From: Biljana Brankovic, E-mail address: bbrankov@eunet.yu  (National Monitor for VAW in Serbia, Project: STOPVAW Website; Local Project Officer, Regional Monitoring Project: Support Women’s Human Rights in the Western Balkans)

Subject: Input from non-governmental organizations related to the study of the Secretary-General

Chosen topic: Key recommendations the study should be proposing

Please note: Text is related to recommendations to the Serbian government, as well as suggestions to NGOs (how they could improve their strategies). I wrote the text and sent it to relevant NGOs in Serbia engaged in combating VAW. In total, reps. of app. 30 NGOs were interviewed, and asked to provide comments. All of them have responded that they completely approve the content. Consequently, I am submitting the text on the behalf of the NGO sector in Serbia. Recommendations are based on assessment of situation in Serbia, but I and reps. of other NGOs believe some of them could be applicable to other countries in the region.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES:

National strategy to combat violence

1. Creating the National Action Plan for combating gender-based violence, under condition that experts, members of women’s NGOs, human rights NGOs, unions, political parties and students’ associations are involved in that process
2. Initiating a wide-range public debate on Draft National Action Plan
3. Consulting NGO sector in the process of writing government reports to committees at European or UN level (e.g., CEDAW Committee), as well as to other similar bodies. Especially, if data/statistics, results of projects/research studies conducted by NGOs are planned to be used in government reports, these particular NGOs/authors should be consulted

Institutional mechanisms for gender equality (Gender Equality Machinery)

1. Supporting institutional mechanisms for gender equality (commissions, governmental and parliamentary bodies, Ombudsperson) at the national and local level; creating clear procedures for ensuring participation of NGOs, unions, informal groups, etc. in these bodies
2. Creating and signing protocols that should regulate principals of cooperation between institutional mechanisms for gender equality and NGOs
3. Mandatory distribution of draft laws related to women’s human rights to representatives of Gender Equality Machinery before they enter a procedure for adoption in National Parliament

Monitoring implementation of existing laws:

1. Creating an independent team, outside Parliament and government, authorized to monitor implementation of laws and to inform the government and public regularly about achievements and weaknesses in implementation

(Or: the government might officially authorize Gender Equality Machinery to conduct the monitoring and include this activity in the state budget); in either case – the government might provide a possibility that both state institutions and NGOs could collect data on efficiency of institutions in implementation of laws

Changing/improving institutional policies:

1. Establishing specialized police units, trained for combating domestic violence
2. Increasing the number of female police officers
3. Consistent implementation of existing legal regulations; re-examining mitigating circumstances, which are commonly used (in court practice) as justification for lowering the sentence in cases of domestic violence
4. Introducing uniform protocols into medical institutions in primary healthcare, aimed at registering/documenting physical injuries and health consequences of domestic violence (history, frequency, mental and physical consequences)
5. Assuring that institutions for protection of violence survivors are accessible to disabled persons, and preventing any form of discrimination against disabled in access to justice: during the reporting process, court proceedings, etc. (e.g., providing an official interpreter for persons with impaired hearing)
6. Re-examining procedures for reporting rape and other sexual offences in order to decrease/avoid re-traumatization of survivors
7. In cases of reported or suspected/alleged child sexual abuse in the family – removing a child/minor from home and sending him/her to foster care, or providing another solution that would prevent repetition of violence
8. Creating and signing protocols on coordinated action/collaboration (and standardized protocols for operation) between institutions for protection of victims of domestic and sexual violence, at the national and local level. The process of signing protocols should be first regulated through appropriate decrees or amended laws, which would specify responsibilities of institutions and introduce sanctions for failure to follow procedures specified in protocols
9. Establishing multi-disciplinary mobile teams, functional round-the-clock, which would be responsible for urgent interventions in acute situations of domestic violence (including organization of appropriate training for members of these teams)
10. Establishing multi-disciplinary teams in centers for social work, responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring efficient protective measures in cases of domestic violence (based on individual needs of particular victims), through coordinated actions of different relevant institutions in a local community (police, healthcare, centers for social work, judiciary, various NGOs), as well as other local organizations that could contribute to victims’ protection (schools, kindergartens, companies/firms, local authorities). Specialized training of prospective team members would precede the establishment of the teams
11. Adopting more strict policies that might contribute to marginalization of porno industry:

a)   Regulating distribution of pornographic magazines and movies

b)   Monitoring and hindering abuse of children at pornographic Web sites

c)   Adopting regulations of sexually offensive advertising and advertisements for „hot-lines“ and escort agencies in printed and electronic media

Shelters, 24-hours helplines, economic empowerment:

