Poverty and side effects

About 120.000 children in Serbia (9,5 percent) live in absolute poverty, while about 35 percent are at risk of poverty, according to UNICEF data published last November on the occasion of Children's Day (November 20). Side effects of poverty, such as child marriage and human trafficking, affect the poorest the most - children from rural families and Roma communities. UNICEF statistics (MICS, 2017) say that 57 percent of girls from the Roma community are married before reaching adulthood.

According to the latest report of the Team for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction of the Government of Serbia for 2017, 12.045 percent of the population in Serbia had incomes below the absolute poverty line (7,2 dinars). The report also states that this percentage would be 8,9 percent if households in rural areas did not supplement their consumption with products from their own production. According to the data of the Republic Institute of Statistics from the same year, a quarter of the population, or about 1,8 million people in Serbia, are at risk of poverty. "Extreme forms of poverty have been almost eradicated in Serbia and the rate of risk of poverty has been reduced," said the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, in February this year on the occasion of the Third National Report on Social Inclusion and Reduced Poverty (the report refers to the period 2014-2017, and was published in December 2018, first. organizer).

CHILD MARRIAGE AS AN ESCAPE FROM POVERTY

Jelena Hrnjak from the NGO "Atina" assesses that in 2019 it is extremely inappropriate to talk about the eradication of absolute poverty. "Before the New Year, we were asked by a state institution to get involved in preparing New Year's packages for the children of a woman who was a victim of human trafficking." We contacted the woman, we asked if they needed anything and she said that it would be nice if the children got shoes and sneakers," says Jelena Hrnjak. However, when asked what shoe sizes the children wear, the mother was unable to answer. "She told us that the children never wore their number, but always got shoes from someone or wore what they found in a dumpster," she says and points out that poverty entails various forms of violence. "In Serbia, you have children who do not go to school, which is a denial of one right," said Jelena Hrnjak and reminded that 90 percent of Serbian citizens who are not representatives of the Roma minority finish primary school, which is the case with only 28 percent of Roma.

"The rate of children's exposure to poverty is still high," believes Vesna Dejanović from UNICEF. She assesses that monetary benefits aimed at reducing the poverty rate (cash and social assistance, child allowance) do not have an effect because, as she believes, "they are not well targeted" and "they do not have a large enough coverage". Dejanović also assesses that the amounts are not adequate. "Cash and social assistance reaches only 11 percent of the poorest, and child allowance has a slightly larger coverage, from a total of 45 percent of children, i.e. about 70 percent of children are from the poorest group," she said and pointed out that poverty culminates in phenomena such as child marriages and related human trafficking.

Vesna Dejanović adds that there is no formula that would show with certainty which constellation of the sample contributes the most to the frequency of underage marriages. "It is undeniable that with a higher degree of family integration, the rate of underage marriages in the Roma community decreases," she says, adding that this tendency was observed during the work of UNICEF in more than twenty Roma communities. Vesna Dejanović also assesses how poverty indisputably strengthens traditional practices such as child marriages, which represent one of the survival mechanisms. Jelena Hrnjak draws attention to the fact that the number of early marriages is based on the number of marriages concluded - between the ages of 16 and 18, when it is possible to legally enter into marriage in Serbia, but that it does not include cohabitation with children. "The largest number of identified victims of human trafficking in Serbia are children," she pointed out and added that the largest number of victims is among underage girls who marry much older men.

Jelena Hrnjak states that the testimonies of the girls indicate that such marriages are characterized by various forms of abuse and abuse: being forced to beg, committing criminal acts, sexual exploitation, "and not only by members of one family, but by the wider community", emphasizes J. Hrnjak. "Forced prostitution of minors is a form of human trafficking." When it comes to minors, there is no voluntariness, but the exploitation of children for the crime of prostitution," says Jelena Hrnjak and emphasizes that it is the duty of all citizens to report human trafficking. She recommends documenting and reporting the case to the police, and then getting in touch with one of the civil society organizations that has the capacity to see the case through to the end. J. Hrnjak estimates that the issue of the relationship of the law to prostitution will be a big issue in Serbia in the future. "Although the issues of decriminalization and legalization of prostitution will be discussed in the future, whatever decision is made at the legal level, it will not refer to underage prostitution, which remains unacceptable."

LAYERING AND LABELING

Bojana Selaković from the Association "Parent" believes that, in addition to extreme cases of human trafficking, we can talk about numerous examples that are not so drastic, but are the result of a bad systemic attitude towards children. "In the former country, one of the mandatory departments was social care for children," reminds Bojana Selaković and underlines that this indicated a clear strategic commitment of the state. She assesses that today we have a situation in which every child in Serbia is, as it were, absolutely left to their parents or guardians. "On the one hand, we have the story of how children should be brought into the world, and all responsibility is transferred to the parents, whose capacity the fate of the child absolutely depends on," B. Selaković points out.

Jovana Gligorijević states that the economic stratification of children begins in kindergarten: children for whom there is no place in state institutions can, thanks to subsidies, enroll in private kindergarten. However, the subsidies foresee a basic package of services, so some of the activities that need to be paid for additionally for individual children remain unavailable. Bojana Selaković reminds that the Rulebook on closer criteria for recognizing forms of discrimination by an employee, child, student or third party in an educational institution prohibits any kind of discrimination against children. "From the point of view of logistics, it is certainly easier for parents if their children have English or dance in kindergarten, so that they do not have to take them to these activities additionally. However, since we are talking about public education", believes Bojana Selaković, "then the availability of all services should be the same for every child".

Gordana Novaković from the Press Council says that poverty is often discussed in the media through actions that are organized with the aim of providing assistance to vulnerable families. "I don't doubt the good intentions." However, although ethics is not an exact science, I believe that one should ask whether it is justified to mark a child in that way for the rest of his life".

CODE VIOLATIONS

When it comes to reporting that includes minors, the Press Council recorded 2018 articles about minors in six of the eight analyzed daily newspaper editions during the last published monitoring of compliance with the Code of Journalists of Serbia in daily newspapers (for the period August-December 222). As many as 386 examples of violations of the Code of Journalists of Serbia were observed in these texts. Gordana Novaković says that the majority of violations related to the violation of the privacy of minors, such as the publication of personal data of a child or data based on which the public can recognize which child it is.

Jovana Gligorijević recalls the reporting on the investigation into the murder of singer Jelena Marjanović and the way some tabloids wrote about her minor daughter Jana. "This case is probably the most drastic", assesses Gordana Novaković and adds that mentioning children in the context of family tragedies is very problematic. Novaković says that last year the Press Council received three complaints related to published texts. "Complaints most often come from non-governmental organizations, and citizens very often do not complain because they do not know that they have the right to complain, and sometimes because they feel that they have agreed to participate by giving consent to the child's statement or by making the statement themselves" . She reminds that disturbing content that occasionally finds its way into daily newspapers, such as pictures of deceased children, is not allowed. "The Ministry of Culture and Information had to react to the publication of such content, because according to the Law on Public Information, the protection of minors is within their jurisdiction," she points out.

Gordana Novaković also recalls the visit of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to the Department of Hemato-oncology at the Institute for Mother and Child in Belgrade in February of this year, when the President of Serbia took a picture with the boy Zlatan in the hospital during the flu season and lowered his surgical mask. "It is another situation in which the ethical component can be questioned: although the mother has given her consent, the question of her capacity to make such an assessment remains," believes Gordana Novaković.

Iva Eraković, executive director of Friends of the Children of Serbia, joined the discussion from the audience. She drew attention to, according to her, a neglected problem in Serbia that permeates other problems. "In Serbia, it is difficult to reach a child psychiatrist," she pointed out and stated that, according to the latest statistics, about 60 percent of children without parental care need this type of support. Considering the small number of available psychiatrists, according to Iva Eraković, most children can only turn to drug therapy. She drew attention to the possible abuse of children for political purposes. "Our organization started its work in a war environment, and now we have a serious violation of children's rights outside of a war environment. "If you just look at the websites of individual parties, it can be concluded that the population aged 16-18 is the most exposed to this," said Iva Eraković.

REPORTING AND CONSEQUENCES FOR CHILDREN

Personal data of victims of violence and human trafficking also find their way to the media. "You can only get information about the course of court proceedings from competent institutions," says Jelena Hrnjak and adds that NGO "Atina" has repeatedly appealed to institutions to work on preventing information leaks. Jelena Hrnjak believes that criminal charges should be filed for the leaking of information: "For us, it is indicative that there was a leak of information if we read in the text that there is an ongoing process regarding a child who was in a foster family, with whom there are several men had sexual relations and who will not be prosecuted, but will be witnesses in the proceedings. We encourage employees in institutions to report abuses as part of their official duties," says Jelena Hrnjak and assesses that in case of information leakage, the media that reported it are not the only ones responsible. Gordana Novaković adds that the Press Council, after considering the complaint, once determined that the published information, which was allegedly leaked, was actually not correct. "After the Commissioner ordered a review of the minutes to determine where the information was leaking from, it turned out that the information does not even exist in the minutes," says Gordana Novaković.

Representatives of the SOS Children's Villages of Serbia Foundation, present in the audience, stated that the line receives about 10.000 calls from children per month, including calls related to disturbing media content. Željka Burgund, head of the children's line, pointed out that disturbing media content causes an emotional reaction in children who cannot filter the content themselves because they are not mature enough. "When children hear that something terrible happens to other children, regardless of whether it is fiction or a real situation, it encourages them to project the situation onto themselves," Željka Burgund pointed out. "If it's a suicide case, children are put in that situation, which leads to suicidal thoughts," she said.

Jelena Hrnjak says that through her practice, NGO "Atina" became familiar with cases where unprofessional reporting had lasting consequences. She cites the case of a journalist who revealed her identity by publishing about a girl victim of human trafficking. "After that article, she cut her face so that no one would recognize her," states J. Hrnjak and says that "Atina" informed the author of the article about that event. "It is very important for us that people understand what their actions or inactions have produced," emphasized Jelena Hrnjak.

Vesna Dejanović from UNICEF says that this organization follows the announcements in the daily press every day, as well as conducts its own research in order to create a programmatic response to these phenomena. She reminds that UNICEF, as an organization of the United Nations, has certain limitations in its mandate, and cannot act on individual cases. "However, we can contribute to raising awareness and information," she points out and adds that UNICEF is making efforts to include the media in the organization's work.

"What we are living in now is a state of self-help," believes Bojana Selaković from the Association "Roditelj". She says that a parent's capacity to protect a child from becoming part of a vulnerable group depends on the parent's connection with the ruling structure, on how persistent and vocal someone is in their efforts. "Whenever there's a problem that requires system involvement—from the moment you get pregnant until you put your child through college—you're playing a game of uncertainty, where the rules depend on how vulnerable a group is and how capable they are of to protect himself or to exercise a certain right or not," says Bojana Selaković and assesses that there is a problem with the exercise of basic rights and freedoms in Serbia. She believes that, until the problems of judicial independence and influence on prosecutors are resolved, civil society in Serbia will continue to face existing problems.