The paper explores the older persons? vulnerability to various forms of violence, employing a positive deviance approach. This paper aims to elucidate a novel methodological framework in social research through an empirical case study, particularly beneficial for action research. The positive deviance approach is rooted in methodological individualism and presents a fluid, eclectic framework that avoids the pitfalls of in-depth profiling. Epistemologically, it does not presume the cognitive superiority of the researcher over the respondents, and the boundaries of its theoretical potential are clearly delineated by the desired outcome of the interventions conducted within the realm of social relations. From a practical perspective, it serves as a tool for identifying, enhancing, and expanding specific behaviours that can be utilised to address particular challenges. The results of a two-and-a-half-year study conducted in Serbia (Plandiste, Uzice, and Valjevo, January 2020 ? July 2022) revealed that the development of support networks and increased spatial mobility significantly contribute to better integrating the older adults into their local communities. Financial and property independence emerged as crucial elements of resilience among the older adults. Ba employing the positive deviance approach, successful strategies used by some older individuals as effective mechanisms for preventing or mitigating the risk of violence were identified.

The protection of crime victims has evolved into a central pillar of modern justice systems, reflecting a growing consensus on the need to uphold victims? rights, dignity, and well-being. This paper critically examines the legal, institutional, and societal dimensions of victim protection, with an emphasis on the persistent gap between formal rights and their practical implementation. Drawing on comparative insights from various jurisdictions, the study explores the effectiveness of multidisciplinary and trauma-informed approaches, as well as the potential of problem-solving and restorative justice models in fostering victim-centred justice. The findings reveal that effective protection requires not only robust legal frameworks but also integrated institutional support, societal change, and sustained professional training. Based on this analysis, the paper offers evidence-based policy recommendations aimed at strengthening victim protection in contemporary legal systems.

Research and practice show that within the healthcare system (HCS) in Serbia, women?s passivity during childbirth is normalised. Both HCS staff and female patients hold this representation of women as inherently passive. The paper aims to present research findings on passivity normalisation during childbirth. This study aimed to investigate the factors related to HCS experiences contributing to this passivity normalisation. Participants (N=363, 252 with childbirth experience) completed scales measuring trust in medical staff, distrust in the HCS, reliance on the HCS, frequency of positive and negative experiences with the HCS, and normalisation of passivity during childbirth. The examined factors accounted for 25% of the variance in normalising passivity during childbirth. Specifically, participants who were more reliant on the HCS, had given birth and reported more positive or fewer negative experiences, were more likely to normalise passivity. Paradoxically, a positive relationship with the HCS led to adopting the passivity norm, while negative experiences were a protective factor. The HCS appears to teach women passivity, as positive experiences within the system reinforce the perception of passivity as appropriate.

Intimidation of state witnesses is a serious problem that results in the inability of the courts to prosecute cases successfully, as witnesses are afraid to give testimony because they fear for their lives. The study, of which findings are presented in this paper aimed to explore the experiences of intimidation of state witnesses in the context of the Witness Protection Program in South Africa with the objective being to examine how the intimidation of witnesses affects the outcomes of the courts. Qualitative research was conducted on a sample of 30 participants, using non-probability, purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Participants were witnesses and staff members in the South African Witness Protection Program. The findings show that despite the important role of the Witness Protection Program, some witnesses experience intimidation during the different stages of the criminal justice system. The study recommends approaches aimed at reducing the effect of intimidation on state witnesses.

The family, as the primary social group, should provide the child with protection, security and love. However, some families can be the source of a child?s most intense vulnerability. In these families, children may be exposed to different types of violence or may witness domestic violence. Although the Republic of Serbia guarantees the right to a safe family environment with a large number of international and internal legal instruments, numerous professionals in the child protection system still do not recognize child witnesses of domestic violence as victims. Children are not only victims of domestic violence when directly affected, but also as witnesses in all situations when they are exposed to acts of violence that one family member perpetrates on other members. Children are exposed to violence in the family when they directly observe the violence, but also when they hear sounds, blows, and screams from another room, or when they see the consequences of violence against a family member (bruises, injuries) or feel them (sadness, low mood, fear) see the intervention of the police, emergency and social services, or when they hear relatives and people around them retelling acts of violence. Contemporary findings confirm that exposure to domestic violence harms various spheres of child development (immediate or delayed, short-term or long-term). The subject of this paper is representation of the position of children witnesses of domestic violence in family law, through the review of key international and domestic standards (laws and policies), research and practice analysis. The objective of the paper is to emphasize to the professionals working in the child protection system the importance of recognizing children witnesses of domestic violence as victims, for the system to be able to provide the necessary protection, crucial help and support, i.e. conditions for growth and development in a safe environment, and for the children to achieve the rights which belong to them - meaning freedom from all forms of violence which is an obligation the Republic of Serbia took by ratification of international agreements.

