Project: Roma in Serbia: How safe they feel and do they see improvements?09Jun2014
Research Findings Presentation in Kragujevac
The Public Policy Research Centre’s team has presented findings of the project “Roma Women and Men and Security Sector Reform in the Republic of Serbia” in Kragujevac, on June 9th, 2014.
Kragujevac was one of the 6 cites and municipalities included in the field part of the project, with 4 focus groups (2 female and 2 male) conducted in this city. Therefore, the research presentation was an opportunity for Roma Coordinator for the city of Kragujevac and local Roma NGO “Stablo”, as well as several other representatives of the community (from the Union of Market Traders, for example) to comment on enhanced cooperation with the MoI and the role of the OSCE Mission. Importance of info sessions and establishment of personal contacts beside interventions related to particular incidents were emphasized. Limitations of project cycles within the MoI and the issue of misusing Roma people personal information for political gains were raised.
The most important outcome was the conclusion that CENTAR’s recommendations will be included in Local Action Plan for Roma community in Kragujevac. The presentation was covered by the Regional TV Channel 9, Sumadija press and Kragujevac.co.rs.
With this project our research team tried to find out what are the main security threats for the Roma population in Serbia; how Roma women and men perceive the work of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and whether they have confidence in these institutions; and what policies and measures have these institutions adopted to address the specific security needs of the Roma population? The research was supported by the Democratization Department of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.