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AN OVERVIEW OF GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN SERBIA
at home whenever it is possible in order to avoid his/her placement in an institution
and so that another parent could continue taking care of such child. Measures are
ordered by a court decision in a special urgent procedure. However, although significant
progress has been made, this Act failed to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of
children. Beating children is still acceptable way of punishing children in Serbia and is not
considered harmful.
§ 70. The protection of children from neglect and abuse is provided by the Criminal Code
of Serbia; everyone, from institutions to common citizens, is obliged to report the cases
of child abuse and neglect.
§ 71. As far as sexual abuse of children is concerned, situation in Serbia is estimated
to be similar to other countries, i.e. that every third girl and every seventh boy have
suffered this form of violence. The number of reported cases is far smaller than actual
incidence of sexual abuse of children. According to available data, in the majority
of cases (89.75%), the abuse lasts for several years; in the remaining cases, it takes
several months. The perpetrators are usually people from child’s surroundings –
cousins, neighbors, teachers, coaches. Through legal amendments, sexual intercourse
with a child has been equalized with all similar acts. The sentence of up to three years
in prison is set for the lightest form of the offence, the so called “prohibited sexual
acts”, that is, 18 years in prison for the gravest forms which result in the death of
the child.
§ 72. Children in Serbia are victims of other forms of violence, too, but there is no
precise data on the size of the problem. Children themselves 115 think that every child
has been the victim of violence at least once. The majority believes that 50% of
children suffer some type of abuse, i.e. that 10% of them go through serious types of
abuse. It is worrying that children still hesitate to approach their parents and service
providers because they are afraid that nobody will believe them. Moreover, children
think that the police, social welfare centers and schools are services that should protect
children from abuse, but expressed their concern that these services are not childrenand
youth-friendly.
§ 73. The Family Act stipulates that the state shall provide a child without parental
care with protection in a family environment whenever possible. Also, one of the basic
goals of the social welfare system reform is deinstitutionalization and development of
alternative models of child care. The number of children who lived in institutions was
reduced by nearly one-quarter in last five years, while foster parenting has been on
the rise 116 . However, the structure and territorial distribution of foster families are not
appropriate 117 . The number of foster families trained to accept children with disabilities
115
Perceptions of and Opinions on Child Abuse. Qualitative research in 7 municipalities with 10-19 year-old children and young people, UNICEF,
Beograd, 2005.
116
Izveštaj o dečjoj zaštiti u Srbiji, UNICEF, Beograd, 2007.
117
Petrović M., Vučković-Šahović N., Stevanović I. (2006), op.cit.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - Report for the period 2000-2010 33