Couples and individuals involved in the IVF process are faced with numerous challenges. One of the challenges is coping with stigma, which is especially prevalent in those societies in which the significance of procreation is emphasized. This paper will present the results of qualitative research on stigma perception – how women with IVF experience perceive and interpret the stigma related to IVF. 11 women were interviewed and the sample was provided in collaboration with the “Šansa za roditeljstvo” Association. The data were processed using thematic analysis. The respondents recognize that there is a stigma related to IVF, as well as a possible risk for their children who were conceived in this way being exposed to stigmatization. All the respondents live in big cities, which probably contributes to less exposure to stigma and a greater willingness to talk about this topic, while the respondents emphasized that stigmatization is much greater in smaller communities. Education and being well informed about IVF are recognized as possible ways of crossing the path from stigmatization to ‘normalization’ and greater acceptance of IVF. The research has provided initial insights into stigma perception and experience of individuals and couples involved in the IVF process. The results indicate that it is necessary to introduce systematic and continuous support in this field.

Serving a prison sentence is a challenging period, both for the person serving the sentence and for their family members, especially children. Research show that these children are exposed to multiple risks, and one of the risks is the severance of contacts, thus compromising the child’s relationship with their incarcerated parent. The subject of the paper will be the presentation of the importance and challenges in maintaining contacts and relationships between children and their incarcerated parents, as well as some programs and support services. The paper will also present how this issue is regulated in law, policies and practice in Serbia. The paper aims to point out the importance of preserving, improving, and strengthening family relations that have been broken, with an emphasis on the needs and rights of children.

This paper presents the results of research on the views of children about contacts with their birth parents and relatives. The views of children are seen through their experience in contacts and the wishes of children that relate to future contacts. The results show that children in foster care have positive attitude to the contacts and that no child wants to terminate the contacts maintained with the parents and relatives. A number of children want a greater number of contacts, or to establish contact with persons with whom there is no actual contact. Also, most of the children had the opportunity to participate in the planning and realization of contacts and the children who participated recognize their participation as an important issue.

The aim of this paper is to present the importance of school as an element of the well-being of adolescents who grow up in foster families, with a special emphasis on discrimination in the school environment. Experiencing discrimination in the school environment can be a serious obstacle to establishing the well-being of adolescents, which has also been confirmed by this research. Applying qualitative methodology, namely the focus group discussion, the data from 129 participants was collected. The research includes adults’ perspectives, those of foster parents, case managers, fostering advisers, as well as the especially important perspectives of the adolescents themselves. Due to facing discrimination and other challenges in the school environment, these young people need support, which is sometimes absent. The warning result is that children sometimes suffer from discrimination by adults, who are supposed to be the source of support, is of special importance. The results obtained can provide the basis for creating and establishing cooperation between schools, foster families and professionals from the social protection system, as well as the advancement of teaching and non-teaching staff’s competences. As the ultimate aim, the results could contribute to improving the position of adolescents in foster care in the school environment.

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