Outcome SRB_D_3.1

Universal and inclusive access to quality health, social and protection services is improved (UNSDCF Outcome 2.1.)

The Outcome was not achieved however, progress was made. Prevention, protection, prosecution, and referral mechanisms on domestic and other forms of violence against women in Serbia remain inadequate despite the adoption of the 2017 Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, and the 2021 Strategy for Preventing and Combating Gender-based Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Another important problem is the lack, in most parts of Serbia, of specialist women-to-women support services, for victims of rape and sexual violence, early marriage and stalking. Additional efforts are needed to ensure a more comprehensive response to all forms of violence against women covered by the Istanbul Convention. In 2023 the Programme for protection of women from domestic violence, violence in partner relations and other forms of gender-based violence in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina from 2023-2026, was adopted by the Vojvodina Assembly. It is aligned with the Istanbul Convention, CEDAW, National Strategy for Prevention and Combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women and other relevant national legislation. Progress has been made towards strengthening key national institutions, such as the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and Provincial Secretariat for Social Protection, Demography and Gender Equality and Women CSOs to engage in the effective implementation of the recommendations to Serbia in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Concluding observations issued in March 2019, and the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) baseline report published in January 2020, and to improve the delivery of support services for women survivors of violence, with a specific focus on marginalized and multiple discriminated groups and women victims of specific forms of violence. Sixty Ministry of Justice misdemeanor judges improved their capacities at trainings for the implementation of the Law on the prevention of VAWG, particularly urgent measures for victim protection and justice sector response to gender-based violence against women and domestic violence, with the support of UN Women. In addition, throughout 2023, six women CSOs further increased their capacity to monitor and address harmful gender stereotypes and to advocate for better access to and improved provision of innovative services for women survivors of violence. A proposal of new quality (functional) standards for safe houses was developed by NGO Atina for the first time in the Republic of Serbia in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. The standards contain an integrated victim-oriented approach in safe houses for women and girls victims of violence and DV, including principles of support and exit strategies for victims, inter-agency standards for GBV, and the minimum functional standards of the professional procedures, such as informed consent, admission, and assessment. The document also outlines the purpose of the shelter service for women victims of violence, expands the groups of beneficiaries of these services to those who are “left behind,” and identifies the basic principles of work when providing this service, such as respect and dignity, confidentiality of personal data, gender sensitivity access, non-discrimination and inclusiveness, and others. A special segment refers to support for children, individual and group work with children, as well as work with traumatic experiences. Moreover, Rules on Procedure in Emergency Situations in Shelters for Women and Children, Survivors of Domestic Violence have been drafted with the aim of defining mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of protection and well-being of all involved actors before, during and after an emergency situation – rules that shelters lacked at the COVID-19 outbreak. 50 local public administration servants built their capacities towards a better understanding of the constraints and needs of GBV survivors when providing free legal aid (FLA). Furthermore, the database of local FLA offices in local administrations/municipalities across Serbia was established. The database provides information about contact persons/offices for free legal aid in 101 local communities. These initiatives were supported by UN Women within the regional programme “Ending VAW: Implementing Norms, Changing Minds”. Based on the progress made to date, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome are still applicable because women and girls are still not able to exercise their rights on an equal footing with men and boys and equally contribute to and benefit from development. UN Women will continue to support the government and key stakeholders to be able to prevent violence against women and girls.

Universal and inclusive access to quality health, social and protection services is improved (UNSDCF Outcome 2.1.)

