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Gender Equality Serbia Project #29346

With Education Against Violence Toward Girls

by Centar for girls

With Education Against Violence Toward Girls

Project Report | Oct 2, 2023
Summer 2023 through the Center for Girls

By Marija Virijevic | Project leader

Festival ArtFemine 10

Hello!

As in previous years, the summer activities of the Center for Girls revived feminist art and activism in Niš, and bring new energy. We organized the jubilee 10th ArtFemine Fesstival, the 9th Feminist Art Colony, organized a street action on abortion, participated in the workshop ,,Get started, move and apply“, became part of the Working Group for the development of a new planning document in the field of combating human trafficking, opened a Children Daycare Center and held training for volunteers of the Day Center for Children, and much more. You can read more details below.

Center for girls held 10th ArtFemine festival and celebrated 25 years of work

Over 60 people attended the 10th anniversary ArtFemine Festival of Feminist Art and Activism, organized by the Center for Girls on July 1-7, 2023.

On the first day of the festival, the art and psychology workshop "What She Says" by sculptor Tamara Z. was held. Ten participants of the workshop reflected on their emotions and their identity, and then each created conceptual jewelry inspired by the inner world of another participant. In the evening, the premiere of the film about the Center for Girls was shown in the Art55 Gallery and a publication about the organization's 25 years of existence and work was promoted. The film was shot by Boban R., and he and Tatjana N. worked tirelessly together to merge the recorded material into a whole. Tatjana N. and Sara P. spoke about the publication, and Jelena V., Jana T., Mina Z. and Milica Z. read their texts from the publication, which was graphically edited by Sanja S. The evening continued with the opening of the exhibition of works created at the 8th Feminist Art Colony, entitled "That Road We Walk". At the opening, artist and collaborator Sanja S. and artists who participated in last year's colony, Jelena P. and Tamara Z., spoke. They talked about what the Feminist Art Colony means for them and for the art scene in Serbia and how their participation in the colony affected their professional and personal development. The evening ended with socializing, hugs and an exchange of positive energy.

On the second day of the festival, the art and psychology workshop "Self-portrait to self-therapy" by Jovana . was held. Twelve participants had the opportunity to explore themselves, their emotions, needs and desires and to express themselves through the collage technique. The participants first thought about what they wanted to say with their works, then they created collages, and later they commented and explained their works. In the evening, a lecture on gender-sensitive language, "Why we got rid of gender", was held by Professor Svetlana T. The audience had the opportunity to hear more about the history of gender in the Serbian language and the history of the struggle to introduce gender-sensitive language into the norm, laws that prescribe the use of gender-sensitive language and anti-gender currents in the Serbian public and the scientific community, as well as why they are harmful to the science of language and the position of women in society. This was followed by the promotion of the book "Talking About Blocks" by writer Jelena N.R. The interview with the author was conducted by Sanja S. The audience had the opportunity to hear the recommendations of two of the author's friends, and then talk with the writer about the inspiration for the creation of the book, the structure of the work and the characters in the work, and what writing this book meant to her.

On the third day, the promotion of the digital platform Women's Museum was held, which is a project of the Union of Feminist Organizations (Re)connection and part of the international network of women's museums IAWM. The platform was presented by the philosopher Silvia D. The audience had the opportunity to learn about the concept of a women's museum, the way of collecting materials for a women's museum and the importance of such a platform for increasing the visibility of women in the history of science and art.

On the fourth day, the promotion of Biljana K. book, "Breast Circle" was held. The interview with the writer was conducted by Sara P. The audience had the opportunity to learn more about the author's inspiration for writing stories, to learn about the author's views on self-censorship and queer literature.

On the fifth day of the festival, the "Water on fire" workshop was planned, but due to bad weather conditions, it was postponed until the day after the end of the festival. This workshop was an opportunity for the participants to connect with nature and with their creative side. The participants got rid of stress with the help of their creativity. The workshop was led by Maja D, a psychologist and psychotherapist. She is a certified transactional analyst and practitioner of play therapy.

On the sixth day of the jubilee ArtFemine festival, a concert was held by the musician Anita Š. from Mostar. The citizens of Niš had the opportunity to get to know Anita's music, but also to hear some already well-known songs by other performers from the former Yugoslavia.

On the seventh day of the jubilee ArtFemine festival, the literary performance "Good morning, jazz girls" by Jasna J. was held. The citizens of Niš had the opportunity to get acquainted with Jasna's research and artistic work on contemporary and jazz music with an emphasis on gender and interactive strategies of improvisation in jazz. At the end of the literary performance, we had the opportunity to once again hear the musician Anita Š, who performed the previous evening. The evening continued with the performance-lecture "In the arms of the forgotten" by Maja M.

The festival passed with a lot of hugs, laughter, socializing and positive energy.

The ArtFemine festival was supported by OAK and the Trag Foundation and the Global Fund for Women.

