Debate on Violence against Women: High Tolerance of Violence in Serbia

Violence (Pixabay)

A panel discussion titled “Culture, art and media for a society without violence against women” was held in Belgrade on Oct. 3 as the finale of a project realized in several towns throughout Serbia.

Head of UN Women Serbia Milana Rikanovic said that the social climate in Serbia was such that there was high tolerance of violence.

She presented the results of a survey, according to which 80 percent of women in Serbia have experienced some form of violence, 50 percent believe that uncomfortable situations could be avoided by going around in groups, while most of the respondents would not go out in the evening if they do not feel safe. According to the survey, one in four women in Belgrade’s municipality of Zemun carry pepper spray, while one in six women in Pancevo do not go out alone in the night.

British Ambassador to Serbia Edward Ferguson underlined successful five-year partnership between the British and Serbian governments on the gender equality issues.

The ambassador said it was important to "break the culture of silence,” noting that the cultural pattern was the initiator of behavioral changes. Protests, podcasts, theater performances, and documentaries could have an influence in the citizens, while the media reporting on violence had the crucial role in changing the stereotypes about women and violence against them, Ambassador Ferguson stressed.