In cooperation with the City Municipality of Obrenovac, NGO Praxis organized a round table on the topic of child/early marriage on September 8, 2025. The participants of the round table were the representatives of the Administration of Obrenovac, the Mobile Team for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Romani Women, the Child and Youth Protection Service of the Center for Social Work Obrenovac, the National Employment Service, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Obrenovac, the School for Basic Adult Education "Obrenovac", the First Obrenovac Elementary School, the Preschool in Obrenovac, the Obrenovac Health Center, as well as Roma activists.
One of the main conclusions is that a significant number of child/early marriages remain in the so-called in the "gray zone", invisible to the system, and that the root of the problem lies in the fact that the parents of children who get married have their own experiences of child/early marriage and that they consider it a normal phenomenon, and that they see nothing wrong with it. Therefore, it is necessary through various activities (workshops, forums, etc.) to carry out intensive campaigns to raise the awareness of the community, both children and parents, about the harm and consequences of child/early marriage. In previous years, in a smaller number of cases, the institutions in Obrenovac reacted to the occurrence of child/early marriages, and one case recently ended with a conviction.
In addition to reactive action, the participants agreed that prevention is still the key word, and that continuity in work and coordination of all relevant institutions at the local level is necessary for it. Constant presence in Roma communities is very important, through the inclusion of pedagogical and andragogic assistants, Roma activists, health mediators and Roma coordinators, who unfortunately are not currently engaged in Obrenovac. Bearing in mind that there is a long tradition of child marriages in the Roma community, a team approach and long-term and continuous work is necessary. Additionally, it should be borne in mind that there is not a practice of child marriage among all Roma groups, and that, on the other hand, child/early marriages also occur in the non-Roma population and that no one should be left behind, due to the existence of already established stereotypes.
It was also pointed out that mostly children marry abroad, because their parents think they will live better there, and the biggest cause of this is poverty. However, instead of well-being, it often happens that the girls in that marriage suffer violence and abuse, they keep quiet about it, they are not allowed to return home, because it is considered shameful. Therefore, the conclusion is that the prevention of child/early marriages can be significantly influenced by the implementation of measures aimed at the economic empowerment of young people, especially young girls, as well as the promotion of successful personal stories and examples of good practice.
The round table is supported within the project "Support for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Marriages in the Obrenovac City Municipality", whose activities are implemented as part of the wider project "Child Rights are Human Rights", which is supported by the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia and implemented by the Užice Center for Children's Rights.
