Serbian child brides: "They sold me before I turned 11 for a chicken, a case of beer and 100 euros"
Photo: Profimedia
Photo: Profimedia
After drug and arms trafficking, human trafficking is one of the most lucrative illegal businesses. The most common victims are children and women. The number of people globally at risk of falling prey to this crime ranges between tens of thousands to several millions. Since the beginning of the year, 25 victims of human trafficking have been identified in Serbia. On European Anti-Trafficking Day, a message is sent to all the citizens that they are obliged to report this criminal offense.
Photograph: Vesti Online
Jelena Hrnjak, Programme Manager of Citizens’ Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and All Forms of Gender-Based Violence Atina, points out that the greatest challenge lies in the fact that this position of victims before the court depends on judicial discretion. That is, whether a person has the status of a particularly sensitive witness that can provide them with a lower degree of stress and secondary victimization, depends solely on the judge's decision.
Photo: Profimedia
Without any discussion or explanation, the mother sent her underage daughter with a bag of clothes, stating that the young man was her husband. “When a girl is promised, it is set in stone, there is no refusal”, she was told. The girl was too afraid to say anything, she just cried. In the house where she was married, or sold, she lived with this man and his family. On the same day when she came, she was forced to have her first sexual intercourse with her “husband”, after which she was beaten and threatened, which occurred on a daily basis.
Photograph taken from the website RoditeljSrbija.rs
Some 2,000 child marriages occur every year in Serbia, and our country is only now preparing to prohibit them, according to the latest amendments and addenda to the Family Law ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 18/2005, 72/2011 - ot. law and 6/2015).
The second story we bring to you is the story of NGO “Atina” from Belgrade. We have had a pleasure to welcome Jelena Hrnjak who agreed to talk about the social enterprise this nongovernmental organization that assists human trafficking victims founded to facilitate the mission they have been dedicated to for decades.
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Lecture on “Suppression of human trafficking and human trafficking victim protection (process and non-process aspect)
At University in Pristina, Law School in Kosovska Mitrovica, Jelena Hrnjak from Citizens’ Association Atina, a member of Republic team for combating human trafficking in Republic of Serbia, gave a lecture to the Law School students on “Suppression of human trafficking and human trafficking victim protection (process and non-process aspect).
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