Associates of the SOS service of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA in the period from January 10 to March 31, 2022. within the SOS service provided 99 services altogether for 22 beneficiaries, of which 74 were specialized services of consultant’s SOS support, 17 individual psychological support and 8 consultations with a lawyer.
The major part of services was provided by phone (45%), personally by coming to the premises of the organization (26%), via Viber messages, e-mail and SMS (29).
Out of 74 specialized consultant SOS support, 23 were information (about the procedures for reporting violence and actions of competent institutions, the cycle of violence, providing SOS and individual psychological support to women exposed to domestic violence). 23 services were for empowering women (providing psychological support and making security plans for leaving violence, during court procedures and finding employment), 18 consultant services were scheduling psychological support and 10 were referrals to other offices, institutions and NGOs dealing with protection from domestic violence (legal counseling, psychological support, police, Welfare Center, Safe House).
Psychological support services were provided to women that endured degradation, insults, threats and physical violence for years. In time they developed defense mechanisms like withdrawal which led to the loss of confidence, uncertainty, distrust in their strength and potential and other people. Legal counseling was about divisions of marital succession, preparations before a hearing in the proceedings for failure to provide support, and writing a submission for Misdemeanor court for domestic violence.
Among the beneficiaries were given service within SOS service of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA in the first trimester of 2022. were 10 women with various disabilities (physical, sensory, intellectual, mental, or chronic disease), 11 women without disability and 1 man without disability. Women that turned for support were of different age groups, the youngest was 22 years old, and the oldest was 78. Women from cities (18) addressed the SOS service more often than those from rural areas (4). In the first trimester women from Novi Sad (16) were the most common users of the SOS service, followed by women from Sremska Mitrovica, Kula, Sirig, Crvenka, Zarkovac and Takovo.
Most women experienced psychological (18) and economic violence (9), succeeded by other forms (physical, isolation, stalking, control, sexual and digital violence). The perpetrators are most commonly husbands, ex-husbands, partners, ex-partners, parents, children, acquaintances and other family members (stepfather).
Women exposed to violence most often applied for the service themselves, only 3 calls were from another person on behalf of the woman experiencing violence (grown-up child for a mother without disability exposed to psychological and physical violence from a spouse and two experts from Association MNRO and Safe House) for their beneficiaries with disabilities exposed to violence.
The work of the SOS service of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA in the first trimester of 2022. was supported by a Dutch foundation Mama Cash and The Reconstruction Women’s Fund.