The 9th Feminist Art Colony

The 9th Feminist Art Colony was successfully held in Sicevo. Eight artists participated in the colony: Tamara K. (Novi Sad), Jelena C. (Trstenik), Vanja B. (Cacak), Marija J. (Belgrade), Sanja S. (Belgrade), Marija M. (Belgrade), Anelija R. (Raška), Isidora M. (Belgrade).

Upon arrival in Niš, after the traditional photo shoot in front of the monument to Nadezda P., the artists settled in a hostel in Sicevo.

On the first day of the colony, the artists had the opportunity to get to know the Center for Girls, as well as each other. The artists watched a film about the Center for Girls and received materials for work at the colony, as well as a publication created on the occasion of the organization's 25 years of work. On the same day, a part of the play "I am an emotional being" was performed in front of the artists, which talks about violence against girls and women, human trafficking, women's human rights and the experiences of girls from all over the world.

On the second, third and fourth day of the colony, the female artists participated in a self-defense workshop led by Tatjana N. At the workshop, they learned five principles of self-defense, a communication formula, how to say no clearly and loudly and set boundaries, be assertive, recognize a violent situation, be aware of your surroundings, defend yourself from verbal and physical attack, run away and seek help. In addition, they learned three punches and five physical self-defense techniques. After the workshops, they had free time, which they could spend creating, socializing, exchanging experiences and resting in the natural surroundings of the Sicevo Gorge.

On the fifth day, female artists participated in a workshop on gender-sensitive language, held by Sara P. They learned why it is important to use gender-sensitive language when talking about themselves and other women, and how to use it. They had the opportunity to break down some of the preconceptions about gender-sensitive language and give their comments regarding its use and importance. Later in the day, there was a celebration of the colony's 9th birthday, as well as the birthday of one of the participants. We blew out the candle, made wishes and enjoyed the cake and the company.

On the sixth day, the colonies of female artists continued to create works of art using a wide variety of techniques - painting, graphics, drawing. In the evening, they had the opportunity to see the performance-lecture "In the arms of the forgotten", performed by actress Maja Mitic. The play talks about important women of the Balkans and the female roles played by Maja Mitic, about what they mean for her personal and our collective identity and development.

The Feminist Art Colony in Sicevo was created out of a desire to empower and promote young female artists, as well as with the intention to involve visual artists of the Serbian and regional scene more in current feminist topics, to connect with each other, to achieve cooperation and to give them space in where they can freely practice their art. This art colony was founded in 2015, on the 110th anniversary of the founding of the art colony in Sicevo, whose founder was the Serbian painter and humanitarian Nadezda P.

The feminist art colony was supported by OAK and Trag Foundation and the Global Fund for Women.

For legal and free abortion - Street action

Over 1,500 people saw the street action "For legal and free abortion", which was held by the activists of the Center for Girls, due to the news that the doctors at the Niš Clinical Center refused to perform an abortion on a female patient.

Abortion is an intervention that gives a woman the freedom to make her own decisions about her body, to choose when, if ever and how many children she will have. In Serbia, it is legal up to the 10th week of pregnancy, and the law determines that a woman who wishes to terminate a pregnancy at her personal request has the right to the above-mentioned medical intervention. Abortion must remain legal, free and available to every girl and woman.

Workshop ,,Get started, move and apply“

Activists of the Center for Girls and members of the Academic Theater of SKC Niš socialized and learned through the theater workshop "Get started, move and apply" with Olivera V. ., actress, director and director of the Belgrade theater Pan Teatar.

The workshop is part of this year's Nashville Jazz Theater Festival.

Working group for creation of a new planning document in the field of the fight against human trafficking

The Center for Girls became part of the Working Group for the development of a new planning document in the field of combating human trafficking, together with five other organizations from the country, which work to solve the problem of human trafficking.

The center for girls will be represented by Tatjana N. and her deputy Marija V. By participating in the work of the group, the Center for Girls will make a direct contribution to the development of a new planning document, which aims to improve the response of the Republic of Serbia to the problem of human trafficking and contribute to its suppression.

Center for Girls opens Children Daycare Center

The Center for Girls launches the Children Daycare Center, intended for children in Niš who live and/or work on the streets or live in poverty.

The services of the day center for children are already used by several Roma children.

The children's center is implemented as part of the project "Improved social cohesion in Niš and Southern Serbia through reducing the risk of human trafficking and increasing the resilience of street children", supported by the European Union, through the EU Pro Plus program.

Training for volunteers of Children’s Daycare Center was held

The Center for Girls held a training session for volunteers of the Children Daycare Center, where those present had the opportunity to learn about the way of working in the field and in the Children Daycare Center.

The training was led by Tatjana N. There were talks about communication, active listening, empathy, collecting information about the users and protecting the rights of the child and the user's identity.

The training was conducted within project "Improved Social Cohesion in Niš and South Serbia Through Reducing The risk of Human Trafficking and Increasing The Resilience of Street Children", supported by the European Union, through the EU Pro Plus programne.

That's it for now.

If you like what we do stay with us to see more!

See you in three months. ♥

P.S.

