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Calendar Updated: July 6, 2017
MDTF Activities > Victims access to support services in Serbia

Victims access to support services in Serbia

The Multi Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support (MDTF-JSS), in partnership with Victim Support Europe are implementing a number of activities aimed at strengthening victim support services in Serbia. To assist the Government of Serbia in setting up victim support services, a necessary step was to identify and describe what services, provided by both state and non-state actors, already existed and determine if there are any significant gaps in services. The present report “Overview of existing victim support services in Serbia” examines what existing services there are in Serbia, and what needs to be done to ensure that all victims of all crimes in the entire territory of the Republic of Serbia can access such services.

The aim of the Report is to map all victim support services in Serbia and to collect basic information about each service, including: the available forms of assistance and support provided; which type of victims are supported; how victims are informed about services; the ways in which victims can get proper assistance and support; capacity of service providers; the use of paid and volunteer staff and what kind of training they receive and how services are financed.

Report reveals that Serbia lacks comprehensive, general services for all victims of all crimes. Services provided to victims are often specific and focused on specific profiles of victims. Services are limited in their geographical scope, with most being locally available. The highest number of services are available in Belgrade, while in other regions the availability of services varies. Some regions, notably the far South (Pirot), Eastern Serbia (Zaječar), the far North (Subotica), as well as the western parts of the country show a worrying absence of any services.

Setting up of comprehensive services is not only a requirement for the accession to the European Union, but also is a responsibility Serbia has to its citizens, in accordance with the requirements of human rights laws. The Serbian government has a responsibility to ensure that such services are established, organized, coordinated and receive adequate and stable funding for their operation. The report will inform Serbian authorities in policy making and drafting of the Victim support Strategy.

Report in English is available here.