Empowering Youth to End Gender-Based Violence: Serbia Launches "16 Days of Activism" Campaign

Belgrade, 24 November 2023 - The beggining of the global campaign "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" marked with the event "Imagine Life Without Violence", organized by United Nations in Serbia.  

The focus of this year's campaign are youth as drivers of change and their activism and role in creating a society with zero tolerance for violence against women and girls. 

“Violence against women and girls is a pervasive issue affecting communities globally, and Serbia is no exception. The 'Voices of Youth' research sheds light on the fact that young people in Serbia are increasingly aware of gender-based violence and its normalization in media and society. As we launch the 16 days campaign, it is vital to emphasize the role of young people as initiators of change in building a society with zero tolerance for violence against women and girls", says Francoise Jacob, the UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia. 

At the event the results of "The Voices of Youth" research, on the opinions of youth about gender equality and social cohesion, were presented. This research has been conducted as a part of the regional projec "Youth for Inclusion, Equality and Trust", with more than 1200 youth participants from the region. The resutls for Serbia showcase that young people are aware of the problem of Gender-Based Violence and that they find problematic that violence against women and girls is normalized in both media and society. 

"When we envision a world without violence, we begin to build a path to creating that world. At EU level, we are committed to invest, prevent, protect and not remain a silent observer. Therefore, the EU Commission acceded to the Istanbul Convention in October this year and in 2022 we adopted a proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. We remain devoted to this goal within the EU but also with our partners in accession countries, as Serbia is", says Emanuele Giaufret, H.E. EU Ambassador to Serbia. 

Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of Serbia, Ivana Antonijevic stated that the Ministry recognizes Gender-Based Violence as an important issue among youth and supports the development of services that contribute to mental health of youth, their safety, both physical and psychological. A special focus is given to the support of programmes aimed at prevention of Gender-Based, sexual, partner and peer violence, as well as digital violence and promotion of healthy and safe behaviour and gender equality. We are dedicated to hear the voices of youth and to include them in development of measures with their active role in implementation and creation of measures and activities, focused on changing the narratives within communities where youth are at a greater risk. 

The Ambassador of Germany, Anke Konrad participated in the event, emphasizing that "Gender- Based Violence has many forms. From physical violence and verbal attacks, to phychological pressure and hate speech campaign on the internet. Therefore, it is important to sensitize young people about different aspects of Gender-Based Violence and negative effects that it has for both victims and society."

Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Tomislav Žigmanov, highlighted that the Ministry together with partners launched the campaing "Stop femicide!" aimed to raise awareness in Serbia about the seriousness of the problem of femicide in our society and to moblize all public institutions, media, local self-governments, civil society organizations and other actors in implementation of the policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia towards zero tolerance for violence. This campaing is also being implemented in the media, social media, and panels on this topic, aside from Belgrade, are planned in Kragujevac, Novi Sad, Niš and Novi Pazar.  He added that the main reason for realisation of this campaing is the fact that 27 women have been killed by men and the need to stop this negative trend, as well as to implement the policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia that implies zero tolerance on every form of violence in our society.  

Central part of the event that had taken place at the National Library of Serbia, was a discussion with representatives of youth organization and youth activists. During the discussion, the power of media, both traditional and new, was emphasized. Media can deepen gender stereotypes but can also be the drivers of change. When it comes to youth, it is encourgaging that there more young influencers that fight against stereotypes and avocate for a society where violence is not tolerated, both in real world and online.