Trauma-informed approach and gender-based violence: A theoretical perspective

Gender-based violence is a serious and widespread problem despite continuous efforts to eradicate it or at least significantly reduce it. Although strategies to combat and prevent this violence are continuously improved, major challenges remain, especially in raising awareness and improving access to support for victims. The primary objective of this paper is to explore how trauma-informed (TI) principles can be meaningfully integrated into Serbia's victim protection system by identifying key obstacles, evaluating existing initiatives, and proposing realistic reform directions. The paper identifies concrete shortcomings in Serbia's victim protection system, including the lack of clear procedures, the absence of structured professional training, and weak coordination among institutions involved in victim support. The findings show that trauma-informed models, when contextually adapted, can improve institutional responses and reduce the risk of secondary victimisation. Instead of offering broad normative proposals, the paper outlines a set of practice-oriented recommendations aligned with Serbia's institutional realities.