civilizational step necessary towards raising the level of protection of victims and prevention of violence.

We recall that this Convention requires states to be guided by the standard of complete commitment, that is, due attention to prevention, protection, prosecution and punishing of violence against women, from which Serbia is yet far removed in everyday practice.

2. Starting a new cycle of strategic planning on the national level to eliminate violence against women with a prior analysis of the effectiveness of the National
Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women in Family and Partner Relations (2011-2015).

3. Providing systemic support of good practice of integrated response to violence against women through multi-sectoral cooperation model based on protocols on actions of bodies, institutions and organizations for the protection of women from violence.

4. Urgently recognizing and funding new specialized services for women victims of violence in accordance with the Istanbul Convention which would respond to emergency, but also long-term needs of women subjected to violence, or those that had been exposed to it.

We especially recommend the necessity of urgently introducing a single national SOS helpline for women victims of violence the operation of which will be based on the decades-long expertise of women's organizations gathered in the network "Women and Against Violence".

5. We point out the importance and necessity of systemic support of other specialized services for women victims of violence, such as safe houses and temporary accommodations, and it is also important to establish clear standards for the operation of both existing and future facilities. This includes the development of a national network of shelters based on the principle of "one district - one safe house," while ensuring stable budget lines for their
construction and operation.

The B92 Fund and UNDP Serbia/UN Women provide absolute and continuous support to all the efforts of state institutions and civil society organizations that are implemented with the goal of urgently stopping the wave of violence against women, and are also putting their capacities at the disposal of the state authorities of the Republic of Serbia in an effort to stop this devastating trend.