Number of women murdered in Serbia is likely higher than official figures

Twenty-seven Serbian women have been murdered this year, although the actual figure is expected to be higher due to issues with collecting accurate data.

Media reported that 27 women were killed throughout the year under the definition of domestic violence. But the number is likely higher as cases of death following long-term abuse or injuries are not currently classified the same way.

Even without additional cases, this is a very high figure, says Biljana Maletin, an activist from the Women’s Development Platform of Serbia, for Euractiv.

“Unfortunately, Serbia does not have much to brag about; the data is still dramatic. After COVID, we have an increased number of violence reports; femicide is dramatically high, and the state does not take enough measures. Attacks on journalists, politicians, activists, professionals – those critical of the government–are happening”, Maletin said.

Meanwhile, the figures for domestic violence continue to shock as in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, 212 cases of physical violence and 72 cases of sexual violence were recorded, with 96% of the perpetrators being men, according to the Centre for Support of Women NGO.

The centre stated that 333 cases of psychological violence, 97 cases of economic violence, and 15 cases of digital violence were also recorded.

The United Nations, through Resolution 54/134, declared Saturday as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 1999. This is aimed at raising awareness of the fact that women worldwide are victims of abuse, including physical, sexual, psychological, family, and other forms of violence.

On 25 November, the global campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” began, marked by over 1,700 organisations worldwide and lasting until 10 December.

This is an opportunity to highlight once again the issue of violence against women and the importance of joint efforts in creating a social and institutional environment that does not tolerate violence, says Biljana Stepanov, director of the Center for Support of Women. She adds that the state has a significant role in this problem.

“As long as the state does not take all the measures it has committed to in international documents and is regulated by domestic legal frameworks, we will have a high prevalence of all forms of gender-based violence and will count murdered women”.

(Euractiv.rs | Milena Antonijević)