1. State grant for new projects on establishing several new shelters for victims of domestic violence throughout Serbia that would be financed by the state (application procedure should specify qualifications/experience required of shelters’ staff)
2. Improving police protection of the shelters for women and children - victims of domestic violence
3. State tender for new projects on establishing 24-hours helplines for victims of domestic and sexual violence (application procedure should specify required expertise/experience of staff)
4. Creating programs for economic empowerment of domestic violence victims

Analysis of state budget, new budget funds:

1. Analyzing the state budget from the perspective of experts for gender-sensitive budgeting
2. Estimation of „overall cost of domestic and sexual violence“ (calculating annual state expenses, expressed as annual salary for total amount of working hours of employees in state institutions for victims’ protection)
3. Providing financial sustainability of current „reform projects“ supported by Fund for Social Innovations (under condition that evaluation confirmed the quality of their outcomes) – creating funds in local governments for long-term financial support to partnership projects of institutions and NGOs
4. Implementing affirmative action measures, aimed at improving economic and social position of women in general

New models of data collection:

1. Introducing a category „domestic violence“ into evidence of Centers for Social Work
2. Establishing a uniform model of data collection on domestic violence, incest and marital rape in the centers for social work, and a standardized model for data processing at the national level (accompanied with training of social workers who would be responsible for these tasks)
3. Introducing questions on domestic violence into files/records of social workers, regardless of the primary problem(s), which motivated beneficiaries to approach Centers for Social Work; introducing similar practice into medical institutions (in cases when it could be reasonably suspected that symptoms/injuries could be associated with domestic violence)

Evaluation of institutions responsible for victims’ protection:

1. Establishing internal anonymous evidence on accessibility and quality of services provided by Centers for Social Work (victims should be given a chance to assess the quality of help/support provided in CSW, while social workers could get feedback on expectations and needs of victims)
2. Creating specific telephone „helplines for internal control“ in Ministry of Interior and other relevant Ministries to which victims of domestic/sexual violence (or their friends/relatives, legal representatives etc.) could file a complaint if they are faced with obstacles in obtaining protection in institutions, or if they experience ethnic or other forms of discrimination in institutions (e.g., Roma women, disabled)
3. Creating the expert team (composed of reps. of state and NGO sector), that would evaluate work of institutional systems for victims’ protection: police, social work, medical centers, judiciary at the national level, through re-examining factors that contribute to low number of criminal charges against perpetrators and mild penalizing policy („mapping problems“ in the chain: police – medical centers – centers for social work – public prosecutors offices – courts)
4. Disseminating information on evaluation of reform projects supported by Fund for Social Innovations to officials: social workers, police officers, judiciary, medical personnel (under condition that the projects outcomes could be used as „best practice examples“ and/or model for creating national strategy for improving protective measures

Gender-sensitive statistics:

1. Creating and regular publishing of reliable and accurate gender-sensitive statistics on domestic/sexual violence on the national level (involving data on gender and age of victims and perpetrators, their relations, type of criminal offences, outcomes of criminal prosecution, etc.)
2. Enhancing cooperation between projects aimed at introducing gender-sensitive statistics in different areas (political participation, economic position of women, etc.)
3. Establishing Multidisciplinary Expert Team in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, responsible to collect and „pool together“ data from evidence of different institutions (CSW, police, judiciary, medical centers), related to reporting and criminal prosecution of domestic/sexual violence cases

Research studies:

1. Conducting quantitative and qualitative research on global factors linked to gender-based violence (economic factors, war, transition, trans-generational transmission), as well as consequences of violence, on nationally-representative samples of women in Serbia, paying particular attention to vulnerable categories of women and those from marginalized groups (Roma, disabled, refugees, etc.)
2. Enhancing regional/international research projects on gender-based violence, which would rely on uniform/comparable methodology
3. Comparing results of new studies in our country with data obtained in similar research in the region and in the countries – members of EU

Pre-service and in-service training of experts and teachers:

1. Introduction of basic awareness programs on gender-based violence into regular curricula at Police Academy and other faculties for future officials in institutions for victims’ protection (social workers, judiciary, medical workers), as well as establishing a new (mandatory or elective) subject “Gender-Based Violence: Protection and Prevention” at these respective faculties
2. State grant for design and implementation of training on the new Family Law for police officers, judiciary, social workers, and doctors/nurses
3. Supporting NGOs that organize in-service training for officials (police officers, social workers, media, healthcare workers, and in particular – judiciary!); enabling that this training could be organized during regular working hours of institutions
4. Supporting partnership projects of state institutions and NGOs, aimed at exchange of professional experiences and/or implementing in-service trainings
5. Supporting NGO projects on basic gender awareness programs and/or gender-based violence for policy-makers on national and local level (members of Parliament, reps. of political parties and ministries, and younger members of political parties)
6. Supporting projects of NGOs or partnership projects of NGOs and state institutions, aimed at designing and implementing specialized training programs for experts interested to organize rehabilitation programs for offenders
7. Integration of gender equality perspective into regular programs for Teaching Faculty, and other faculties for future teachers in schools
8. Supporting current projects of NGOs on in-service training programs for teachers at schools on gender awareness, non-violent communication, conflict resolution and gender-based violence (under condition that evaluation implied high quality of the programs)