The Outcome was not achieved however, progress was made. Prevention, protection, prosecution, and referral mechanisms on domestic and other forms of violence against women in Serbia remain inadequate despite the adoption of the 2017 Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, and the 2021 Strategy for Preventing and Combating Gender-based Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. However, the Serbia still lack the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Preventing and Combating Gender-based Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, and it remains uncertain whether the Criminal Code, which is currently in the process of amendment, will harmonize the incrimination of gender-based violence with the Istanbul Convention and criminalize GBV in the digital space. Another important problem is the lack, in most parts of Serbia, of specialist women-to-women support services, for victims of rape and sexual violence, early marriage, stalking and digital violence. Progress has been made towards strengthening capacities of the state and provincial institutions as well as women CSOs. Progress has been made towards strengthening institutions, such as courts and prosecution ogffice, Provincial Secretariat for Social Protection, Demography and Gender Equality and women CSOs to engage in the effective implementation of the recommendations to Serbia in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Concluding observations issued in March 2019, and the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) baseline report published in January 2020, and to improve the delivery of support services for women survivors of violence, with a specific focus on marginalized and multiple discriminated groups and women victims of specific forms of violence. Namely, in 2024 Partner Agreement was signed with Provincial Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality to support implementation of the measures from Provincial Programme on combating and prevention of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence 2023-2026. The goal of the two-year cooperation is to improve institutional practices and capacities to effectively prevent and address violence against women and girls. As regards sexual violence, fifth Center for Victims of Sexual Violence (CVSV) in General Hospital in Vrbas officially began functioning and providing support services in November ensuring greater coverage and quality of services. Catalogue of methods on providing psychological support services to women experiencing sexual violence has been developed. The Catalog offers a collection of methods in the provision of psychosocial and psychological support services in CVSVs. 215 representatives of the judiciary strengthened their capacities to recognize and process all forms of violence against women and girls. Also, 60 Ministry of Justice misdemeanor judges improved their capacities at trainings for the implementation of the Law on the prevention of VAWG, particularly urgent measures for victim protection and justice sector response to gender-based violence against women and domestic violence, with the support of UN Women. 25 representatives of the judiciary that provide services for assistance and support for victims and witnesses of criminal acts in higher courts and public prosecutor's offices in Serbia significantly improved their knowledge and skills in regard to gender and psychological perspectives and were provided with practical tools necessary to enhance their work in victim and witness support. Coordination team of the Provincial Network "Life without Violence" developed their Plan for 2025 and 2026 to support implementation of policies to reduce gender-based violence against women and girls and domestic violence. As part of the implementation of the AP for 2024, 21 (15 men and 6 women) police officers/inspectors from AP Vojvodina improved knowledge in the field of preventing violence against women, its causes and consequences, gender stereotypes and the role of the police in creating gender-responsive actions in cases of gender-based violence against women; 18 media representatives (16 women and 2 men) from Vojvodina and journalism students from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Novi Sad, improved knowledge on gender roles, stereotypes and their impact on media reporting, as well as ways and methods of gender-sensitive and ethical reporting on gender equality and gender-based violence; and 18 law students and members of the Legal Clinic on Domestic Violence at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad (15 women and 3 men) improved their knowledge on gender roles, gender stereotypes and the institutional response to and prevention of violence against women. In addition, throughout 2024, five CSOs were awarded with grants to combat digital gender-based violence by UN Women. Thus, CSO Astra's project focuses on women vulnerable to recruitment, harassment, and exploitation for human trafficking. It employes a multi-pronged approach to empower survivors, protect those at risk, and advocate for stronger local and national responses. The Becej Youth Association (BUM) project aims to combat digital GBV in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina by raising awareness and enhancing local institutional support for preventing digital GBV through the development of tailored local policies. The National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS) undertakes activities in three areas: producing podcasts to raise awareness about violence in the digital space, conducting a social media campaign, and creating a document to advocate for the criminalization of revenge pornography in Serbia. Additionally, the Serbian Games Association (SGA) project aims to educate women on recognizing digital violence, empowering them to combat it, and providing recommendations for the technical implementation of reporting and sanctioning solutions in video games. Finally, the Center for Population Policies and Sustainable Development (CPPSD) addresses the prevention of revenge pornography, specifically focusing on the issue of consent, or the lack thereof. In addition, throughout 2024, two women CSOs from Montenegro - Podgorica, SoS telephone for women and children’s victims of gender based and domestic violence and Center for Women's Rights, further increased their capacity to monitor and address harmful gender stereotypes and to advocate for better access to and improved provision of innovative service for women survivors of violence through electronic monitoring of restraining order – bracelet for victims and perpetrator system (EMS). An information leaflet developed for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence on prevention and protection mechanisms and EMS, was distributed and reached over 3,500 women. Based on the progress made to date, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome are still applicable because women and girls are still not able to exercise their rights on an equal footing with men and boys and equally contribute to and benefit from development. UN Women will continue to support the government and key stakeholders to be able to prevent violence against women and girls.

Universal and inclusive access to quality health, social and protection services is improved (UNSDCF Outcome 2.1.)

