Per article 3. of The European Convention of Human Rights violence against women is a violation of a basic human Rights – right to personal and physical integrity. Out of ignorance or belief that in their problem no one can offer a solution, women rarely decide to seek help. However, the case of S.M. from Vranje is an example of good practice and proof that women can defend their rights before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. About forms of assistance they are prepared to provide their protegees we spoke to Suzana Antic-Ristic, coordinator of the Human Rights Committee Vranje.
Many NGOs dealing with issues of inequality of women and gender-based violence, but only twenty of them was initiated SOS line for support to women survivors of violence. What is it that you as an organization motivated to start this kind of help in Vranje?
A group of women from Vranje in the NGO Human Rights Committee Vranje in 2002 launched the SOS line for support and assistance to women exposed to violence in family. This was a period when we participated in many seminars throughout Serbia, where we on a clear and very different way recognize gender inequality between men and women.
And in the years before the establishment of SOS Hotline, our office had contacted women seeking help and support to the problem of domestic violence. In many situations, we had no idea how to protect them. This was the beginning of the 21st century, the beginning of a new democratic system and new and perhaps excessive expectations.
It was a time when the laws of our country did not recognize domestic violence and violence against women as a social problem. Somehow, professionals from institutions (police, CSW, court, prosecution) was convincing us from CSO in Southern Serbia that it was a personal problem of women and her husband, that the one could not discuss their life among ‘four walls’. Often, but persistently often, their advice for women was to divorce, to pick up the children and to continue to live far away from a violent partner.
Sometimes even nowadays, we hear about „this model of cessation from violence.“
It is about need of woman to seek help, sometimes after decades of suffering violence from a partner, son, father-in-law… Often, it takes the courage of women to us, women from SOS Hotline, open their souls for the first time in the life and tell about their „love“ with bruises, prohibitions, knife wounds that had to hide from the public, gunpoint, locking the house „because he loves her very much and doing that for her own good,“ mistreatment of children… All these confessions were often on the verge of „believe it or not“! We were definitely strengthened in the decision that patriarchal southern Serbia so necessary needed emergency phone to support and help many women. Parallely with the personal problems of women, we are often personally provoked with inefficient institutions, which certainly influenced the motivation to launch helpline for women.
SOS Hotline Vranje began to live as a small project. We managed to stay running and we started 12th year of existence – today still as the only SOS service for all women in the multicultural region including Vranje, Bujanovac, Presevo, Trgoviste, Bosilegrad, Surdulica, and Vladicin Han.
In what way do you finance the work of your organization?
Support comes from donors and foundations from other countries. Unfortunately, the local authorities in Vranje are not yet ready to allocate the financial means to support this aspect of non-institutional services of help for women. All previous years, SOS Hotline Vranje has got symbolic financial support only twice and on behalf of co-financing other projects. In October 2013 for the first time, the city of Vranje opened call for applications for financing projects of civil sector in the field of human rights but with a term for realization of two months – until December 2013.
We asked for room for SOS line in the city urban area. In previous years, there was no free spaces and then they offered us space in the Social services center for the provision of local services of social protection, as the profile of SOS line was not acceptable. At the same time, the local government recognizes the work and activities of SOS Hotline Vranje and support our work.
How many consultants on SOS phones currently working in your organization, and how often they are available to women who are subjected to gender-based violence?
There are four SOS consultants currently. SOS Hotline Vranje is available on weekdays from 10:00 to 20:00 and on weekends from 17:00 to 20:00.
In your experience, how long it takes women from the abuse to decide to seek help and to turn the SOS phone?
Older women, who are brought up in their families from childhood to respect husband, decided to speak out about gender based violence even after 20 – 30 years.
Younger women react more quickly – a few years after marriage to 10 years.
What is the most common type of support service users expect when you call the emergency number?
In the acute situations of violence often seek from the SOS consultant „to invite him or to come to their house and talk to her husband to stop harassing the woman,“ „to intimidate him – so he to be afraid that he could go to jail“. Often, they wonder who will protect them and children when they report violence? Most often wonder what to do – if they report violence whether he will be fined or warned, how much will it take to court, and whether children have to testify, if they divorce whether the children and the common house will assign to him by court, whether CSR can help them financially, if they leave the house where they will stay and the like. So, they look for information about institutions, how they can help them and how efficient. The question of their security is always present.
What is your cooperation with system institutions in different sectors for the protection of victims, the centers for social work, police, courts, prosecutors’ offices, health care institutions?