If you want to support us we thank you in advance. :)

9. Feminist art colony

For legal and free abortion - Street action

Workshop ,,Get started, move and apply"

Children Daycare Center

Training, Volunteers of Children's Daycare Centar

Links:

10th ArtFemine festival

Permalink

Jun 2, 2023
Standing together against the violence in 2023

By Marija V. | Project Leader

Vagina's Monologues

From February 3 to June 2, we conducted several activities dedicated to education, raising awareness, preventing violence against women and girls, reacting to increase in femicides in Serbia, preventing human traffcking, taking care of the enviroment, and protection of women’s rights.

During this entire period, we contionued with the Empowering self-defense workshops in highschools and faculties. In total, 150 girls/women were empowered and learnt how to defend themselves from verbal, sexual and physical violence, trough 60 workshops.

February was dedicated to rising against violence and opression trough artistic expression. We performed Eve Ensler’s „Vagina’s Monologues“ on the ocassion of 25th anniversary of premiere of the play, we danced along the song „Break the Chain“ and raised for freedom of women and girls from all types of violence and opression, on the ocassion of the 10th anniversary of One Billion Rising action.

March started strong, with three-day training on the topic of working with children involved in the life on the street, and combating human trafficking, for the representatives of public institutions, where we had the opportunity to learn from the best – organisation The Land of Children (Zemlja djece) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, that successfully erradicated child trafficking in the form of forced begging in their city. We also marked International Women’s Day, as we held Women’s March together with other women’s organizations from other cities in South Serbia.

End of March and month of April were, unfortunately, marked by several devastating news. Therefore, ad hoc street actions with performance „Women’s Graveyard“ were performed. We had 9 femicides for only 9 weeks, and later 10th femicide, so we held two street actions with this performance. However, we found time to release the accumulated stress and spend some time in nature, at Bubanj Memorial Park, where we also had a cleaning action on the ocassion of The Earth Day.

In May, all Serbia went silent when 20 people, mostly children, lost their lives in one school-shooting in elementary school in Belgrade and one mass-shooting in area of cities Smederevo and Mladenovac, and 4 more women were killed in gender-based violence. Even though we were in shock, we decided that it is not the time to fall in despair and we decided to act – we went into the streets and, trough street action, demanded disarm, canceling media programs that promote violece and better institutional support for children, as well as better institutional response to violece and femicides. We marked the Remembrance Day for Women Victims of Violence with a street action and performanse „Women’s Graveyard“, for 18 women killed in just 19 weeks. In the second half of the month, we held meetings with representatives of city municipalities, in which we presented self-defense workshops we conducted in schools and faculties, as well as results of research we did with girls/women that attended workshops, in an atempt to give recommendations for increasing safety of women and girls in public spaces in Niš, as well as to deepen the cooperation with public institutions and city authorities.

June, we started with announcement for our 10th ArtFemine festival of feminist art and activism and 9th Feminist Art Colony.

The entire time we provided SOS phone services, as well as in-person talk and support for our users.

FEBRUARY

Vagina’s Monologues – 25th anniversary

In more than 150 countries in the world, on February 14, the performance "Vagina's Monologues" is traditionally read, which this year, the activists of the Center for Girls performed for the 14th time. Twenty-one activist of the Center for Girls participated in the performance, the youngest of whom is 14 and the oldest 49, and the performance was performed in front of about forty people on the stage of the Student Cultural Center.

Photo: Marta S.

„Break the Chain“ dance – 10th anniversary of One Billion Rising action

Over 1,000 people saw the dance performed by the activists of the Center for Girls and members of the dance club Primavera and dance Club Illusion Dance Community to the song "Break The Chain" in Obrenoviceva Street in the center of Niš and, together with people all around the world, sent a message that violence against girls and women must stop.

The dance is performed every year on February 14, as part of the global campaign One Billion Rising, which was created in response to the statistics that say that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be raped or beaten in their lifetime, which means one billion women. At the time when the research was done, there were seven billion people living in the world, and with the current population of eight billion and rising, this number is even higher.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of this action, initiated by Yves Ensler, writer, feminist and author of "Vagina's Monologues". On that occasion, a video was recorded: https://fb.watch/iQn80ygePA/ .

Photo: Marta S.

Video: Boban R.

MARCH

Tree-day training on working with children involved in life on the street and combating human trafficking

At the three-day training on combating human trafficking and working with children who live/work on the street or live in poverty, the participants had the opportunity to hear representatives of the organization Zemlja djece (The Land of Children), Mirsada Bajramovic and Medina Gracic, and professors from the Criminalistics police academy in Belgrade, Milan Zarkovic.

There was talk about the role of Daycare centers in identifying and combating human trafficking, especially forced begging, cooperation between institutions and the civil sector, the referral mechanism for preventing and combating the exploitation of children, the way of functioning and the role of the mobile identification team (MIT), as well as the practices that are resulting from the long-term work of the organization Zemlja djece (The Land of Children). The training was attended by 41 person – representatives of: Basic and Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš, Criminal Court, Center for Social Work, Home for Children and Youth "Duško Radovic", Children's Shelter, Elementary School "Vuk Karadzic", Gymnasium "Stevan Sremac", Law and business schools, economic schools and fashion and beauty schools, as well as activists of the Center for Girls.

