The Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, Visited the Safe House

5 January 2016 – the Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić pointed out today that he feels contempt for the people who commit domestic violence, and that he can only refer to them as “rascals and bullies” and he stated that nobody is stronger than the state, which applies to bullies, too.  
”The state will know how to teach the bullies a lesson. We will show the ones, who think that they are strong and that they can beat women and children, that they are very weak compared to the state and the law”, said Vučić in a conversation with the protégés of the Safe house in Belgrade. 
He announced that he will send a team of lawyers to the Safe house in order for them to see how they can help each and every woman.
During his visit to the Safe house the prime minister stated that he can’t look at the consequences of domestic violence, because he feels ashamed and he doesn’t know what to do, because he feels defeated and miserable. 
”You can never express your contempt for these people with good words”, said the prime minister.
In a conversation with a protégé from Novi Pazar he stated that in Serbia everybody can choose their name or surname, but the ones who have a problem with it – they will have to deal with the state.
”No one is stronger than the state and that also applies to every bully and rascal, Vučić pointed out.
The prime minister admitted that the authorities can somethimes be slow, inefficient, but that things always come into their rightful place.
He also said that no normal man would beat up a woman.

In the conversation with the protégés of the Safe house the prime minister explained that it would be better if the police stayed in the vicinity of this institution, so the tenants would be protected in every moment, and that the members of the police should be rare guests in this institution.
During a conversation with the protégés of the Safe house the prime minister held a little boy named Senad on his lap, the son of one of the proégés. He told his mother, the boy has some really fast legs and she should enroll him into some sports club.
The most important thing is that the children are alive and healthy, because they are the most important ones, he said.
Vučić wanted to hear from the protégés what the government and him as the prime minister could undertake to make their situation easier. They told him that it would be important to have some kind of an income, or – a job.
The coordinator of the Domestic Violence Clinic Vesna Stanojević confirmed that the employment of the protégés is crucial. She also indicated that the prime minister’s visit to this institution, which takes care for 47 people, is a great honour.
She also said that the most common question of the protégés concerns the stay of the bully in the house or apartment, on the loose, while they, the victims of the violence, have to stay in a collective accommodation.
According to her, the courts often work too slow and the process lasts for a couple of months.
In a conversation with the protégés and the management of the Safe house the minister of justice Nikola Selaković announced the change of the Criminal law, which would mean that the person who abuses the others must move away from the house withing 24h, no matter if the abuser is the owner of the home or not.
He also announced the introduction of a new criminal act, which refers to mental or verbal abuse.
”That kind of a criminal act is hard to prove, but we’ve never had something like that before”, said Selaković.
He also mentioned that a separate law will regulate the duty of the police to inform the prosecutor and the Center for Social Work after receiving the information about a criminal act.

“Following the model the prosecutor will be obliged to start the criminal prosecution right away”, said Selaković. He also added that this kind of a system already exists in Zrenjanin, the “so-called Zrenjanin model”. 
He also mentioned that these changes could be adopted in March, what was confirmed by the prime minister.
Selaković also said that they are considering switching the lesser included offences to delicts in order to end the process more efficient.
According to his words a good solution would include the improvement of the offence proceedings and the increase of the maximal punishment for the criminal act of domestic violence.

The prime minister Vučić supported the idea of switching some criminal acts to lesser included offence proceedings, because he considers them more efficient and better than the criminal ones.
He said the the judge would hardly sentence the violator if he didn’t commit any crime before, but he also indicated that “a suspended sentence is still a sentence and that every physical injury goes into the criminal records.”
The prime minister also announced that the Government of Republic of Serbia will help build new 40 square meters in the Safe house in Belgrade.
Vučić said that it is expected much from the change of the law, because this way it will be easier to prove the guilt of the violator .
The prime minister reminded that earlier today he also spoke with the minister of police Nebojša Stefanović, who also visited the Safe house and that it was agreed that they guarantee full security to the users and the staff of the house.
According to him it is very important that the women who have a problem of that sort get a job, adding that some women who had no employment earlier now have one.
The deputy prime minister Zorana Mihajlović, the minister of justice Nikola Selaković and the minister of internal affairs Nebojša Stefanović were accompanying the prime minister in his visit to the Safe house. 
Vučić and the ministers were welcomed with bread and salt, and they also responded with gifts for the childen.

(Source: TANJUG)