Filozofija i drustvo 2022 Volume 33, Issue 4, Pages: 895-909
https://doi.org/10.2298/FID2204895C
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Institutional ethics of care in Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study on the effects of the lockdown measures on girls and women trafficking survivors
Ćeriman Jelena 
(University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory), jelena.ceriman@instifdt.bg.ac.rs
Hrnjak Jelena (“Atina” - Citizens’ Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and All Forms of Violence against Women), jelena.hrnjak@atina.org.rs
Radoičić-Nedeljković Andrijana (“Atina” - Citizens’ Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and All Forms of Violence against Women), andrijana.radoicic@atina.org.rs
Extreme situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic transparently show all the
shortcomings of the Serbian system that should, in theory, provide support
and protection to citizens in such circumstances. A particularly demanding
task was to determine and measure the well-being of individuals during the
pandemic, especially those from marginalized groups whose needs are not the
priority to the system even under regular circumstances, those on the bottom
of the social hierarchy who cannot influence the policies that shape their
daily lives, or the decisions of authorities that further reproduce social
inequalities. The paper examines institutional ethics of care during the
pandemic in Serbia through the analysis of the adequacy of lockdown measures
and their effects on the girls and women trafficking survivors. Analysis of
the data collected in semi-structured interviews with girls and women showed
that three central elements of the institutional (ethics of) care: the
purpose of care, recognition of power relations, and the need for pluralistic
tailoring of care to meet individuals’ needs, were not fulfilled during the
pandemic and that the logic of institutional care has had a politicizing
character in Serbia.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures, institutional ethics of care, victims of human trafficking, trafficking in person survivors, Serbia
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