16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER - BASED VIOLENCE

The "Policewomen's Network"  Association joined the UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina campaign "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence", which began on November 25, which is marked as the International Day for the Prevention of Violence against Women.

During this global campaign, police officers from police agencies throughout BiH conveyed the messages of this year's campaign "Exclude Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls" and "Include Prevention". The campaign was joined by officials from the BiH Police Coordination Directorate, the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the BiH Border Police, the Federal Police Administration, the Brcko District Police, the FBiH Judicial Police and seven cantonal ministries of interior.

According to a 2019 survey conducted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, every second woman in BiH over the age of 15 has experienced some form of sexual violence. Many cases are not reported due to stigma or the fact that women are unaware that they are victims of violence. What is particularly worrying is the fact that the number of victims of sexual violence is on the rise.

What is even more devastating is that the research conducted in recent years has shown that women within the BiH police structures are not exempt from gender-based violence. Namely, a high dark number of these cases was observed within the police. Kristina Jozić, President of the "Policewomen's Network" Association  points out that this is particularly worrying because it justifiably raises the question of how the police can adequately respond to cases of gender-based and sexual violence in its mandate and protect citizens if such cases are "pushed under carpet" within the police.
Bearing in mind the above, in recent years the Association has been actively working to combat gender-based violence within the police in order to raise awareness of this issue, empower women and encourage them to report such cases. Also, active work was done to raise the awareness of top managers and all police employees about gender-based violence, as well as to improve existing protection mechanisms.

The Association  is resolutely continuing its activities to combat gender-based and sexual violence against women and girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina.