Evropski dan žrtava kriminala u Srbiji obeležava se jubilarni, petnaesti put, a cilj mu je da se posledice koje žrtve kriminaliteta trpe, učine vidljivim široj javnosti i da se društvo podstakne da efikasnije i potpunije zaštiti prava žrtava.

„Odnos prema žrtvama je zaista test za sve nas, a to je nedavno pokazao i slučaj otmice devojčice Monike K., koji je bio višestruki test kako za državne organe, tako i za mnoge druge subjekte u društvu, a pre svega medije” - rekla je Nataša Novaković iz Misije OEBS-a u Srbiji, koji kao partner Ministarstva pravde realizuje projekat „Podrška žrtvama i svedocima krivičnih dela” koji finansira Evropska unija.

The European Day for Victims of Crime is being marked in Serbia for the fifteenth time, and its goal is to make the consequences which the victims of crime suffer visible to the broader public and to encourage society to protect the rights of victims more efficiently and fully.

“The behaviour toward victims is truly a test for all of us, and that was recently shown in the case of the kidnapping of little girl Monika K, which was a multi-level test both for public authorities, as well as for many other parts of society, primarily the media,” said Nataša Novaković from the OSCE Mission to Serbi, which is, as a partner of the Ministry of Justice, implementing the project “Support for Victims and Witnesses of crime in Serbia”, financed by the European Union.

She stated that the consequence of sensationaliast reporting in this, as well as in many other cases, represented secondary victimization of the victim, and that humane, democratic societies could not allow that.

The fact that 75 million people in Europe become victims of crime on an annual level is concerning, but also reminds the states that each society needs to dedicate more attention to this issue. One of the responses to the growing crime rates is the EU Directive on rights of victims, said Una Kelly, Programme Manager at the judicial department of the EU Delegation to Serbia.

“European standards require the effective recognition of, and respect for, the rights of victims with regard to their human rights, in particular respect for their security, dignity, privacy and the family life of victims, and to recognise the negative effects of crime on victims” – said Kelly.