Council of Europe: We Cannot Allow the Home To Become a Place of Fear, again

Domestic abuse

Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), has said that Covid-19 lockdowns have led to increases in domestic abuses, stressing that steps should be taken to ensure that the home does not become a place of fear, again.  

Speaking ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, marked on Nov. 25, Pejcinovic Buric that restrictions of movement, financial constraints and uncertainty cannot be allowed to embolden perpetrators - whether at home or online, noting that for all such forms of violence, zero tolerance must be maintained.

In relation to the steps taken in curbing violence against women, Serbia, among other things, has done the following: “In order to inform as many victims of domestic violence as possible and those ones that may become victims, a comprehensive information page on domestic violence including a list of victim protection facilities and emergency contacts is available online on the Ministry of Interior’s website,” it is said on the CoE website.

Through Improved Safety of Women in Serbia project, funded by the Norwegian Embassy and implemented in cooperation with UN Women, support has been provided through direct institutional grants to 20 local women nongovernmental organizations that are providing psychosocial and legal assistance and support services through the local SOS hotline for women victims of violence and gender-based violence.