The Center for Girls was founded on April 15, 1998, on the initiative of two volunteers of SOS Helpline for Women and Children Victims of Violence. The aim of its foundation was to improve the social position of young women through their education and emancipation.
THE MISSION of the Center for Girls is girls' and young women's empowerment through education, activism and creativity.
The year 2020 had been a challenging one for all of us so the Center for Girls gathered institutions from 4 cities at a conference where we talked about challenges regarding preventing violence against women and human trafficking during this unheard-of situation with the entire world at a standstill and when, due to various factors in the middle of the pandemic, the violence against women and human trafficking found a fertile ground to grow on.
The conference was held in two parts to ensure participants' safety. The "Violence against Women during the Covid 19 Pandemic" subject was held on February 23rd, while the issue of "Human Trafficking during the Covid 19 Pandemic" was addressed on February 24th.
The conference was attended by 21 people from four cities in Serbia: Niš, Pirot, Leskovac, and Prokuplje. The speakers from Pirot, Leskovac, and Prokuplje attended the conference via Zoom.
During the first part of the conference, representatives from the Basic Court, Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the Center for Social Work, and the Police spoke about the violence against women.
The representatives from the Higher Public Prosecutor's office, Center For Social Work, and the Police addressed the issue of human trafficking during the second part of the conference.
The conference regarding violence against women during the Covid19 pandemic revealed to us that the statistics point to increased violence among young, 19,20 years old, people towards their emotional partners, and that year 2020 had an increased number of harassment cases, as well as an increase in physical and mental abuse. In 90% of cases, the endangering of one's safety was also followed by physical violence.
At the conference tackling the issue of human trafficking during the Covid19 pandemic we came to a conclusion that it is too early to say what kind of an influence the pandemic had on human trafficking and that the consequences remain to be seen in the coming times after the pandemic is over.
We thank the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for providing us with the space that we could use to realize the conference.
More photos can be seen on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=CentarZaDevojke&set=a.3651386008316118
Photographed by: Marija V.
#StopViolenceAgainstWomen
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Activists from Nis marked December 18th - International Migrants Day, by handing out brochures and holding protest signs. The message sent to our fellow citizens was: "Imagine yourself in their shoes".