Child Protection Serbia Project #24103

Protection of missing children

by ASTRA - Anti trafficking action (ASTRA - Akcija protiv trgovine ljudima)

Project Report | Feb 23, 2022
The painful process of returning the child

By Mirjana Mitic | SOS Consultant

A five-year-old child has not been granted paternity. The only legal guardian is the mother. The mother has been a victim of psychological, physical, and sexual violence for years in a country a few thousand kilometers away from her family. We are joining the mother trying to return her child, precisely a year ago, after she first turned to us and asked for our help. In the first contact, she said: "I knew I had to run away, to save my life first so that I could save my child's life after."

We will try to show most simply, with statistical data, what the thorny path of a single mother looks like in the process of returning a child who was illegally detained in a foreign country. In this period, with our support, mother:

6 times reached the police authorities (4 times without success, but we will return to that);
2 times reached the Center for Social Work;
3 times contacted the RS Embassy in the country where the child was illegally detained;

In written form, she sent:

1 report of illegal detention of a child to the police in the country where the child is;
1 letter to the Center for Social Work;
12 emails sent to an NGO in the country where the child was illegally detained;
1 letter to the Center for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings;
1 criminal charges for illegal detention of a child;
1 letter to the Ministry of Justice;
1 completed Form for the Return of the Child under The Hague Convention (in Serbian and English language);
1 letter to the Ministry of Family Care, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy;

Regarding her written forms to various institutions and organizations, the mother asked to provide more detailed information. In the meantime, she was:

3 times questioned by different police officers
3 times gave a statement to professional social workers with numerous telephone contacts

Although these statistics tell us enough about the continuous secondary victimization, the most horrible part is not recorded. Statements that the mother often had to hear:

"Who's to blame for you not thinking in time?", "You know, good mothers don't just leave their children.", "It's between you and him. If you care for a child, go get it.", "This is your last chance to get the child out."

We cannot fail to mention that she was returned from the police station twice, with the explanation from police officers that they could not help her and that there was no reason for her to come again. When she asked who to contact, she was told that the police are not an information service.

The procedure is still ongoing. Many obstacles, setbacks, and misunderstandings await mother, and our role is to be there for her and encourage her not to give up. Together, we will try to overcome all administrative and bureaucratic obstacles and achieve the goal to see the child safe and happy with its mother.

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Oct 27, 2021
Overview of daily work on line 116 000

By Danijela Nikolic | SOS consultant

The European number for missing children in Serbia is a line through which parents, guardians, citizens can report the disappearance of a minor. This year as well, the line received calls related to the report of the disappearance of children.

Regarding the last reports of the disappearance of minors, parents (in two cases it was the father, and once the mother) conveyed to us that they addressed the police several times, as well as the Center for Social Work, but authorities showed the same reaction with the lack of sensitivity and understanding of the main problem.

Besides, all three girls were exposed to violence, two to grooming, sexual abuse and exploitation. From the competent institutions they were in contact with, they were characterized as children with problematic behaviour and uncooperative. Parents were often criticized for contacting non-governmental organizations for support, and they suggested that they move from the environment in which they now live to solve the problems they have.

The father of one of the girls says that when he calls 116 000, he always gets someone who will listen to him, who will not judge him and who will talk with respect, empathy and understanding. He also wants this kind of contact with competent and responsible institutions, but he has not received it so far.

Unfortunately, when children leave and run away from home, competent authorities - police, prosecutors and centres for social work – don’t assess the security risks of abuse, coercion to commit crimes, abuse and sexual exploitation of children. They also do not make a plan for every individual case to implement measures for the protection and support of the child. So, it happened that the children were in the company of older men who have been known to the police for serious crimes, and this was not alarming to no one in charge.

Hence, it is very important to build a network of associates, partners, individuals who work together with the same goal because it is much more certain that they will, with the joint forces, faster affect good changes in practices.

In this regard, we would like to share one great piece of news that we are proud of. On 18 October, the EU International Day against Trafficking, ten European civil society organizations received their Child10 Award at the Royal Castle in Stockholm, Sweden. Among these organizations is ASTRA, which, together with the other nine organizations, was awarded for their work against human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation of girls. The Award was presented by Her Majesty Queen Silvia. You can read more about it HERE!

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Jun 30, 2021
20 years of International Missing Children's Day

By Danijela Nikolic | SOS consultant

Home runaways, the disappearance of unaccompanied children in global migrations, parental and criminal abductions are the most common causes of the disappearance of children. NGO ASTRA provides professional assistance and support in connection with all reported cases. Last nine years, ASTRA is managing a unique EUROPEAN NUMBER FOR MISSING CHILDREN 116000 in Serbia: the only accredited SOS telephone of its kind in Serbia, obtained in cooperation with Missing Children Europe's international organization. Urgent reporting of children's disappearances is crucial for quick and adequate reactions. Therefore, upon receiving a call reporting a child's disappearance, ASTRA provides immediate action, which includes assistance to the police in the search and support to the family whose child went missing. The ASTRA SOS European Telephone for Missing Children is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and calls from all Serbian networks are free.

It is estimated that 200,000 children go missing in Europe every year. In 2020, European Lines for Missing Children 116 000 recorded 42,662 calls, which were related to 8,857 cases of missing children (17% more than last year). A large part of the call referred to children who ran away from home, 53%, followed by parental abductions, and only 3.6% of calls were related to children missing in migration. From its establishment in March 2012 until the end of 2020, ASTRA's European number for missing children received 3350 calls. Those calls were related to 120 missing children cases (71 girls and 49 boys). During the last year, there were 382 calls, and 8 cases of missing children were registered – six girls and two boys. Five of these children have been found, and the search for others continues.

The only official European report about missing children is outdated and dates back almost ten years. Due to the lack of official statistics on missing children, since 2014, Missing Children Europe has been collecting and analyzing 116 000 SOS missing child data lines reports. Missing Children Europe (MCE) publishes these annual reports on May 25 each year. Using this opportunity, MCE encourages EU institutions, Member States and the general public to raise awareness of 116 000 SOS lines in each country individually. The MCE report for 2020 will be available at this link after May 25 https://missingchildreneurope.eu/annual-reports/.

On International Day of Missing Children 2020, ASTRA appeals and points out that it is urgently necessary to:

Develop official consolidated statistics, a database or register of missing children at the state level, which would, where possible, provide insight into the development and status of the investigation.

Provide financial support from state funds to SOS lines licensed by the state, including ASTRA's 116 000 SOS line, which has been operating voluntarily since its launch in 2012.

Introduce technological innovations to speed up the response to the disappearance of children and increase the possibility of finding them, e.g. introduction of the Child Alert System. Such systems enable early alerting of the public and thus the more successful finding of a missing child. The introduction of this system is a demanding and expensive endeavour cause the design should cover the entire country and be linked to similar foreign systems. However, the information collected in this way is crucial to the investigation conducted by the Ministry of the Interior.

Improve cross-sectoral cooperation, using the knowledge and resources of the NGO sector, which has years of experience in this area and is linked to international organizations dealing with this problem. Also, it is necessary to establish precise rules of interoperability.

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