The paper deals with the nature of female genital mutilation (FGM) as a highly gendered, harmful practice, which has in the meantime been formalized as a crime. Especially the Istanbul Convention is regarded as the driving force behind this legal development. But beyond that, this Convention, as well as the Convention of Belem do Para and the Maputo Protocol before that, have defined and located the very nature of FGM within the violence against women. By doing so, prior (false) beliefs and attempts to legitimize them due to cultural, social or religious reasons have become obsolete. The aim of this paper is to show the nature of FGM within the aforementioned instruments.

The current study explored the war experience from the victims? narrative by interviewing 15 displaced Ukrainians hosted in Greece. Concretely, it examined their experiences and emotions from the beginning of the war, the conditions under which they lived until they fled Ukraine, and their reception in Greece. To better analyse the data, the researchers followed a thematic analysis and divided the participants into three groups based on similar characteristics: mothers, teenagers, and children. Major psychological trauma and financial and integration difficulties were evident in all participants. Moreover, several challenges were reported regarding the policies and practices of reception, especially in the educational field. Last, despite the limitation of the small sample and no male participants, this study opens the way for further investigation of the long-lasting effects of war traumatisation and the challenges host countries face in supporting refugees.

Domestic violence and gender-based violence has been studied and recognised for many years in Greece. Adequate legislation on the criminalization of domestic violence has been implemented since 2006 (Law 3500/2006 on the Confrontation of Domestic Violence). A network of support services has also operated across the country for many years, staffed with professionals trained in the gender-sensitive perspective. However, Greece still faces the impact of the economic crisis that started in 2010 and the critical aspects of the crisis from the reduction of the public budget imposed by the European institutions in the lives of the individuals, the victims and the providers of the social services have not been fully assessed yet. The COVID-19 pandemic created problems in the victims? access to social services and not only. The shadow pandemic describes the alarm on the increase of domestic violence during the pandemic and the isolation of the victims from the providers of social and psychological support. Addressing both the issue of domestic violence through a victim-centered approach before and during the pandemic in Greece and the need for the implementation of evidence-based policies are the general aims of the paper. To this, we present few findings from an original victimological online research on domestic violence during the first lockdown in the country (March to May 2020) and we justify the need for the implementation of evidence-based policies in the criminal justice system in Greece.

Research on sexual victimization of university students particularly intensified during the 1980s. They suggest that students, especially female students, are one of the categories that are at special risk of being victimized by various forms of sexual violence during their studies. Research on sexual violence at universities in Serbia is rare, so this phenomenon is still under- researched. This paper aims to provide an overview of the results of previous research on the prevalence and structure of sexual violence against university students, groups of students at particular risk of victimization with sexual violence at the universities and the consequences of sexual violence against students at the universities in the world and in Serbia. Previous research suggested large differences in the prevalence of this form of victimization, which is a direct consequence of the application of different methodological approaches. University students are more often exposed to sexual harassment, verbal or nonverbal, as well as to harassment through physical contact or through social media, and less often to more severe forms of violence, such as rape or attempted rape. The groups that are at particular risk from sexual victimization at the universities include women, persons of different sexual orientation than heterosexual, those at the beginning of the study, as well as students who consume alcohol and/or drugs and whose material status is poor or constantly oscillates. Sexual violence leaves numerous consequences for victims, especially psychological ones, but it also negatively affects the continuation of schooling and academic achievement, so it is necessary to develop policies and mechanisms for timely recognition of victimization and providing support to victims.

The subject of this paper is domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This paper aims to determine the type and scope of sanctions in Bosnia and Herzegovina for domestic violence before and during the pandemic, patterns of victimization during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine and compare data on the scope of domestic violence before and during the pandemic. The data was collected from the state institutions and non-governmental organizations that provide assistance and protection to victims of violence. The most commonly imposed sanction for domestic violence was a suspended sentence. During the pandemic, combined forms of violence were most commonly reported, with various manifestations of physical, psychological, or economic violence, even femicide. The crisis has led to an increase in the scope of violence in families where dysfunctional relationships were previously recorded, but also to the appearance of the first forms of violence in families where violence had not occurred before. There has been a significant increase in violence reported to NGOs, and these figures do not match those of the state institutions.