Tatjana Nikolic from the Center for Girls and Mirsada Bajramovic from the Land of Children made statements for Belle Amie and N1 television, and were also guests on Niška television.

We are grateful to the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia for providing the hall and hospitality.

The training was organized by the Center for Girls as part of the project "Improved social cohesion in Niš and South Serbia through reducing the risk of human trafficking and increasing the resilience of street children", supported by the European Union, through the EU Pro Plus program.

We plan to implement the gained knowledge in our future work with children living/working on the street or living in poverty, trough work of Daycare center for Children.

Photos by Teodora M.

Women’s March

Sixty activists, women and citizens participated in the Women's March, which was held in Niš on the occasion of the upcoming International Women's Day. Seven member organizations of the Women Against Violence network: Association of Roma women Nada, Women for Peace, Association of Roma Women Bujanovac, Association of Roma Women Osvit, Independent Women's Center, SOS Vlasotince and Center for Girls walked the streets of Niš today.

We demand that femicide be recognized as a separate crime; Stop violence against girls/women; Rape is a crime without reason; it's never her fault! The responsibility lies with the abuser; Roma women for a society without gender-based violence; One billion rise for freedom; In solidarity with the women of Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Ukraine; We demand that abortion remain legal; Legal abortion must be a woman's right; You have the right to live without discrimination; We demand that women's work be paid; For economically independent women; Women's human rights; We trust you; We're listening to you; We respect your decisions; Sexual violence against girls and women cannot go unpunished; The only important thing is that you are well, because you are not alone; More feminists in decision-making places to make women's suffrage heard; Stop killing women, because a woman gave birth to you, were the messages sent from the banners carried by the participants. Eight participants bore the names of girls, women and women killed since the beginning of the year.

Over 3000 people saw the march, stopped, took pictures and filmed. The march started with a dance to the song "Break the Chain", performed by activists of the Center for Girls and members of the Primavera Dance Club, and later the participants went for a walk through the central streets of Niš. Tatjana Nikolic from the Center for Girls and Ana Sacipovic from the Association of Roma Women Osvit gave statements to the media.

The march was supported by OAK and the Trag Foundation and the Global Fund for Women.

Photos by: Marija V., Nina M. and Boban R.

„Women’s Graveyard“– 9th femicide in only 9 weeks in Serbia

Over 700 people saw the performance "Women's Graveyard", performed by the activists of the Center for Girls on a rainy day, on the occasion of 9 femicides since the beginning of the year. Many passers-by stopped, commented, photographed and recorded the performance, some of them wanted to share their experience with violence or the experience of a woman close to them, and one fellow citizen stood with us the whole time.

Since the beginning of 2023, in 9 weeks, 9 girls and women have been killed by their current/former husbands/partners, stepfathers, stepchildren…

FEMICIDE is the killing of a woman just because she is a woman. It is motivated by hatred of women, a feeling of superiority and a desire to control her life, and the killers are most often their closest, current/former husband/partner, son, brother, father, stepfather, or some other male person.

We demanded that FEMICIDE be recognized as a separate crime.

Photographed by Maria V.

APRIL

10th femicide in Serbia – Performance „Women’s Graveyard“

Since the beginning of 2023, 10 girls and women in Serbia were murdered in a family-partner relationship context (i.e. killed by their current/former husbands/partners, fathers, sons, brothers...).

On April 6, 13 activists of the Center for Girls in Niš participated in the performance "Women's Cemetery", which talks about femicide.

Photo: Marija V.

Empowering Self-defence workshops continuing in highschools and faculties, trough project SAFE

The Center for Girls implemented Empowering Self-Defense workshops in four more high schools in Niš and at three faculties: "Bora Stankovic" Gymnasium, School of Commerce, School of Fashion and Beauty, School of Economics and at the faculties: Faculty of Occupational Safety, Faculty of Electronics, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Philosophy. Through 60 workshops, 250 girls/women learned how to defend themselves against verbal and physical attacks.

The participants had the opportunity to learn communication techniques, boundary setting, attitude, three types of strikes and five physical self-defense techniques. The method itself was made for women.

Empowering self-defense workshops are implemented in 10 high schools and 4 faculties in Niš within the Center for Girls' project SAFE - Empowering girls and women to feel safer in public places in Niš, supported by UN Women.

Photographed by: Marta S.

Earth Day 2023

Eighteen activists of the Center for Girls and citizens celebrated Earth Day with socializing in nature and a clean-up action at the Bubanj memorial park.

The action was held as part of the global campaign One Billion Rising which theme this year is Rising for Freedom.

Photo by: Marija V.

MAY

We demanded disarm

Over 1,500 people saw the street action that the activists of the Center for Girls held in the center of Nis, on the occasion of the shooting at the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School in Vracar, in which eight children and one man were killed, as well as on the occasion of 14 femicides since the beginning of this year.

We demanded disarmament, a ban on showing violence in the media and the employment of psychologists in schools who want to work with children and not just with paperwork, as well as to stop femicide (the killing of women and girls just because they are women, by those close to them male persons).

Photo: Marija V.

Remembrance Day for Women Victims of Violence 2023 – Street performance

Over 2,500 people saw the performance "Women's Graveyard" which, on the occasion of yesterday's Remembrance Day for Women Victims of Violence, was performed by 17 Center for Girls' activists in Obrenoviceva Street, in the center of Niš. The participants wore the names of girls/women killed since the beginning of this year, and the names of over 400 girls/women killed from 2010 to today were heard from the speakers.

We requested:

-Establishment of a working team that will analyze cases of violence against girls/women;

-Formation of central records on violence against girls/women and femicide;

-Public hearing on failures of institutions in dealing with cases of reported violence.

We would like to thank N1 television, Belle Amie television, the Niške vesti portal and the Anatolia agency for reporting on our street action.

Photo: Emilia I. M.

Meetings with representatives of city municipalities

Representatives of the Center for Girls met with representatives of the City municipalies of Pantelej, Crveni Krst and Mediana, and on that occasion presented empowering self-defense workshops that Center for Girls conducted in 10 high schools and 4 faculties in Niš, and presented the results of research on the safety of girls and women in public places in Niš, as well as recommendations for measures to increase security, formed on the basis of research.

Representatives of the municipalites, through a constructive dialogue, expressed their views on the problem of safety of girls/women in public spaces in Niš, and proposed measures that we can take together to make Niš a safer place for all its citizens.

Meetings with representatives of city municipalities are implemented within the project SAFE: Empowering girls and women to feel safer in public places in Niš. The project was supported by UN Women. #bezbednesvuda #safeeverywhere

Photo: Marta S.

International Day of Action for Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights

Activists of the Center for Girls marked the International Day of Action for Women's Health and Reproductive Rights by distributing informative leaflets on the prevention of cervical cancer, in Obrenoviceva Street and in front of the Delta shopping center.

More than 300 citizens received information about screening, early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, from which, every day, 1 woman dies and 4 get ill from, in Serbia. We reminded them about the availability of the HPV vaccine and the importance of regular gynecological examinations.

Photo: Nela S. and Sara P.

CONCLUSION

In four month period, we rised againt all forms of violence and discrimination against women and children, trough dance, art, theatre, education and action. We demanded better response to rising violence and hatred. We continued conducting our well-known activities, but we also opened some new chapters in our future work.

You can see how activities went on the photos and video links below.

All videos are filmed and edited by Boban R.

One Billion Rising - Break the Chain Dance

Three-day training with Land of Children

Women's March in Nis - International Women's Day

Women's Graveyard - 9th femicide

Women's Graveyard - 10th femicide

SAFE: Empowering self-defence workshops

Earth Day - Cleaning action at Bubanj

We demand disarm!

Remembrance Day for Women Victims of Violence

Meetings with city municipalities

Women's Health and Reproductive Rights

Links:

Permalink

Feb 7, 2023
Support, Empowerment, Solidarity and Activism

By Marija Virijevic | Project Leader

Rape is a Crime that Has to be Taken Seriously

From October 6 till February 3, we conducted several different activities aimed at inspiring young girls and women in Niš to get more confident, more educated, to recognize danger and escape the violence and exploitation, to fight for themselves and the others. We also addressed femicide, sexual violence against girls and women as well as human trafficking, as some of the most frequent forms of violence against children, girls and women.

October was a month for showing resistance and solidarity through street actions. After a Serbian tabloid media portal broadcasted an interview with convicted rapist, we went into streets to protest this act with street action “Rape is a crime that has to be taken seriously in Serbia”. Same month we held street action and marked the European Day Against Human Trafficking, as well as the street action dedicated to little Petra, a 2-year-old girl that was brutally murdered by her father.

Our peer-educators and young activists continued to educate fellow students on the topic of human trafficking and its prevention, through another series of educational theaters in high schools in Niš, as well as through educational workshops.

We marked 16 days of activism with “Women’s Graveyard” performed in 10 cities across Serbia, in cooperation with 10 different organizations from those cities. The performance raised awareness about the femicide, but also reminded us how important good cooperation and coordination of women’s organizations in the country is. Our youngest activists performed “Recognize the Human Trafficking and Report It” performance within the 16 days of activism as well. At the same time, we started participation in this year’s One Billion Rising campaign, named Rise for Freedom, with ten street actions dedicated to freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation for all women and girls in the entire world, as well as with a self-defense workshop “Rise for Freedom”. In November, we opened a call for volunteers for a future daycare center for children who live and work on the street and&or violence and who are or are at risk of vecoming victims of traffiking in human beings.

December was a busy month. We finished 16 days of activism, conducted interactive presentations for teachers in high schools we cooperated with for educational theaters and performed “Women’s Graveyard” two days before New Year’s Eve, because two more femicides occurred in just 8 days. We also conducted the first set of Empowering Self Defence workshops for girls and women in Niš and managed to pack and move out of our old office and into a new one.