The Outcome was not achieved however, progress was made. Prevention, protection, prosecution, and referral mechanisms on domestic and other forms of violence against women in Serbia remain inadequate despite the adoption of the 2017 Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, and the 2021 Strategy for Preventing and Combating Gender-based Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. In the past 10 years alone, more than 300 women in Serbia have been killed as a result of gender-based violence. [1] Additional efforts are needed to ensure a more comprehensive response to all forms of violence against women covered by the Istanbul Convention. Another important problem is the lack, in most parts of Serbia, of specialist women-to-women support services, for victims of rape and sexual violence, early marriage and stalking. Progress has been made towards strengthening key national institutions and women CSOs to engage in the effective implementation of the recommendations to Serbia in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Concluding observations issued in March 2019, and the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) baseline report published in January 2020, and to improve the delivery of support services for women survivors of violence, with a specific focus on marginalized and multiple discriminated groups and women victims of specific forms of violence. Within the reporting period, 11 currently operating Safe Houses for victims of GBV have increased their capacities to develop missing rulebooks, development plans, specialized programs, security standards and organization of training for service providers, and thus are enabled to provide quality services to women and girls in need, in line with international standards. In 2022, additional six women non-governmental organizations have strengthened their capacities through grants to implement context-specific outreach activities to rural women victims or at risk of gender-based violence against women, within the „Improved Safety of Women in Serbia“ project. Almost 50,000 rural were reached and increased their knowledge and skills to recognize and report gender-based violence through delivered trainings and workshops, information and education sessions, provision of free online and in-person medical, legal and psychological counseling services, traditional media and social media campaigns, local public and street actions and public events. UN Women contributed this result by coordinating „Improved Safety of Women in Serbia“ programme in addition to its financial support. More than 500 professionals, general and specialist service providers (social protection, healthcare, police, prosecution, justice system and women’s NGOs) have strengthened knowledge, skills and cooperation to effectively deliver integrated service for women and girls’ survivors of violence. 32 women and girls’ victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence received immediate medical care, forensic service, legal and trauma counselling, social services, and psychosocial support in four centers for victims of sexual violence. 91 different types of support services were provided by counsellors. Access to health care and safety of women victims of sexual violence is improved by providing free testing for sexually transmitted diseases for victims referred from centers for victims of sexual violence based on the agreement between partner organization and the Provincial Institute for Public Health.. This was achieved through the UN joint project “Integrated response to violence against women and girls III”. In addition, six women CSOs increased their capacity to monitor and address harmful gender stereotypes and to advocate for better access to and improved provision of innovative services for women survivors of violence. The structural and functional standards of the operating shelters in Serbia were analyzed in terms of the quality of services to VAWG survivors and the results reflected in capacity building efforts. As a result, over 500 women, including Roma women and women with disabilities, used the mobile phone application ‘Sound of Soul’ and reported violence. Furthermore, more than 100 Roma women survivors of violence have been provided with appropriate psycho-social support with 50 of them benefiting from economic integration services, while some 120 professionals, members of Groups for Cooperation and Coordination have been trained for working with victims of gender-based violence and implementing international standards on victim support and protection particularly focusing on working with victims in crisis situations. In addition, 48 lawyers from Belgrade, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Kruševac, Novi Pazar and Tutin strengthened their capacities for improved service provision of free legal aid to VAWG. Finally, 43 professionals working in shelters increased their understanding of how specific forms of violence, such as sexual violence and witnessing violence, can influence the development of a traumatic experience. Last but not least, first ever (functional) standards for shelters containing an integrated victim-oriented approach in safe houses for women and girls victims of violence and domestic violence, principles of support for women and girls victims of gender-based violence, as well as inter-agency standards for gender-based violence have been developed. These initiatives were supported by UN Women within the regional programme “Ending VAW: Implementing norms, Changing minds”. Based on the progress made to date, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome are still applicable because women and girls are still not able to exercise their rights on an equal footing with men and boys and equally contribute to and benefit from development. UN Women will continue to support the government and key stakeholders to be able to prevent violence against women and girls. [1] Source: Autonomous Women’s Centre. Please see: https://www.womenngo.org.rs/publikacije/izvestaji-o-femicidu-u-srbiji