Compared to the beginnings of SOS Hotline Vranje, cooperation is obviously improved now. Our experience is that the police in Vranje and in some towns of southern Serbia, has made a huge step forward. We have excellent cooperation with individual experts from CSW Vranje, as well as with doctors and representatives of other relevant institutions. Working with the institutions we have crystallized primarily in cooperation with individuals based on years of experience. Us from SOS Hotline often say they are „pearls“ in the institutions, because support and assistance that they provide to women exposed to domestic violence is enormous. Unfortunately, stereotypes, often expressed patriarchal upbringing and transmission of these attitudes in the workplace persist. Therefore, it is still one of the goals in our work to educate professionals from institutions to identify and clearly give a name to gender-based violence.
We actively work on establishing of good cooperation with institutions since 2008. The Human Rights Committee Vranje through SOS telephone Vranje in the city and the region of South Serbia organized over 30 seminars, workshops in the field of formation of local multi-sectoral teams to prevent domestic violence and effective assistance to victims of gender-based violence. The result is that in 2013 seven municipalities of Pcinja districts formed local multi-sectoral network, in 6 municipalities NGOs and authorities signed an agreement on cooperation. We now have a large capacity that we need to develop in the future.
One of the ways to help the victims is to organize self-help groups for women who have suffered violence. Does your organization provide this type of service to its customers and what reflects the effectiveness of these groups?
Yes. This kind of support we organized within the project activities. And now, self-help groups for women lasts in continuity, in accordance with the needs of women, without the project activities. This is the strongest way of knowing the fears, concerns, recognizing the violence with which women, and mostly children live for years.
At the same time, in this way women gain personal strength and courage to find a way and stop the violence. At least thirty women thanks to SOS self-help groups put an end and continued to live without violence. Understanding and support – „you’re not alone” – return confidence to women.
Also known is the case that in 2008 your organization’s lawyer submitted a petition to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the case of S.M. In which cases are you providing legal services to your users?
Yes, and we are proud because we have evidence of violation of human rights of people from Bujanovac too. It is characteristic, the state of Serbia reacted in an extremely short time – for less than four months.
In addition to what we have proved that the institutions violated the rights of the client and her child (after the divorce, father had kidnapped the child while has used the right to have contacts with the child and almost 11 years did not allow the mother of contact the child), the European court awarded our client for suffers with amount of EUR 10,000.
At that moment, it was the second highest amount of compensation paid by the state of Serbia for violation of basic human rights of women. It is for us, a small, local NGO huge success and confirms that women in the field directly help.
Now we are unable to provide to our clients legal services, which are of great importance for a better implementation of the law on the issue of women’s rights in court and to protect them against violence due to lack of donations. We organize free legal assistance and counseling to prepare women when they enter the courtroom. But women often decide to defend themselves their rights, what gives different and not always good results.
In what situations you advice women addressed to you to contact other institutions and non-governmental organizations?
This is a spectrum of situations because the problem of violence against women and children initiates many needs that are necessary for the future life of women. The most common problems of existence, women’s unemployment, low income, or the need to obtain financial assistance from the CSW. In the cases of domestic violence we refer them to the police.
There is also the need for women to turn to schools because of concerns about the education of children. For visiting a doctor, a psychologist or a psychiatrist, SOS Hotline can arrange „discrete“ checks but there are still still many problems like housing, security and others.
How, in your opinion, the establishment of a unique national SOS lines facilitate and increase the availability of services to victims of gender-based violence?
National SOS service would contribute to better conditions for the continuity of the local emergency lines and would increase availability of SOS lines for the clients.
For now, we run SOS services in the provinces and volunteer as many hours as we have the capacities or as long as the project lasts. National SOS lines would become available to women in places where there is no SOS services currently.
I think that we would have better working conditions and would increase the capacity and professionalism of the individual services. Unique national SOS service would get its place in the system of social services, would become more visible in society, would have greater strength to efficiently provide services and support to victims of gender-based violence.
We see unique national SOS service as an opportunity to preserve and integrate a wealth of experience and knowledge of women’s civil organizations and hotlines that were the bearers of feminist principles in our society.
Interview done by Sanja Budimovic
(Published on http://www.sigurnakuca.net/un_protiv_nasilja/podrska_pruzanju_sos_usluge_zenama/sos_telefoni_%E2%80%93_juce,_danas_i_sutra.561.html