Unfortunately, winter holidays were marked by yet another case of violence against women. Only few days after holidays, we had to go out on the street to demand justice for rape victims. We held two street actions named “Rape is crime without the Cause” on the occasion of rape case in Niš and inadequate response of the local, as well as the republic institutions and media to this case.

We finished January with street action dedicated to prevention of cervical cancer and participated in one big street action that included women representatives of 30 different organizations that make The Network of Women Against Violence, where we raised awareness on the topic of femicide and rape as two of the most horrific types of violence that girls and women in Serbia experience. We started February with interactive lectures held by the gynecologist, for girls students of elementary school in Nis, as well as with second set of Empowering Self-Defence workshops.

Our work also included supporting children, girls and women through the SOS telephone for women and children who are victims of violence and/or human trafficking.

“Rape is a crime that has to be taken seriously in Serbia”

Around twenty activists and friends of the Center for Girls held a street action called "Rape is a crime that must be taken seriously in Serbia", on the occasion of a sensationalistic interview with a convicted rapist published by Informer, but also on the occasion of all other unethical reporting by print and online media about sexual violence.

The street action was seen by over 1500 people and on that occasion many of our fellow citizens gave us words of support. On the banners we held, messages could be read that rape is not a joke, that rape is a crime that must be taken seriously in Serbia, that rape is a criminal offense for which the penalties should be increased. We asked for life sentences for rapists of minors, as well as the responsibility of media for the ways in which they report on rape, which directly contributes to the stigmatization and re-traumatization of the victims and deepens the culture of rape.

European Day Against Human Trafficking

Over two thousand people saw the street action of the Center for Girls, held on the occasion of the European Day against Human Trafficking.

On that occasion, fellow citizens could read the messages "Forced criminal acts are human trafficking", "Forced marriage is human trafficking", "Forced labour is human trafficking", "Forced begging is human trafficking", while the song "Cep" by Marko Šelic Marcelo, which talks about the experience of a victim of human trafficking, was playing from the speakers the entire time. Several female activists were in charge of informing people about this topic and distributing pamphlets, which provide useful information about what human trafficking is, what its forms are, who the traffickers and victims are, how to protect yourself from human trafficking and who to report it to.

Human trafficking is a serious crime that involves buying and selling a person for the purpose of exploiting them. Anyone can be a trafficker or a victim of human trafficking, although the trafficker is usually a person whom the victim knows and trusts. Human trafficking includes: forced prostitution (sexual exploitation), forced labor (labor exploitation), forced begging, forced marriage, forced domestic work, forced criminal acts, organ trafficking (forced harvesting of organs for their sale).

25th Femicide in Serbia in 2022 – Performance for little Petra

Activists of the Center for Girls in Niš held a street action on the occasion of the femicide that happened in Vršac, when a father killed his 2-year-old daughter, drowning her in a bucket of water, after the Center for Social Work allowed him to see the child, even though the girl's mother reported domestic violence several times in the past.

We demanded that those who worked on this case be fired and prosecuted, that the state take violence against girls and women seriously, and that femicide gets recognized as a special crime. Four thousand people saw the action, about three thousand of them stopped to read the banners, and many filmed, took pictures, asked questions and gave words of support, but unfortunately, there were also inappropriate comments that relativized the violence.

“SAFE” – Empowering Self-Defence Workshops for girls and women in Niš

The Center for Girls started "SAFE – Empowered girls and women to feel safer in public spaces in Niš", supported by UN Women.

Center for Girls will carry out activities aimed at examining the safety of women and girls in public spaces in Niš, mapping unsafe locations, educating and empowering women and girls to defend themselves against all forms of violence, but also to gain self-confidence and verbal and non-verbal communication skills in order to protect themselves against violence in public spaces, as well as informing the public and institutions about the problem of violence against women in public spaces, and proposing solutions to improve the safety of women in Niš.

First two sets of workshops were conducted with girls and women aged 24 to 30 and later with one group of highschool students, aged 15 to 18. We will work with girls at other Nis’ high schools and faculties, as well as with local institutions, all with the goal of making Nis a safer city for girls and women. Girls will have the opportunity to learn how to be assertive, say NO, recognize potential violent situations, seek help and get away. They’ll learn techniques and punches that will help them to defend themselves from physical attack, and they’ll learn communication formula for potential verbal conflicts, as well.

Peer education on the topic of trafficking in human beings continued

Center for Girls' activists, Mina and Mila, conducted five workshops on the topic of human trafficking in Niš high schools, as well as at the Feminist-Activist Camp, as a part of the activities of Anti-Trafficking Network, and on that occasion educated their peers.

Through interactive activities and discussion, the participants of the workshops had the opportunity to find out what human trafficking is, what are its forms, who are traffickers and who can be a victim, what are the methods of recruitment, how to recognize human trafficking, how to protect yourself, and who to report to if you have a suspicion of human trafficking. Through these five workshops, the participants received the necessary knowledge on how to protect themselves and others from human trafficking.

Activists who conducted the workshops were trained to lead workshops on the topic of human trafficking as part of the capacity building training of the AT network.