Awareness-raising campaigns for students and general public:

1. "Project 5555“ – establishing Awareness-Raising Task Force (5 journalists, 5 artists/advertising experts, 5 activists elected by women’s NGOs, and 5 experts), which would design National media campaign against gender-based violence and innovative preventive programs in schools (e.g., in all elementary and high schools, two classes during a school-year could be devoted to these topics
2. Integration of gender equality perspective and topics related to gender-based violence into the regular curriculum for the school subject Civic Education in elementary and high schools
3. Supporting existing projects of NGOs on programs for preventing child abuse, which have been implemented in elementary in high schools (if evaluation proved their quality)
4. Implementing peer education programs on gender-based violence for high school and university students (focused on different forms of abuse in partnership relations)
5. Establishing teams for designing gender-sensitive editorial policy in state-run media

RECOMMENDATIONS TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR STRATEGIES:

1. Initiating public debate on draft government report to CEDAW Committee and reasons for three-years-long delay in its submission
2. Reaching agreement between NGOs on joint/coordinated actions related to the new Law on Nongovernmental Organizations (in particular, articles about "NGOs of public interest“)
3. Initiating a meeting on which criteria and methods of collaboration between NGO sector and state institutions would be discussed/defined (establishing procedures for cooperation in joint projects with state sector: decision making, division of work, and „visibility“ of partners, suggesting possible solutions for a problem of „double affiliation“ of authors in joint projects)
4. Designing democratic procedures within a network of NGOs – defining how particular activists would be elected/appointed to represent and advocate joint interests of the entire NGO community in relevant negotiations with the state, in particular in situations such as:

a)     Creating National Action Plans for Women, standardized protocols for institutions responsible for legal implementation that are in charge of realization of women’s human rights, or any National Strategy relevant for women (e.g., Strategy for Decreasing Poverty, Strategy for Implementing UN Millennium Development Goals)

b)     Assisting government in writing reports to international bodies and commissions

c)     Selecting members of NGOs who would represent NGO sector in Gender Equality Machinery

d)   Collaboration and/or joint projects with Gender Equality Machinery on national or local level

d)      Selecting NGO activists who would represent NGO sector at international conferences and meetings on women’s human rights

5.  Initiating several new projects of NGOs related to:

a)     Monitoring and reporting on women’s human rights in general and gender-based violence in particular

b)     Writing shadow reports to the CEDAW Committee and other UN bodies

c)      Lobbying and advocacy related to gender-based violence

d)      Creating networks of state institutions and NGOs dealing with gender-based violence

e)      Research projects on gender-based violence and comparison of results with data obtained in the region and EU member-states

6.      Enhancing and expanding regional/international collaboration with other NGOs in the field of combating gender-based violence (in particular, creating new models of data collection, standardized research methodology, writing shadow reports, designing protocols for reps. of state institutions or handbooks of „best practice examples“, initiating changes in institutional policies)

7.      Further professionalization of services offered to victims of gender-based violence among those NGOs which plan to become „authorized service centers“ for providing professional help/support to victims and apply to state funding in the future

8.      Improving the existing protocols/manuals (and developing new ones) for officials in institutional systems for victims’ protection: police, medical workers, judiciary, social workers

9.      Improving the existing manuals (and developing new ones) for teachers in schools on gender-based violence and integration of gender equality perspective into school practice

10.  Developing standardized model of data collection (joint/uniform database) on reported cases of gender-based violence in different SOS helplines, shelters, counseling centers run by NGOs

11.  Developing projects aimed at creating uniform model of data collection that would be applied in NGOs and state institutions

12.  Designing a model of internal and/or external evaluation of the quality of services provided to clients – victims of gender-based violence

13.  Delivering symbolic annual reward to journalists, who made the most interesting contribution (printed article or program) on gender-based violence

14.  Initiating similar symbolic annual contest for police officers (rewarding those who distinguished themselves by sensitive interventions in cases of gender-based violence)

15.  Lobbying celebrities/well-know public figures (actors/actresses, sportspersons, musicians, politicians) to participate in National Campaigns „16 days of activism...“ and promote actions against gender-based violence

16.  Enhancing involvement of men in awareness-raising campaigns on gender-based violence

17.  Electing several women’s NGOs, which would assume responsibility to monitor government policy and media/public debates and to write press releases, public announcements, petitions on the behalf of NGO community (their task would be to attract media attention and influence public opinion in cases of women’s human rights violations or introduction of new government policies related to position of women)