Violence against women and domestic violence in relation to the Istanbul Convention

• Author: Krstic, Ivana
• Pages: 68-72

68

10 Violence against women and domestic violence in relation to the Istanbul

Convention

10.1 General (legal) context

10.1.1 Surveys and reports on issues of violence against women and domestic violence

In 2018, the OSCE conducted a survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women in

Serbia.197 It included a quantitative and qualitative component, covering 15 expert

interviews; a survey of a representative sample of 2 023 women aged 18-74 living in

Serbia; 8 focus groups with women from various backgrounds; as well as 4 in-depth

interviews with women on the violence they have experienced. The survey on a

representative sample revealed a number of trends and findings about the prevalence of

violence against women (VAW) in Serbia, confirming that it is a significant concern. More

than a quarter of interviewed women personally know someone who has been subjected

to VAW. Twenty-two per cent of women surveyed said that they had experienced physical

or sexual violence by their partner or non-partner since the age of 15, and 18 % of women

by their ex-partner. Ten per cent of women with current partners said they had

experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their current partner. Very few

women who have experienced violence have reported it to the police. Three out of ten

women believe domestic violence is a private matter and nearly a quarter hold the victim

responsible or believe that they exaggerate claims of abuse or rape. They are also

prevented from reporting due to feelings of shame, and fear or mistrust of the police,

social workers and healthcare professionals, caused by the perceived stereotypes among

representatives of these professions. In addition to shame, and mistrust of services,

economic dependence and fear of retaliation by the perpetrator and the main barriers to

reporting.

The survey showed that women of all ages, from each income group and in all parts of the

country are exposed to VAW. Many women surveyed have heard of services to help

affected women (73 %) but few women have accessed those services and only in cases of

the most serious incidence of physical and/or sexual violence. Only 3 % contacted a

women’s shelter and 1 % a victim support organisation. The survey revealed that

numerous barriers prevent women from accessing services. Particularly in rural areas,

support services are simply not available, while other women face physical barriers to

access or lack long-term and practical support with respect to housing and money. Where

support services exist, they are insufficient, and their consistency and quality need to be

improved. The key experts, who were interviewed for this study, shared that there is a

need for pluralism in service provision and advocated for partnership between the State

and civil society organisations.

The expert interviews also identified some gaps concerning data collection on VAW and

underlined the importance of the planned development and implementation of one unique

database. They also referred to the insufficient protection of victims during court

proceedings, and the need to improve training for professionals. There are four main

conclusions that derive from this survey: 1. Cultural norms and attitudes contribute to

gender inequality and violence against women; 2. Violence against women is

underreported; 3. The provision of services needs to be improved, including multi-sectorial

cooperation; 4. There are gaps in the implementation of legislation and in data collection.

In July 2018, Serbia submitted its first report to the GREVIO (Group of Experts on Action

against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence),198 which contains a lot of

197 Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women in Serbia, OSCE-Led survey, 5 July 2019,

https://www.osce.org/sr/secretariat/419756.

198 Comments submitted by Serbia on GREVIO's final report on the implementation of the Council of Europe

Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (baseline Report),

received by GREVIO on 3 July 2018 GREVIO/Inf (2018) 9, 40-41,