26 November 2012 Participants of the public hearing

26 November 2012 Participants of the public hearing

Monday, 26 November 2012

Public Hearing Held on Combating Domestic Violence

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the National Assembly House hosted a public hearing today with the topic “Combating Domestic Violence”, organised by the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality.


The participants of the public hearing were addressed by the National Assembly Speaker and Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, MA Nebojsa Stefanovic, who stressed that domestic violence is a real problem the eradication of which calls for open discussion. Speaker Stefanovic said that he expects the public hearing to give tangible results, adding that the National Assembly should play a more active role in the containment of this social problem. He also announced the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, adding that, besides passing laws regulating the field, it is necessary to spread awareness that domestic violence is an unacceptable social phenomenon.
The Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic, said that the public hearing is part of the 16 days of activism against violence against women, starting on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ending symbolically on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. Speaking of the social problem of domestic violence, the Committee Chairman said that very few women, victims of domestic violence, address the authorities, therefore many instances of domestic violence remain unreported. He assured the participants of the public hearing that the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality is determined to take action to prevent domestic violence, but stressed that only a concentrated action of all state authorities and other social factors can give concrete results.
At the beginning of the public hearing, the participants were shown the film “Women who killed their abusers”, by Izabela Kisic.
On the behalf of the representatives of the executive power the participants were addressed by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, Vladimir Bozovic, who stressed that domestic violence is the most common form of violence against women and, as such, a public problem. He stressed that the police and other social factors have to work on raising awareness of the fact that domestic violence is unacceptable. To ensure a more efficient combat against domestic violence State Secretary Bozovic announced the creation of a state team which would, in cooperation with all relevant social factors, work on containing the problem.
The State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, Stana Bozovic, presented the position and experience of the Ministry and Gender Equality Directorate as regards combating domestic violence. The legislative framework for combating domestic violence does exist and it comprises the Constitution, Criminal Code, Family Law, Gender Equality Law and the Law on Public Peace and Order. An Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy on preventing and eliminating domestic violence against women is also being prepared which will define the mechanisms for the combat against domestic violence more closely, announced State Secretary Bozovic.
The Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Nevena Petrusic, spoke of the need to eliminate the causes of domestic violence, change public awareness and attitude toward the problem and establish a new gender regime in the society, also mentioning the Commissioner’s role in the prevention of domestic violence and protection of women victims of domestic violence.
The participants of the public hearing were also presented the experiences of the Victimology Society of Serbia by Vesna Nikolic Ristanovic, Society Director. She briefed the participants on the specific problems pointed out by victims of domestic violence, saying that some of the key deficiencies are the lack of understanding of the complexity of the situation the victim is in and the lack of coordination between civil and criminal courts.
The participants were also addressed by Tanja Ignjatovic, coordinator of the Autonomous Women’s Centre, who appealed to the representatives of the legislative power to use amendments to improve the existing laws regulating the field and, as part of their control function, question the representatives of the executive on the activities implemented in the field of efficient victim protection and elimination of domestic violence.
In the ensuing discussion the participants were addressed by representatives of the prosecutor’s offices, international organisations, Gender Equality Directorate, as well as representatives of the Provincial Secretariat for Labour, Employment and Gender Equality and Provincial Ombudsman.
MP Srdjan Sajn, member of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, spoke of exercising the rights of Roma women in society, listed the specific problems they face and gave recommendations for the improvement of their position.
Adriano Martins, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, briefed the participants on the European Union’s legislative framework in the field of combating domestic violence against women and said that the situation in the field is unsatisfactory due to the varying legislatives of the member states.
In the conclusion of the public hearing, Committee Chairman Meho Omerovic stressed the need to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence as soon as possible, adding that the Criminal Code needs to be amended, and a state team needs to be established to adequately address the problem of domestic violence, and a concentrated action by the social elements on strengthening prevention of violence and sanctioning the perpetrators of the crime of domestic violence is also necessary. Chairman Omerovic stressed that the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the National Assembly are decisive in their fight against domestic violence, but only a joint action can result in a society with zero-tolerance for violence.
In addition to the members of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, the public hearing was attended by a large number of concerned MPs, which reflects the importance of the topic of combating domestic violence, and the importance of the institute of public hearing.


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thursday, 28 march
  • 9.00 - consultations of representatives of the parliamentary groups about the election of deputy chairpersons of the National Assembly working bodies (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 1)

  • 10.00 - visit of the students of Stevan Dukic Elementary School to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - visit of the students of Drinka Pavlovic Elementary School Student Parliament to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - press conference of the Green-Left Front – Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)оwn Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House 13, Nikola Pasic Square. Central Hall)

  • 13.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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