Ivana Zelic, a coordinator of the SOS service …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA, gave a speech at the conference Gender (In)Equality of Persons with Disability held on October 20th, at the Faculty of Law Belgrade.
Commissioner for Protection of Equality and the Faculty of Law University of Belgrade, organized the conference within the project New Quality Education for Gender Equality – strategic partnership for developing master studies program Law and Gender. Four universities from European Union are taking part in the program: Örebro University from Sweden, Saarland from Germany, Cádiz from Spain and Lum from Italy.
Experts talked at the conference about discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, ways of communication with persons with disabilities, empowerment and advocating for persons with disabilities and violence against women with disabilities.
Ivana Zelic talked about gender inequality, stereotypes and prejudice about women with disabilities, types of violence, neglect and isolation as specific features of violence against women with disabilities, support services, obstacles and references for getting out of the violent situation for women with disabilities.
– When talking about support services, it is significant that professionals take over examples of good practice from the organizations that have experience in working with women with disabilities. The way one reports violence and consultations must be accessible to women with various disabilities, in particular, sensory disability. It is necessary to ensure that they can address services via phone, sms messages, e-mail, or viber – says Ivana Zelic.
The projection of the film Support for Women with Disabilities Survivors of Violence was after Ivana Zelic’s talk.
Numerous eminent experts from the area of law and disability participated in the conference: Lyazzat Kaltayeva, Chairwoman of the Central Asian Forum for persons with Disabilities and Association of Women with Disabilities Shyrak, Ana Pelaez Narvaez, Commissioner for Women’s Affairs CERMI from Spain and UN CEDAW committee, dr Kosana Becker, program director of the FemPlatz Citizen’s Association, Dragana Ciric Milovanovic, a founder of Mental Disability Rights Initiative in Serbia (MDRIS), Filip Miric research associate of the Faculty of Law University of Nis, Brankica Jankovic, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality in Serbia, Natalija Ostojic, an associate of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), Damjan Tatic, the Legal Expert at Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, professors dr Dragica Vujadinovic and Ljubinka Kovacevic and doctoral student Ana Pavlovic from the Faculty of Law Belgrade University of Belgrade.
Students with disabilities, Masa Stojakovic and Ljubomir Tintor from the Faculty of Law from Belgrade shared their personal experiences and problems they encountered during studying at the university.
