There are 2,000 child marriages in Serbia each year, It is feared that the number is even higher, because the statistics do not include persons under the age of 16, as a marriage before that age is prohibited by law, nor under-age common law marriages. Such marriages are a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy, family and social violence.

Russian prima ballerina, Irina Kolesnikova, visited refugee camps in Tabanovce, Preševo and Krnjača and announced a new version of “Carmen” of the St. Petersburg Ballet Company, which seeks to highlight the problems of refugees in Europe. With the support of the international humanitarian organisation Oxfam, Kolesnikova wants to show how the answer to one of the biggest crises in Europe can also be provided through art, and she will, together with the choreographer of the St. Petersburg Ballet Company, set up a new “Carmen”.

In March 2016, Association Atina organized two two-day trainings for a total of 21 employees from Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF) engaged in providing direct assistance to the refugee population in Serbia.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has thanked the Duchess of Cornwall for taking the time to visit one of the projects supported by his foundation.

The world number one player took time out of his busy schedule to record a video message for the Duchess which was played when she visited the Zvecanska Centre in Belgrade, Serbia.

Camilla was at the centre as part of a six-day tour of the Balkans with the Prince of Wales, and she met representatives of Unicef and the Djokovic Foundation who have been providing family outreach workers.

Human trafficking, violence against women and position of women refugees are not subjects easy to talk about or advocate for as they raise many uncomfortable issues about societal inequalities and injustice. NGO Atina has obtained an unexpected ally in advocating for resolution of these problems in our society, but globally as well. We had opportunity to meet Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall who actively advocates for the rights of women who have survived violence since 2009, when she visited the center for women rape victims and learned about their lives. 

Belgrade -- more vulnerable than adults, exposed to smugglers and violence, and they do not know how to protect themselves - children make up a third of the refugees seeking their way to Europe.

The most vulnerable among them are those who are travelling without their parents, usually in a group of peers or accompanied by unknown people.