“Zero tolerance for domestic violence and violence against women can only be achieved by interconnecting in a systemic way all relevant institutions in accordance with the Domestic Violence Prevention Act”, said Gorjana Mirčić Čaluković, Justice Ministry representative and Domestic Violence Suppression Council Secretary.
At a meeting of the Operative Team of the Domestic Violence Suppression Council, Mirčić Čaluković indicated that there was a need to improve the work of all relevant institutions and invited those present to offer concrete proposals to that end aimed at ensuring uniform treatment, protection and support to victims across the Republic of Serbia.
The Team’s members heard the data on the number of persons, and types of relations between offenders and victims, for whose benefit emergency measures were extended between November 2018 and February 2019. The results of monitoring the implementation of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act were also presented. Such monitoring took place through a series of seminars and workshops delivered by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the “Autonomous Women's Centre” NGO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The meeting was attended by representatives of all Council members - Ministry of the Interior, Public Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Provincial Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality.
The Domestic Violence Suppression Council was established in July 2017 to monitor the implementation of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act and to improve coordination and efficiency in the fight against domestic violence. The Council is chaired by Justice Minister Nela Kuburović, while her Ministry provides the Council with expert, administrative and logistic support.