Today, Serbian Government Coordination Body for Gender Equality, the European Union and UNDP/SEESAC launched a campaign titled “Before it’s too late” aimed at raising awareness about the misuse of firearms.
The campaign, funded by the EU and implemented by Serbian Government Coordination Body for Gender Equality together with UNDP/SEESAC, runs from 16 November to mid-December, reads the statement.
“Violence against women and children is not a private matter. Since the beginning of 2016, 29 mothers, sisters and wives have fallen victims to domestic and intimate partner violence. Many of them were killed with illegal firearms, as has been the latest case in Zitiste,” said co-chair of the Coordination Body Zorana Mihajlovic.
“The likelihood of a fatal outcome due to firearms misuse in domestic violence is nearly seven times greater compared to criminal activity,” said Deputy Head of the EU Delegation Oskar Benedikt.
“When it comes to family environment or intimate partner relations, women are at significantly greater risk of violence compared to men. More frequently, women fall victims to violence in familiar environments, such as their family home, than in a public place,” Benedikt said.
“Women are five times more likely to be victims than perpetrators of gun violence. Fatal outcome is also more often among women, accounting for 44 percent among females and 34 percent among males,” said UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative Irena Vojačkova Sollorano.
