Domestic violence is the most serious and, in the same time, most hidden form of violence, particular when victims are women and children which is, unfortunately, the most common situation. It is leading to endangering and denying of human fights and freedoms proclaimed both by the international documents and the national acts. Bearing this in mind, the aim of the paper is to show some of the main findings about domestic violence in Serbia, and the way police is reacting on it. The paper is based upon the results obtained in the research on domestic violence in Serbia, which was recently conducted by the Victimology Society of Serbia. The research was carried out on the sample of 700 adult female respondents, in seven towns and approximatly 40 villages in Serbia. Out of that number, more than one third of the respondents stated that they are victims of some certain forms of violence inside their families. Among other things, they were asked whether they reported the violent act to the police, and if yes, were they satisfied with the way they had been treated by the police officers and the result of their intervention. Obtained data show very small level of reporting domestic violence to the police, as well as to other relevant institutions and organizations. On the other hand, the most spreaded reasons for not reporting violence were: the latest violent act was not serious enough to require police intervention, and shame to report violence to the police. These results are showing that we still live in the strong patriarchal society in which the family is considered as a private sphere and all problems should be solved "inside the walls". Woman is expected to suffer the violence and predict her own guilt for that. Another reason was fear from escalation of violent acts. The second group of reasons for not reporting violence was related to the police, their willingness to react and efficiency. Obtained data show a high level of distrust and suspicious in the efficiency of the police work, as well as a doubt in their willingness to intervene in the cases of domestic violence. In the cases which were reported to the police, 25 out of 42 respondents (59,5%) stated their discontent with the police reaction and the way they had been treated on that occassion. The main reasons for that were: police is indifferent, inert, ineffective, and not willing to react on the pretext that marriage and family life are private matters. Bearing all these in mind we have; to continue our activities on legal reforms concerning better protection from domestic violence and to change deeply rooted attitudes about this phenomenom as a private matter, both in the society and among state agencies and institutions. The first, very important step was made through entering a new criminal offense in the Criminal Code of Serbia named Domestic violence, in 2002.
