Police, social workers, public prosecutors and civil society organizations bolster cooperation to better protect women who experience violence in Serbia

More than 80 police officers and representatives of public prosecutors’ offices, centers for social welfare and civil society organizations that work with women who experience violence in 22 cities across Serbia improved their skills on working with women survivors of violence and implementing international standards on victim support and protection. The training was organized by the Victimology Society of Serbia under the UN Women programme on ending violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds,” funded by the European Union.

Through the training sessions that took place in November and December of 2021, participants gained knowledge about basic concepts related to violence against women, including prevalence and characteristics, factors of victimization, stereotypes and prejudices, the impact of firearms on gender-based violence and existing resources for working with women who have suffered from violence.

In the long term, these sessions aim to result in an online forum for the members of the Coordination and Cooperation Groups (CCG) to connect, cooperate, and exchange experiences and practices on how to better protect women who suffer from violence. These Groups consist of representatives of prosecutors’ offices, the police, centers for social welfare working on cases of domestic violence, and women specialist civil society organisations (CSOs) with expertise in working with victims of violence.

“Different parts of the system are poorly connected, and although everyone does their job very well, there is no proper cooperation. Systems are overloaded and do not have the capacity for quality and purposeful work with victims. There is a huge gap between reporting violence to the police and initiating litigation, at which stage the victim is mostly alone and insufficiently protected. CSOs are insufficiently and unsystematically involved. Victims do not receive information about the existence of CSOs from the police, centers for social welfare and the public prosecutor's office, except in sporadic cases. On the other hand, state institutions rarely use CSO resources,” explained Jasmina Nikolić, head of Victimology Society of Serbia.

To address these issues, the Coordination and Cooperation Groups were established by the Serbian Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, which aligned the jurisdiction of the Groups with the jurisdiction of public prosecutor offices. The Groups consider the cases of domestic violence that have not ended with a final court decision in civil or criminal proceedings, as well as cases in which protection and support to victims of domestic violence and victims of crimes under the above-mentioned law should be provided. The Groups also develop individual protection plans, provide support to victims and propose measures to the public prosecutor's office to end court proceedings.

Considering the vital role of the CCGs, the training sessions aimed to provide more insight to all involved parties on how reporting and processing cases of violence impact the wellbeing of victims.

Dragana Žikić, head of the group for the suppression of juvenile delinquency and prevention of domestic violence in the police department of the city of Niš, participated in the training sessions as one of the members of CCG. She mentioned that, in her work, the biggest challenge is to approach the victim, gain her trust, encourage her and make her feel safe enough.

“Women who have experienced violence are scared. They often do not want to talk or will speak very little, and some withhold important facts. That is why we give more than our best to gather material evidence that can be used during court proceedings and lead to a conviction. Police officers who work on the prevention of violence overcome these problems by acting thoroughly, with full respect for the personality of the victim. These trainings are very useful because they provided me with a lot of new knowledge that can be applied to my work on domestic violence cases. During the training, we came across examples of good practice from other countries, which we may be able to apply in our country as well,” stated Dragana Žikić.

Nada Kuzmanović Tomušilović, supervisor at the Center for Social Work “Solidarity” in Pančevo, commented on the slow and inconsistent actions of institutions and the valuable role of CCGs in countering these issues. “The trainings are very useful for the professionals of our Center, especially as a reminder of the complexity and sensitivity of the problem of domestic violence, the need to be tactful and patient in working with women victims of domestic violence and to monitor their needs. In practice, pointing out that the Center is obliged to file criminal charges and initiate proceedings for protection against domestic violence when the victims themselves are unable to do so proved to be extremely useful,” stated Nada Kuzmanović Tomušilović.

According to Kuzmanović Tomušilović, even if there were significant positive changes in protection against domestic violence – the police reacting immediately, urgent measures being imposed appropriately, perpetrators receiving imprisonment for violating the measures, information being exchanged between institutions – much more needs to be done to improve the treatment of victims of violence. This includes more efficient and faster judicial decision-making, well-organized psychological support to victims, and activities aimed at economically empowering women victims of violence.  

Natalija Ostojić, project manager with the regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds,” says that trainings are important, but what may be more important is the online forum that would serve as a long-term database that police officers, social workers, public prosecutors and NGO activists could use.

“Every case of domestic violence is a story in itself; it has its own specific context, elements, and complexities. Creating this forum would allow all members of Coordination and Cooperation Groups in Serbia to share useful information, experiences, and possible solutions to problems they face in their everyday work while considering the individual needs of every woman survivor of violence and expertise from women’s rights CSOs,” concluded Ostojić.

During the next phase of the project, which will start in May, members of Coordination and Cooperation Groups will be provided with advisory support to develop individual safety plans for women victims of violence in line with their needs, rights, and interests.