Efficient prevention will cost,
But not prevented violence, will cost much more.
Rosa Logar

On June 28, 2007 Autonomous Women’s Center organized The Conference «Austrian Model of Intervention in Cases of Domestic Violence» within The COE campaign «Stop Domestic Violence Against Women» . COE and EU recommend the Austrian Law on Domestic Violence and Intervention Model as a model that should be followed by other member states for its innovative solutions in establishing integral, coordinated system of protection of domestic violence victims.

The conferences’ goal was to support the idea of a need for the national strategy draft and a correlation between procedures of actions in the field of the protection from domestic violence and violence against women in Serbia. The decision makers were invited at the conference from all relevant ministries, The Supreme Court, The Republics’ Public Prosecutors’ Office, MP’s, as well as representatives from key local and international agencies and organizations involved in reform programs in Serbia. (Participants’ list)

In her introductory speech, Ms Ulrike Hartmann, The Deputy of The Ambassador of Austria, pointed out the relevance of the conference within two goals – raising public awareness that domestic violence isn’t a private issue, and secondly that public discussions with clear legal basis give women an opportunity to protect themselves. She emphasized that the implementation of the law is significant, because it makes system efficient - the recommendations from this discussion must reach the decision makers. Ms Nadia Ćuk, The Deputy Head of COE Office in Belgrade, underlined two important aspects of the problem – it’s a part of the wider context regarding human rights and freedoms; second, the domestic violence is severely violation and annulations of those rights, and it’s a result of still unequal powers between women and men. It leads to discrimination within family and society. She made a quick overview on the most important COE documents regarding gender equality, recommendations to the member states concerning the ways of actions of organizations against violence against women and domestic violence. Ms Tanja Ignjatović, the coordinator of AWC’s The Good Practice Development Program, reminded on the significance of women’s organizations in the fields of politics and protection from domestic violence against women. Quoting the standards of human rights, she emphasized the responsibility of the national authorities to establish an overall strategy for the prevention and protection from domestic violence and violence against women in Serbia.   

The ten-years experiences of the Austrian model implementation of the protection from domestic violence were presented by Ms Silvia Thaller, a judge of The Vienna’s Court and an advisor on The Directorate for criminal legislation in The Austrian Ministry of Justice and Ms Rosa Logar, the chief of the Intervention Center from Vienna, member of the inter-ministerial Task Force for the creation of The Domestic Violence Law and the member of the COE Task Force for the campaign Stop Domestic Violence against Women. The judge Thaller emphasized the importance of legislators’ decisions, for which following assumption are needed: domestic violence must be an issue of public stake; prevention of violence acts is a public security issue; good intervention is an efficient intervention; the police is a main actor of the protection; a victim has a right on state services’ protection. Researches confirm, Ms Logar stressed, that the violence against women is a serious social problem causing a massive psychological, economic and social damage.

The change of the paradigm – through the realization of the principal that victims can stay in the known environment, and perpetrator must leave; the important social signal is that the violence, in the private surrounding, is not a private matter; the state is ready to intervene, to stop violence and to help actively to wounded persons. She highlighted the third element by pointing out three key elements: perpetrators’ expulsion and prohibition of approach, protection through temporary legal protection orders, support for the victim by coordination of intervention of services. In Austria, the actions of support and coordination are secured by specialized intervention services.

The conferences’ participants had further questions regarding implementation of the Austrian Law and a number of commentaries about the situation in Serbia, especially about the changes and implementation of the law and individual experts’ efforts to develop multi-disciplinary model of cooperation before official legal solution.

Ms Vida Petrović Škero, the president of the Supreme Court, confirmed the enthusiasm of the experts, positive legal changes, NGO’s activities and individuals in state institutions, but she emphasized that we are at the beginning; there are no system solutions, change of public consciousness, accept of zero tolerance on domestic violence issue, establishment of better legal solutions and budget that enables the implementation of the law, especially specialization of judges and other experts and coordination of services’ work.  

Recommendations to decision makers on the national level include the following needs:

- Existence of the political will and clear political mandate for adoption of overall strategy of prevention and protection from domestic violence and violence against women in Serbia

- Accept of international recommendations (especially Recommendation (2002)5 COE) and respect of accepted international obligations (especially General recommendation no.19 from Un Convention of Human Rights on elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) in establishment of overall strategy and systematic solutions for prevention and protection from domestic violence and violence against women

- Creative customization of good practice model from other countries into specific situations in Serbia

- Identification and inclusion of governments’ officials, ministries, institutions and women’s organizations with a long term experience in carefully planned politics and procedures in the field of domestic violence and violence against women.