Continuation of the performing of educational theater on human trafficking

A team of seven young high school students performed twelve educational theaters in nine high schools and one elementary school in Niš.

On that occasion, the male and female students who attended the theater had the opportunity to watch the scenes, and then ask the characters questions. In this way, they learned what human trafficking is, what are its forms and methods of recruitment, who can be a trafficker, and who can be a victim. They learned how to recognize human trafficking, how to protect themselves, how to check all information before traveling abroad and who to contact if they suspect human trafficking.

The theaters were performed as part of the project "Protect The Youth in Niš From Human Trafficking", supported by the US Embassy in Belgrade.

"Women's Graveyard" performance in 10 cities within 16 days of activism

This year's 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women campaign has the theme of stopping femicide.

Activists of the Center for Girls marked 16 days of activism by performing the performance "Women's Graveyard", which is about femicide, in 10 cities in Serbia - Uzice, Tutin, Vlasotince, Leskovac, Dimitrovgrad, Kraljevo, Aleksinac, Niš, Kragujevac and Kruševac.

Tatjana N., Marija V., Jana T., Isidora P., Jelena V., Sara P., Ilijana Š., Suzana V., Nela ., Mina Z., Dragana T. P., Petra M., Mila S., Nina Z. , Jasmina M., Mila ., Teodora M., Sanja K., Suncica H., Marta S. and Emilija I. M., Maja D. i Katarina M. traveled 1,971 kilometers, and the artist Jelena P. joined them for one of the performances.

The performance was performed in cooperation with the organizations: Women's Center (Uzice), Impuls (Tutin), SOS telephone for women and children victims of violence (Vlasotince), Women for Peace (Leskovac), Independent Women's Center (Dimitrovdgrad), Phenomena - The Power of Change ( Kraljevo), Association of Roma Women "NADA" (Aleksinac), Oasis of Safety (Kragujevac) and Pešcanik (Kruševac).

The performance was seen by over 11,000 passers-by, over 4,000 informative pamphlets were distributed, and our activities were seen online by over 75,000 people. In Kraljevo, we also received a hug that we will remember for a long time.

Many people have given us words of support. In Uzice, we were approached by a woman whose daughter was killed. Tutin will be remembered for the boy on a bicycle who, holding a pamphlet about femicide, went around the entire formation and carefully read all the names we carried. In Kraljevo, we received a hug that we will remember for a long time.

The performance is supported by International narcotics & law enforcement, the US Embassy and the Global Fund for Women.

One Billion Rising 2023: Rise for Freedom

Center for Girls marked the beginning of this year's One Billion Rising campaign with several activities, such as empowering self-defense workshop and numerous street actions dedicated to girls and women from all around the world breaking their invisible chains.

Eleven girls participated in an empowering self-defense workshop, which was held as part of 16 days of activism and the global campaign One Billion Rising 2023: Rise for Freedom. The workshop was held outdoors, in the pleasant surroundings of the Fortress.

Girls went through a series of physical self-defense exercises, three punches and five techniques. All techniques were carried out with the principle of run and shout.

This year marks 10 years since Eve Ensler launched this campaign, and at the same time 25 years since the whole world started performing "Vagina's Monologues". On that occasion, a short video about the empowering self-defense workshop was recorded, accompanied by the song "Break the Chain", which is also the official song of this campaign. The video was recorded and edited by Boban R. Several street actions were also held on this occasion.

Recognize the Human Trafficking and Report It

Over 1,500 people saw the street action "Recognize human trafficking", which was carried out by about fifteen activists of the Center for Girls in Obrenoviceva Street in the center of Niš.

The action consisted of performance, banner holding and sharing informative material.

The performance "Recognize Human Trafficking and Report It" talks about what human trafficking is, what its forms are, how to recognize human trafficking, protect yourself from it and who to report it to, and it was performed by our youngest activists.

During the action, over 600 pamphlets were distributed.

Interactive lectures for teachers in Nis’ High Schools

In ten secondary schools in Nis, where a team of seven young people performed educational theaters in front of their peers, interactive lectures on human trafficking were held for over a hundred teachers.

The teachers had the opportunity to learn about the results of the project and what their students learned through the theaters, but also to gain the necessary knowledge about human trafficking, how to recognize it, who to report it to, and how to protect it. himself and the students.

At the lectures, the teachers first watched a video of the educational theater, and then attended a presentation with useful information about human trafficking and methods of prevention and protection. Each group of teachers was also given papers with guidelines and indicators for easier recognition of the risk of human trafficking among students.

Many teachers were very interested in the topic. One teacher expressed his wish for cooperation in the field of suppression of forced begging in Niš, and several teachers also asked for video materials, in order to show them to students who did not have the opportunity to attend the theaters, as well as to their colleagues.

The meetings were held as part of the project "Protecting youth in Nis from human trafficking", supported by the American Embassy in Belgrade.

Performance “Women’s Graveyard” – 27 girls/women killed in 2022

More than 5,000 people saw the performance "Women's Graveyard", which we performed in Obrenoviceva Street in Niš, on the occasion of two more femicides that happened in the span of just eight days.

