A new professional association, the Women's Judicial Center, has been established

More than two-thirds of judges in Serbia are women, and 16 of them founded the Women's Judicial Center, following the example of similar professional associations in France and America, to promote and improve the rule of law, the independence and autonomy of the judicial function, gender equality, as well as to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and supporting groups such as children, women, older people and people with disabilities. The association will be primarily dedicated to the fight against gender-based violence, where it will monitor the proceedings for these crimes and will strive to overcome the challenges that exist in protecting and supporting victims during the court proceedings. The members will do the research to improve court practice. They plan to advertise in connection with the media coverage, which often harms not only the victims of gender-based violence but also negatively affects the procedure itself and the general public.

The association was founded by female judges with many years of experience who are dedicated and motivated to respect and apply the principles of equal access to justice for all and the prohibition of all types of discrimination. The association's founders are from different parts of the country, so there are judges from Niš, Novi Sad, and Belgrade, judges of the Higher and Appellate Courts. The association's president is Ivana Ramić, a judge of the High Court in Belgrade.

NGO Atina recognizes the need for the existence of such a professional association, made up of women who want to contribute to changes in the protection of women victims of various forms of gender-based violence.

Atina's longtime colleague Olivera Pejak Prokeš, a judge of the Court of Appeal in Novi Sad, is also the president of the Board of the Women's Judicial Center, whose promotion and establishment we were happy to attend.