Victims of domestic violence in Serbia

Abstract

In this paper, the results from researches and court practice on domestic violence in Serbia were presented, conducted in the period 1997-2006, by independent researches or non-government agencies for help and support for victims of crime. The researches have shown that the majority of victims are women (80%), but also that children are present as direct or indirect, secondary victims of domestic violence, which confirms the correlation between violence against children and violence against women. Violence against children is one of the strategies of prolonged violence, that is, control over woman. Studies of domestic violence in Serbia have identified the following factors of primary victimization of victims: creation of identity of future victim in primary family, socialization through learning of gender roles and male-female relations, being caught in gender trap and growing-up in environment burdened with violence that follows the pattern of patriarchal stereotypes on gender relations. The researches have also determined the profile of victims of violence regarding their age, education or employment, that is, economic (in)dependence.

U radu su predstavljeni rezultati istraživanja porodičnog nasilja sprovedenih u periodu od 1997. do 2006. godine, od strane nezavisnih istraživača ili nevladinih organizacija koje se bave pružanjem pomoći i podrške žrtvama kriminaliteta. Istraživanja su pokazala da najveći deo žrtava čine žene (oko 80%), ali da su i deca direktne ili indirektne, sekundarne žrtve porodičnog nasilja, čime je potvrđena korelacija između nasilja nad decom i nasilja nad ženama. Nasilje nad decom predstavlja jednu od strategija produženog nasilja, kao oblika kontrole nad ženom. Studije porodičnog nasilja u Srbiji identifikovale su sledeće faktore primarne viktimizacije žrtava: kreiranje identiteta buduće žrtve u primarnoj porodici, socijalizaciju učenjem tradicionalnih muško-ženskih uloga i relacija, tzv. 'uhvaćenost u zamku roda' i život u okruženju opterećenom nasiljem. Istraživanja su, takođe, odredila profil žrtava nasilja u vezi sa njihovim uzrastom, obrazovanjem ili zaposlenjem, to jest, ekonomskom (ne)zavisnošću.