Various informative pamphlets that talk about femicide, contain the wheel of violence and provide information on SOS phone numbers for women and children victims of violence were distributed to fellow citizens.

During this year, 27 girls and women were killed in Serbia by their fathers, husbands, partners, brothers, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and the youngest victim of femicide was only 2 years old.

In Serbia, one woman is killed every 10 days.

FEMICIDE is the murder of a woman simply because she is a woman. It is associated with discrimination against women, unequal distribution of power between men and women, prejudice and violence against women.

The performance was supported by the Global Fund for Women.

Rape is a crime withpout the cause!

Two street actions named “Rape is a crime without a cause” were held in the span of less than seven days.

First time, about twenty activists and fellow citizens participated, on a rainy day, in the street action "Rape is a crime", which was organized across the street from the Basic Court in Niš by the Center for Girls, on the occasion of the inadequate treatment of the institutions in the investigation of the case of rape in Niš. More than 1000 passers-by saw the street action. There were also numerous comments, many fellow citizens filmed and photographed the action even from the bus, and one passer-by came up to give us a hand and say words of support.

Second time, around ten activists and fellow citizens, took part in the second street action of the Center for Girls "Rape is a crime without a cause", on the occasion of the failure of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš to respond to the public appeals to come forward with verified information and investigate the manner in which officials treated the girl who reported rape, especially the multiple taking of statements and the use of polygraphs, which can lead to secondary victimization of the victim and discourage girls and women who would report rape in the future.

Over 1000 passers-by saw the street action. Many of them stopped, took pictures, and commented. There were a lot of words of support, and some of the fellow citizens stopped to talk to us, commenting on the credibility of the polygraph as a means of proving the truthfulness of statements, the attitude of institutions and the media towards rape victims. Some of the comments we received were: "Well done", "You wrote it well, but is anyone going to read it", "There is no stopping; fight, go in the public with it as much as you can", "I support you"...

The participants of the actions held banners with messages:

Rape is a crime without cause.

What is the purpose of the polygraph in Niš?

Secondary victimization is a practice in institutions in Serbia.

Maximum penalties for rapists.

Life sentences for rapists of minors!

Stop violence against girls/women.

Several media postals, newspapers and televisions covered our street actions.

Network od Women Against Violence - Street Action to raise awareness on femicide and rape

Twenty-eight activists from organizations that together make the Network of Women Against Violence participated in the street action, from which they sent messages:

Rape is a crime without reason.

Secondary victimization is a practice in institutions in Serbia.

What is the purpose of the polygraph in Niš?

Life sentences for rapists of minors.

Increase the penalties for the crime of rape.

Femicide is the killing of a woman just because she is a woman.

Not one woman less, not one dead more!

We remind the country that it signed the Istanbul Convention.

We demand that femicide be a separate crime.

We ask the state to take a serious approach to violence against women and children.

Women have the right to live without violence!

Stop violence against girls/women!

The action was organized by the Center for Girls, on the occasion of the inadequate treatment of the institutions in the investigation of the case of rape in Niš and on the occasion of the increasingly frequent femicide in Serbia.

More than 1,500 passers-by saw the street action. There were numerous comments, many fellow citizens filmed and photographed the action and gave words of support.

17th European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

Center for girls organized different activities, to mark the 17th European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.

Over 1,000 people saw the street action held by the activists in Obrenoviceva Street in the center of Niš. Over 600 pamphlets with information about the HPV virus, vaccines that protect against it, and regular gynecological examinations were distributed to fellow citizens.

With the help of transparencies, we sent messages:

Going to a regular gynecological examination can save your life.

If detected early, cervical cancer is 100% curable.

In Serbia, 1 woman dies every day, and 4 fall ill from cervical cancer.

Women in Serbia are 5th in terms of getting sick, and 2nd in terms of dying from cervical cancer in Europe.

HPV vaccines that protect against cervical cancer are finally free for girls and boys ages 9 to 19.

Interactive lecture on reproductive health

Center for Girls organized two interactive lectures for 7th and 8th grade students, held by gynecologist Merima A. at “Car Konstantin” Elementary School. The girls had the opportunity to learn more about menstruation, gynecological examination, HPV vaccines, polycystic ovaries, protection during intercourse and consent. The students later asked a number of excellent questions. Informative pamphlets were distributed to them, as well.

We will continue to work hard, think creative and stand in solidarity with all girls and women.

Rape is a Crime That Has to be Taken Seriously

European Day Against Human Trafficking

Street Action dedicated to little Petra

Street action dedicated to little Petra

SAFE: Empowering Self-Defense workshops

Human trafficking prevention workshops

Educational theaters on human trafficking

16 Days of Activism - Women's Graveyard

One Billion Rising: Rise for Freedom street action

One Billion Rising, self-defense workshop

Recognize the Human Trafficking and Report It

Interactive lectures for teachers

Women's Graveyard - 27 femicides in 2022

Rape is a Crime Without a Reason

European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

Network of Women Against Violence, street action

Lecture on the topic of the reproductive health

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