At the sitting held on 1 June, the Gender Equality Committee considered the Ombudsman’s Regular Report for 2009, section pertaining to gender equality and protection of rights of disabled persons. The sitting was chaired by Dr Gordana Paunovic-Milosavljevic, Committee Chairperson.

The report was presented by the Deputy Ombudsperson in charge of the field Prof. Dr Zorica Mrsevic. She stressed that the adoption of the National Strategy for the Improvement of the Position of Women and Advancement of Gender Equality and the Gender Equality Law last year, created new a systemic basis for institutional regulation of gender equality in Serbia. However, practice noted a worsening of the social and economic position of women and increased gender related violence with numerous tragic outcomes. Due to the economic crisis, the number of unemployed women has risen, and discrimination against women is evident both in employment and realisation of rights stemming from employment, as well as in the pay gap. The data shows that in the employment structure by profession, 53% of experts are women, while 47% are men, said the Deputy Ombudsperson.

She highlighted the widespread domestic violence that is tolerated even though it causes increased school and public violence.

The Deputy Ombudsman said that they had handled 56 cases of violation of gender equality in 2009, but that the cooperation among the police, social work centres, healthcare services and other relevant authorities is still insufficiently developed.

Mrsevic also pointed out that the approximately 800 000 disabled persons living in Serbia make up an insufficiently visible and completely marginal social group and that as much as 70% of them are poor. Last year saw the adoption of several laws and other regulations that should enable the improvement of their status, primarily as regards higher employment rates, but that their effects are yet to be seen.

The Committee members accepted the section of the Ombudsman’s Regular Report for 2009 pronouncing this manner of information on the implementation of certain laws useful. They emphasised the need to pass a law on the protection of the mentally ill.

At the sitting, representatives of the Roma women’s centre informed the Committee members of their activities.