Contributed by: Biljana Brankovic, Serbia National VAW Monitor

Consistent policy in designing campaigns: Campaigns against VAW in Serbia have been usually devoted to advocating for legislative changes, promoting newly adopted laws and/or raising awareness of shortcomings in institutional response to violence. Since 2001, continuity in choosing campaigns’ topics has been established, and demands related to state responsibility have been increasing each year. Similarly, we have notified increasing number of cities covered by campaigns, as well as a number of media that provide sponsorship, i.e. broadcast video clips/radio jingles without charge. In the year 2004, the campaign was organized in over 45 cities, 45,000 leaflets were delivered, video clip was broadcast on 25 local and two Belgrade TV stations, while jingles were broadcast on 30 local and 14 Belgrade radio stations. In addition, the campaigns (usually coordinated by Autonomous Women’s Center from Belgrade) have been enriched by street performances, which (as a rule) attract a lot of attention in public.

Campaign 2005 – promotion of the new law on protective measures:

The Autonomous Women’s Center, Network of SOS helplines and women’s groups in Serbia, Women at Work and Reconstruction - Women’s Fund organized the campaign “16 days of activism” in Serbia during the period of 25 November to 10 December 2005. The campaign was dedicated to the promotion of newly adopted protective measures against domestic violence, which became a part

Leaflet 1: Protective Measures

of the Family Law.[1] It also attracted public attention to sanctions for breaking protective measures, as prescribed in the Criminal Code. The slogan of the campaign was “Red card for perpetrators. Protective measures against domestic violence exist. Article 198 of the Family Law.” A majority of local women’s NGOs actively participated in the activities, so the campaign was organized in fifty Serbian cities: Pirot, Negotin, Novi Pazar, Leskovac, Vlasotince, Bor, Majdanpek, Vranje, Trstenik, Krusevac, Dimitrovgrad, Valjevo, Kragujevac, Uzice, Vrsac, Zrenjanin, Velika Plana, Sombor, Pozega, Loznica, Pancevo, Kikinda, Subotica, Prijepolje, Vrbas, Prokuplje, Pozarevac, Zajecar, Priboj, Nova Varos, Nis, Smederevo, Smederevska Palanka, Bajina Basta, Arilje, Cajetina, Novi Sad, Lebane, Kosjeric, Donji Milanovac, Knjazevac, Cuprija, Jagodina, Sabac, Arandjelovac, Sremska Mitrovica, Seleus and Belgrade.

 

A video clip was created, as well as a radio jingle, poster (as attached), flyer, and leaflet. 2000 copies of the poster was printed, while 50,000 leaflets were printed. The leaflets contained description of protective measures, as well as contact information for all non-governmental hotlines and shelters involved in the Network of SOS helplines and women’s groups in Serbia (design of the leaflets/posters is provided by Marija Vidic, Women at Work; see attachments: leaflet 1 protective measures and leaflet 2 contact info). Street performances and round tables were also organized (see below).

Media sponsorships: The video clip and radio jingle (in the duration of 20 seconds) was widely broadcasted, as campaign coordinators obtained ninety-eight media

Leaflet 2: Contact Information

sponsorships (this made up 10% of the total number or media in Serbia). In Belgrade, six TV stations, ten radio stations and fifteen newspapers agreed to print/broadcast promotional materials of the campaign (the video clip, jingle and brochures) without charge. In other Serbian cities, twenty-five TV stations, thirty-six radio stations and six newspapers also agreed to provide sponsorship (e.g., 1000 copies of brochures were delivered with the local newspaper “Uzicke vesti”). In addition to media sponsorships obtained by campaign coordinators, each local NGO provided sponsorship at the local level (all women’s NGOs that participated in the campaign obtained a copy of CD with video clip, radio jingle and poster/leaflet).

 

Description of the video clip: A woman is seen in front of the mirror, anxious... Noise is heard from a room behind her, male steps and a sound – he turns the TV on. Sounds from the TV: noise from a football game, and a whistle of a referee at the game. At the moment when the whistle is heard, a screen becomes red, and text appears: “Red card for perpetrators. Protective measures against domestic violence exist. Article 198 of the Family Law.” Next scene: she is again in front of the mirror, but appears relaxed and no longer in fear... No sound is heard from the room behind her – silence. Above the mirror is the telephone of the Autonomous Women’s Center. A text appears on the screen: “Autonomous Women’s Center and the Network of SOS helplines and women’s NGOs in Serbia”. The video clip was inspired by the campaign held in Austria, and it was directed by

Performance in Belgrade 2005

Jelena Markovic. The entire video clip can be downloaded, See: www.ict-tower.com/basta/

 

Street performances: Women at Work and theater Act Women prepared an intriguing performance that showed the lack of efficiency of institutions in combating violence and demands consistent implementation of protective measures prescribed by the Family Law (see photos in attachments: performance Belgrade 1 and performance Belgrade 2). The performances were held in the main squares of eight cities: Belgrade, Velika Plana, Leskovac, Zrenjanin, Uzice, Valjevo, Sombor and Grocka. Reactions of the audience were exceptional.

 

Roundtables on increasing collaboration between institutions and women’s NGOs: Within the campaign, women’s groups, in cooperation with the NGO Voice of Difference – Group for Promotion of Women’s Political Rights, organized roundtables in several Serbian cities, aimed at stimulating and/or enhancing collaboration between state institutions and NGOs in combating VAW. The round tables were held in the following cities: Velika Plana, Leskovac, Vlasotince, Uzice, Valjevo and Sombor.

 

Specific needs of disabled women: Women’ NGOs Out of circle: organization for protection and support of disabled women and children  provided a contribution to the campaign 2005: a radio jingle aimed at empowering disabled women to fight for their rights. The jingle was broadcast on approximately thirty radio stations in Serbia.

 

Acknowledgements: As each year, activities within the campaign were organized on a voluntary basis.

Performance in Belgrade 2005

Campaign coordinators acknowledged the volunteer work of all organizations that participated in the activities. In particular, campaign coordinators expressed gratitude to persons who provided a contribution to the campaign:

Bobana Macanovic, Katarina Kostic, Zoe Gudovic, Dragana Vujinovic, Tanja Ignjatovic, Mira Mirosavljevic, Ivana Koraksic, Biljana Stankovic-Lori, Romana Caran, Vesna Bujosevic, Majda Puaca, Verica Vuckovic, Marija Vidic, Jelena Markovic, Tijana Popivoda, Slavica Stojanovic, Sonja Lalic, Vanja Macanovic, Natasa Jovanovic and Biljana Brankovic.

 

Campaign of institutions

 

The Campaign of Ombudsperson and Gender Equality Machinery in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina: The Ombudsperson of Vojvodina, Secretariat for Labor, Employment and Gender Equality of Vojvodina and the recently established Bureau for Gender Equality in Vojvodina organized the campaign entitled: “Way out from Violence.” Promotional materials were also created. Leaflets were printed in Serbian and in the languages of national minorities (Hungarian, Slovak, Roma, Romanian), and posters were printed in Serbian. The leaflets contained information on institutions/organizations that provide support to victims.

 

 

 

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[1] Information about this could be found on Serbia country page, and the entire text of the new Family Law is also available – for the counties of the former Yugoslavia in which Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian language is spoken