UN Serbia and Partners Unite to Raise Awareness on Gender-Based Violence with Poetry Event 'Life without Violence is Poetry

To mark the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, the United Nations in Serbia organized a joint event, "Life without Violence is Poetry," in cooperation with Cultural Centre Grad. The main aim of the event was to raise awareness of the various nuances, forms and challenges of gender-based violence that women and girls face in their everyday lives. 

As poetry can be powerful, yet healing, this unique event brought together some of the most eminent women poets from Serbia, known for their engaged poetry that questions established social norms about women and girls through vividly presented personal experiences and situations in their surroundings. 

Radmila Petrović, Maša Seničić, and Dragana Mladenović read their impactful poems and demonstrated how art, particularly poetry, can play a significant role in increasing public awareness, as well as empower and inspire action on various issues. Reading the paragraphs of their famous poems, they touched upon many stereotypes and prejudices about women and girls deeply rooted in society, and the long-term negative effects of different forms of gender-based violence on women's and girls' well-being.

“Through arts, poetry and acting together, we can break the silence on violence against women. During 16 Days and beyond we continue to support all relevant actors in creating society with zero tolerance to VaW.  Promotion of strategic actions to prevent VAW by working with communities, and strengthening specialized services including mechanisms for enforcing accountability for perpetrators and integrated response to VAWG by institutions remain the focus of our interventions in Serbia”, highlighted Francoise Jacob, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Serbia. 

President of the Expert Group of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality and State Secretary of the Ministry of Family Care and Demography, Stana Božović, stressed that the permanent direction of the Government of the Republic of Serbia is to combat violence and build a society where men and women live equally with dignity and well-being. "We participate in this poetry evening to contribute to the complete eradication of violence and its causes," she added. 

During the panel discussion on the impact of engaged poetry, Maša Seničić stated that: "Poetry is a battle within language for a language that is free, precise, and bold. If the intention is achieved, that voice becomes responsible for problematizing numerous behavioral norms, both obviously violent and those that may appear harmless."

"Every attempt to map violence through poetry, to raise awareness and empathy, is a step forward towards a world where everyone lives freely", Radmila Petrović said. 

"Even if it may seem weak, poetry can create change", Dragana Mladenović concluded. 

This joint initiative of the United Nations in Serbia aims to combat gender-based violence and ensure timely and adequate access to protection and support services for all women and girls in Serbia. It is a call to action to break the silence about gender-based violence at all levels and work together for a safer and better society for all women and girls.