The second working breakfast of the informal “Group of Friends of Gender Equality”, which consists of diplomats, representatives of embassies, civil society organizations, as well as personalities from culture, sports, business and politics, was held at the Canadian Embassy, hosted by Canadian Ambassador, Giles Norman, and Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković. The meeting was dedicated to the importance and challenges of the fight against gender-based violence and the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 “Women, peace and security”.

I think it is very important to discuss and exchange experiences in this way, bearing in mind that every new crisis threatens to jeopardize the achieved level of women’s human rights, and gender-based violence is unfortunately a pressing problem both in Serbia and in the world, said Commissioner Janković. It is important to create an environment that will provide victims with protection and support in critical moments, but also to form a system for monitoring femicide that can help save lives, said the Commissioner. She reminded that it is necessary to change the laws in order to, among other things, criminalize the so-called “revenge pornography” as a specific act, change the definition of rape in the direction of the explicit consent approach and establish the obligation for institutions to inform the victim of gender-based violence about the perpetrator’s release or escape from prison. Of course, changes in laws must be accompanied by changes in patriarchal and outdated social norms, which are still deeply rooted in cultures around the world, said Janković.

The Commissioner thanked the participants of the meeting for their support and commitment, pointing out that the meetings of the Group of Friends for Gender Equality are an opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas that can contribute to overcoming existing problems and formulating a more effective response to the problem of gender-based violence.

The idea to form an informal “Group of Friends of Gender Equality” came from Commissioner Janković, and the first meeting was held on March 8, at the French Embassy, on the occasion of celebrating International Women’s Day.