The problem of child, early and forced marriages shall not be narrowly observed and only within the frameworks of tradition and customary law. It is much broader and must be approached from several aspects. The problem of child, early and forced marriages goes into all aspects of child development, interferes with it, and denies the possibility of growing up in an environment where there is a choice. It is therefore necessary to mobilize all actors operating in the field of protection of children's rights, as well as their active involvement in this issue by establishing intersectoral cooperation. 

In May 2016, Praxis held municipal meetings in Leksovac and Pozarevac, aimed at prevention and elimination of child, early and forced marriages. The meetings were organized as part of the activities on the project “Legal Assistance to Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Serbia”, funded by UNHCR.

The goal of the meetings was to gather all the relevant actors in this topic at the local level, so that together we can try to identify possible solutions to the problem of child, early and forced marriages. A total of 78 representatives of social welfare centre, police, prosecution, judiciary, educational and health institutions, as well as Roma health mediators, teaching assistants and activists, took part in the meetings. The meetings were organized in a way to provide an overview of the problem of child, early and forced marriages in Serbia, the region and the world, with special reference to local and international regulations governing the rights of the child, marriage and family relations, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the authorities to prevent the neglect of children and violence against children, on the one hand, as well as through an interactive approach to the subject, and examples of good practice, to come up with the policy proposal that would lead to the prevention and elimination of children, early and forced marriages.

The participants showed a noticeable interest in the topic, irrespective of whether they have come across the problem in their work so far or not. Interactive discussion imposed the conclusion on the necessity of intersectoral cooperation, which formally could be realized by concluding agreements on cooperation at local level among all the actors needed to effectively provide protection to children from abuse and neglect. Preventive work with parents in the form of educational and councelling sessions, as the key decision makers, a greater visibility of the problem of child, early and forced marriages, among the Roma population as well as among the general public and decision makers, are just some of the recommendations that arose as a result of municipal meetings.

In the second half of the year, Praxis will organize follow-up workshops and community meetings, aimed at additionally empowering the Roma community and competent actors at the local level, and at having the insight into the short-term results of previously held workshops and community meetings. 

See also: Praxis Held Workshops on Prevention and Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriages