Violence against the elderly, especially older women, is one of the social taboos, about which there is still a lot of silence, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, pointed out at the final conference of a two-year project dedicated to empowering older women and preventing violence, implemented by the Serbian Red Cross, from 2019, in partnership with the Austrian Red Cross and with the support of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality.

It is good that Serbia has made significant improvements in its legislative framework and thus provided a more comprehensive and efficient system for responding to violence. According to the Commissioner, the result of these activities is that today we have an increase in the number of reported cases of violence, which shows that we have overcome the first step in the fight against violence – that it is shameful to report. However, when we talk about older women, the goal is still far, because we are talking about the generation of women who are used to suffering and silence – because of fear, shame, economic dependence, and still strong patriarchal patterns of behavior, which say that is the way things should be, Janković pointed out.

The Special Report on Discrimination against the Elderly, which was published this year by the institution of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, also showed that the elderly are exposed to violence, abuse, neglect, and discrimination. The aim of the Special Report was to contribute, by initiating necessary measures and activities, to the improvement of their position and to solving the problems they face, including violence. Only timely and comprehensive cooperation of all competent bodies in the system of protection against violence, starting from the police, through health and social protection institutions, to independent institutions and organizations, can yield the result we strive for, Janković concluded.